And before that, from 1988 to 1993, it was called Freedom. A bit like changing the name of a business when it goes into the red. So NASA came up with a series of redesigns, but the basic structure remained the same. To put the staggering size of this money into perspective, the US contribution on its own would pay for five Channel tunnels or at least twice France's TGV train network. Even Chabrow's estimate was an understatement.
Top scientists have a pretty good idea of what can be accomplished on manned space stations.
NASA has had a previous space station, Skylab, which was occupied for a total of 171 days in 1973-74. Russia, under the Soviet Union, has had seven space stations operating more or less continuously since 1971. The exploration by man in space has not uncovered anything. We have not made a single big discovery. Little things, but nothing really spectacular.