When the Shuttle was being considered it was sold to the public as a cheap, fast way to get men into LEO. Reusable, quick turn-around and enormously useful. There was some protest about the cost of putting 6 people into orbit as opposed to robotic missions but not much. The public was misled (at best) in a time-honored tradition.

And then came along the ISS, a different story. There was a huge outcry over the costs and what else could not be done. The decision was a political one made by Reagan, who wanted to outdo Mir. And to give the Shuttle a legitimate mission. NASA and the engineers would do anything for which they had the money, and Reagan got them the money for ISS.

And everyone knew that much would be sacrificed for a dubious benefit. The present situation was not an unforeseen consequence. It was an inevitable result with responsible people protesting all the way.