Sad
Looking at it, we should have had a L1 spaceport by now and aiming for the moon and beyond.
Sad, really sad.
We're delighted to report that we at Special Projects Bureau HQ have just taken delivery of the updated version of the famous Integrated Space Plan (ISP), although we're not quite sure if we have a wall space big enough to accommodate the breathtaking scope of its vision. Katarina behind the ISP Following a successful tin- …
The El Reg ISP has a missing step between "Build bloody big rocket" and "Put boots on Mars". It is the one seen on IT projects' PERT*** charts labelled "then a miracle occurs".
See classic cartoon.
https://thenamiracleoccurs.wordpress.com/about/
***Program Evaluation and Review Technique
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program_evaluation_and_review_technique
Since I watched the first Moon landing when I was four, I've had/have dozens of those sadly optimistic posters. Some of them included "tourist tickets to orbit available: 1980" and you can imagine how PEEVED I was when NASA fought Roscosomos tooth-and-nail to keep "tourist tickets to orbit" from being available.
NASA needs to be disbanded, and turned back into NACA.
The big problem is that there is no foreseeable profit from space ventures that extend beyond Earth orbit so large companies won't get involved, and even modest space projects cost more than private adventurers and explorers are likely to be able to raise. Which leaves only governments to instigate and pay for them, and now that space exploration has become pretty mundane for the bulk of the population there is no longer much vanity advantage for governments. Frankly I am surprised that the recent Mars voyages were undertaken, albeit on a far more modest scale than was predicted during the heyday of the "space race." There may be a military argument for establishing a base on the Moon.
As far as Earth orbit is concerned, a tethered space station ("space elevator") would be exciting and is certainly a commercially viable project once the technical issues are overcome. It would make it incredibly cheap to place even extremely large satellites & space stations into orbit - which would in turn open up many exciting possibilities that are far too expensive to be realised today.
As far as colonising other planets is concerned - it would be far easier and cheaper to colonise the Earth's oceans.