1993.
Yet Van Allen, an astrophysicist at the University of Iowa, considers space stations, and the U.S.manned space program, to be wasteful. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), he argues, could get more for its money using unmanned spacecraft: "Apart from serving the spirit of adventure, there is little reason for sending people into space."
To date, NASA has spent some $30 billion on a Space Transportation System that now includes four manned space shuttles. This...