Senor Barborito wrote:

A corporation will be bent on exploration of space for income, not the good of the people used in it or using it nor the pursuit of pure scientific research. People will die, carry out existences that differ little from indentured servitude, and scientific achievement except where it applies to further income will be slowed.

An American governmental space program will just be bent 99% towards income.

A military space program will be bent towards military supremacy with 99% of its resources.

There really isn't a 'good' solution on less you've got a fairly humanist administration controlling the government (Canada, Scandinavia nations, Switzerland [throwing in a good rightist/ultra-libertarian government for you], etc . . . ) and running the space program. Such governments are, however, usually too concerned with maintaining the optimal welfare of their citizenry to worry overmuch about a space program.