(Hobbs aka McDaniel) wrote in
om:

Since a major point of the shuttle was to construct a
space station why didn't construction start with like the
third or fourth shuttle launch in the 1980s?

Because there was no station program approved.

Why didn't
more people question the absence of any serious station
plan then?

NASA had serious station plans accompanying the original space shuttle
proposals in 1969-72, but they were cancelled due to cost. NASA waited
until after shuttle development was complete (the end of flight test in
1982) before seriously bringing up the idea again. It took a couple of
years to convince the Reagan administration; he formally proposed the space
station program in 1984.

I recall seeing lots of newspaper articles
in the late 1970s depicting how the fancy new space
station might look and there was a lot of talk about
that sort of thing

All speculative.

but it all faded away sometime BEFORE
the first shuttle launch replaced with an emphasis on
flying habit modules and labs in the shuttle cargo bay.

Because that's all NASA could do, in the absence of a real station program.

Or am I remembering wrong?

You're remembering selectively. The parts you remember are correct, but
there's more to the story.


--
JRF

Reply-to address spam-proofed - to reply by E-mail,
check "Organization" (I am not assimilated) and
think one step ahead of IBM.