What happened is simple- we signed the UN Space treaty and are not
allowed as a nation to develop space resources, and the general public is
pretty much shut out of space by regulations. There are trillions of
dollars to be pumped into the economy by developing even a small fraction of
the potential, but people have been convinced that it is too expensive or
that there is no profit to be made.
It is unbelievable that in over 30 years, no real advances have been
made. Solar power satellites alone would replace nearly all fossil fuel and
apparently, nobody cares to do that.

Cheers!

Chip Shults