I just don't get it. The function it provides for scientific research is invaluable, yet they want to stick a hotel on it.
If the issue is money, which it isn't, surely the first thing you'd look at from a US point of view is the military.
I think some people do not understand the indirect effects space exploration has on other parts of life.
Most can see how it drives technology, but may underestimate the effect because they don't include the research spawned or triggered in related fields and efforts.
They may also not see how it drives the economy by creating jobs, from top level science, down to the service and related industries to support them, and all the factories employing workers due to Nasa contracts.
It also provides an avenue for growth that will never be exhausted.
And that's just a start. I'm gonna stop now because I'm getting sad thinking about the bonehead actions of my southern neighbour.
I worry about Canadian property value as the US becomes a giant ghetto.
Who am I kidding, we won't be far behind. Harper put the torch to our R&D (Literal book burning and appointing a creationist as minister of science), and Trudeau is carrying on the destruction.
the issue kinda is money, though. keeping the iss manned and supplied is a large drain on nasa's budget and just putting more money toward nasa or anything that is a good idea is a bitch and a half in the bureaucracy. a smaller, more automated, modular/replaceable and mission specific station makes more sense than the aging monstrosity that's up there now.
This is as great way for the US to remove themselves from the list of world leaders in technology.
As the rest of the world catches up, and passes the US, they continue to 'down-size' and 'offshore' to squeeze record profits from a dying empire.
It was arguably the space race that put the US and Russia so far ahead of everyone else.
Good thing all the policy makers have golden parachutes. Bad times coming for the working man.
I'll be fine, I've already begun to learn Mandarin. So I'll be ahead of the curve.