Interest in Shuttle launches was actually greater during the 2000's than in the 80's and 90's because of the internet and HD multi camera views of launches. And people could watch WHEN they could. Just because the big 3 stations didn't break news coverage there was/is a HUGE following of all things rockets numbering in the millions. Yes I'm a biased rocket nerd but for all of the complaining about lack of coverage the number of people watching this one come in online was over 10 million, and that's on all the sites I go to both US and Internationally. That's not a small number.
And like it or not, humans in space next step is the moon and a moon base. The station isn't coming down because nobody cares, its coming down because its nearly 30 years old and like anything manmade it's breaking down. You can't just "change the oil" on something as big and complicated as the station when it needs it. It's in Low Earth Orbit which is about the most hostile and dangerous part of "space" there is. The fact that it will have been up there 10 years past its estimated life span is a testament to the interest of keeping it going. But a moon base is the next inevitable step. Low Earth Orbit is far to dangerous for humans, 100 times more dangerous than a moon base. A permanent moon base is the logical next step. And trust me, theres a HUGE amount of interest in it. Its just not going to interrupt TV programs. Its in social communities on the web devoted to it. And if you took a couple hours and looked you'd be astounded. The numbers are in the millions, 10's of millions.
Respectfully
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