> the (false) perception that the U.S. is the #1 among world nations The #1 what? I wouldn't blame you for using some unkind phrases here, and I suspect you wa

> the (false) perception that the U.S. is the #1 among world nations The #1 what? I wouldn't blame you for using some unkind phrases here, and I suspect you want to! But it's certainly not false that the U.S. does much more space exploration than any other nation, spends a lot more on it, achieves more in space, etc. None of that invalidates the work of other nations, and spaceflight and the production of scientific data seems like a very healthy form of competition (and cooperation!) between nations. If the U.S. isn't #1, I am curious how you are keeping score. Herschel didn't just get less English-language press than American made space telescopes. It was less prominent in the public consciousness than short, much less expensive Japanese missions like Hayabusa and Hayabusa2. I doubt any of this is about American exceptionalism.