Anyone old enough to remember Apollo is likely disappointed that we haven't done all that they said we'd do in space by now, and I can understand the frustration in the voice of the author. But I also agree with Chris that we are still in the baby steps phase and least we are still moving.

As Carl Sagan once said in words to this effect from Cosmos: We have waded out about ankle deep and have found the water inviting.

"Start with the space shuttle. Without taking anything away from the astronauts, the biggest accomplishments of the Discovery mission were that a) it came back; and b) an astronaut pulled bits of cloth out from between tiles. Moreover, NASA had already announced future flights will be grounded because the agency can't keep foam from falling off fuel tanks. The first of the shuttles took off in 1981; for minor space repairs and a safe return to be front-page news today shows how poorly the program has fared, and how dangerous even modest space missions remain."