He is right that the space program is in trouble and that the United States supports such undertakings poorly. Few would argue that the space program is healthy. Kay succinctly records the catalog of adversity that has befallen NASA since the halcyon days of Apollo.
Programs come in late and over cost.
Other countries take over leadership in areas the United States once dominated, such as commercial satellite launching. Like the shuttle before it, the nascent space station is redesigned into irrelevance. Presidents since Kennedy have failed to provide leadership. Congress micromanages or underfunds the space program. Vision is lacking.