"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
On 2 Oct 2005 05:04:08 -0700, "Jay Honeck" wrote
in . com::

The fact is, the ONLY long-term reason for a space station is for use
as a launch point for interplanetary (or, eventually, interstellar)
travel.

Please provide the name of one other single human endeavor that has
brought so many nations together for a CONSTRUCTIVE purpose.

The International Spaced Station is a start on the "long term" goal of
peaceful coexistence among the nations of our would, if not a
meaningful scientific achievement.

You could argue that this is the UN's function. Also, the countries which
are participating in the ISS generally are not the bomb throwing loonies who
are the real concern in today's world.

In hindsight (always 20/20, right?), I'd say that the shuttle and the ISS
were both boondoggles. The shuttle was built in order to transport stuff to
a space station that didn't exist until 20 years after the shuttle's launch.
The US joined the ISS effort because NASA needed a space station to validate
the shuttle. Circular logic and justifications like these have cost US
taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

I am a fan of a space program, but it needs to be about exploration and/or
scientific discovery. Instead, we're stuck with a Shuttle and ISS which are
essentially the world's most expensive exercise in logistics.

KB