re: Not no where to go, but no way to go.
Exactly, Lee.
Our shuttles were the workhorses indeed. They deplyed satellites; replaced human studies to space as Mir did; helped build the ISS.
Not to mention the fact that they were re-usable.
They were designed and ready to fly by the early seventies. Needless to say that they and their designers did well.
I'm still surprised that nothing was done in the meantime to replace them to some extent. Still, it's not Ronald Reagan's fault (as if it had to be said... history will judge, as always).