re: #187 Sherlock Hound

Walter Mondale had a grudge against NASA over the Apollo 1 disaster. I was convinced he would end the space program if he was elected in 1984. In that time period, the idea that we should “spend the money on Earth instead!” was really prevalent. Stonekettle’s thread is just a faint reflection of those times. The late Carl Sagan even lobbied against the International Space Station at one point; its appropriation passed Congress by ONE vote.

I believe Carl Sagan’s opposition to the space station was that it was so expensive it would strangle NASA’s operating budget for decades. I can’t say he was wrong. Manned space flight has been tethered to low earth orbit ever since and the ROI on the space station is pretty questionable.