Space scientist James Van Allen says there is no reason to have manned space flights when unmanned flights can accomplish the same purpose.
Van Allen says NASA spends two-thirds of its budget on manned space flights. He contends space shuttles bring back information that can be gathered more cheaply by unmanned satellites.Van Allen says he respects astronauts and those who run the space agency, but he believes astronaut-based research in space is "basically unfruitful."
In 1958, Van Allen discovered the presence of bands of radiation surrounding the planet. The belts are called the "Van Allen Radiation Belts."
Van Allen invented some of the instruments aboard the unmanned Pioneer 10 and 11 probes. He is professor emeritus of physics at the University of Iowa and has three research contracts from NASA.