SpaceX has been so lean that they have been one launch away from bankruptcy. That isn't the right model for a scientific user-facility with a half-century expected lifetime.
Are you talking about back in 2008 when the third launch of the Falcon 1 failed to reach orbit? That was a long time ago. They are not near that situation now. The main goal of SpaceX is creating a human civilization on Mars. Seems to me like they do have the right combination of getting things done and the long view.
