Perhaps relevant is Maciej Cegłowski's 2005 piece on the uselessness of the Shuttle and the ISS.<p><pre><code> Taken on its own merits, the Shuttle gives the impression
of a vehicle designed to be launched repeatedly to
near-Earth orbit, tended by five to seven passengers with
little concern for their personal safety, and requiring
extravagant care and preparation before each flight, with
an almost fetishistic emphasis on reuse. Clearly this
primitive space plane must have been a sacred artifact,
used in religious rituals to deliver sacrifice to a sky
god.
</code></pre>
<a href="http://idlewords.com/2005/08/a_rocket_to_nowhere.htm" rel="nofollow">http://idlewords.com/2005/08/a_rocket_to_nowhere.htm</a>