In your example the replacement technology is demonstrably better and more capable. We don’t have replacement technology for the moon lander or even the shuttle.
Though I suppose you could argue sending robots instead of people is better?
Though I suppose you could argue sending robots instead of people is better?
I think the SpaceX approach is working better, at least for now, where you attempt reusability, but not for a long time. It's like a Harbor Frieght tool -- use it like 3 or 4 times before it's toast. But SpaceX hasn't yet had the fun of launching passengers, so it's really not a fair comparison.