Nasa's first spacecraft were basically ICBM's with people attached to the top. They figured, heck, if we can hit Russia, we can hit the moon.
There is a lot of innovation going on right now at Nasa. That's what this is. They experiment and come up with new ways to do things. Without things like this, they'll never have another way to get into space. Rocket propulsion wasn't invented in a day. It took hundreds of years of research, from early chinese firecrackers to where we are now. These toys are the gateway for the future. We need to work on getting these seemingly small and insignificant technologies to work more efficiently. Sure, it'd be easier to strap a rocket onto a spacecraft and launch it that way, but it's not the safest thing to do. Just because it's cheaper and easier doesn't mean it's better. And besides, if this stuff doesn't make it into space, it may some day make it into your everyday lives. Things like microwaves, velcro, computer chips, and lots of other stuff weren't originally designed to be used by the masses, but we use them now because somebody discovered something new, and saw different applications for their idea.