a flying UN
Absolutely. I'd said so from the beginnings but folks derided early criticism of ISS. In hindsight, we've learned little to nothing that we didn't already glean from the SkyLab flights. Instead we repeated the same old same old, flying around in LEO circles, boring the public while learning absolutely nothing of value in scientific return or constructing a useful manned space access infrastructure. The International Space Station reminds me of a flying UN, ineffective and a budgetary black hole consuming resources.