The Apollo program was way too expensive considering the risk. It was a national prestige program. It could have ended after Apollo 11 and met the goal.
The Shuttle program was much more productive in moving usable payloads into low earth orbits. It was never developed to its design potential because of overoptimistic claims of reusability.
All space flight is dangerous because of the hostile operational environment. Yet the same could be said of submarine operations and commercial flight. Both are unqualified successes despite significantly more loss of life than the space program.
It boils down to public acceptance of risk vs return on investment. Space travel was too abstract, even exotic, to capture the sustained imagination of the average man on the street.
“It boils down to public acceptance of risk vs return on investment. Space travel was too abstract, even exotic, to capture the sustained imagination of the average man on the street.”
Actually I think it captures the imagination of many, especially as the Earth becomes more and more civilized, and there are no new frontiers.
The extreme expense of space travel on the taxpayer’s dime is what’s caused pushback. The arrival of private enterprise on the scene is a turning point.
The fact is, there is unbounded wealth in space, and that is where the future of humanity lies.