Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find it interesting that when watching old movies, few got the communications networks of the future right (edit: meaning that they are always behind the curve. We've advanced a lot more than expected). Other than perhaps "Ghost in The Shell". But on the other end, we have lots of movies expecting much more from us on the 'space' end of things. Many movies that occur in space have us already having permanent moon b…
>I find it interesting that when watching old movies, few got the communications networks of the future right There's some old video made in the mid-1960s showing "a view of the future", which basically depicts every home as having a home computer connected to some kind of communications network, where people would be able to read news, send messages, and even do shopping. While a lot of sci-fi really seemed to miss…
Quite a change from the 40s and 50s and the transatlantic blur of experimental aircraft - X planes, VSTOL, supersonic, first jet airliner prototype in 1949, Concorde protoype in 1969. Nuclear power was meant to usher in an era of cheap, abundant, clean energy, and science had a pretty positive rep.
I've no doubt the effects of oil crisis and following recession put paid to an awful lot of NASA plans. As they'd proved they could do it, and did so first, I expect politicians saw less point in keep going back.
The arrival of market forces for everything with Reagan and Thatcher will have further limited, seeing plans for space stations and bases shelved and building small probes instead. This was the era of the artists impressions. Of things we'd never see.
Since then it's more about balance sheets and budgets if you want a large project. Military excepted.