A name is a name.
Getting to LEO is the hard part, not other planets. So making super-heavy lift vehicles for LEO is probably the most important goal right now. Refuel in orbit, and you can reach anywhere in the solar system.
I can tell this is your first 'explore the solar system' rodeo. Nasa goes in circles. The shuttle program was for building a platform in space that could build vehicles to go to the moon and Mars. You can still see remnants of this in 1980s and 1990s sci fi.
It's not. The difference is government vs private sectors, regardless of where the funding is coming from. Comparing the shuttle and starship is as silly as comparing the Delta IV and the Falcon 9.
They are all rockets. Meanwhile TR3Bs have been cruising low orbit since at least the 1960s.
(post is archived)