[ianso]

This is such a stupid framing to the article. The sixth paragraph states clearly why it was built and it has nothing to do with NASA drifting - it was being pulled:

"But, at first, cautious NASA bureaucrats didn’t want to stop the construction on their own authority. And then Congress — at the urging of a senator from Mississippi — swooped in and ordered the agency to finish the tower, no matter what."

Why condemn NASA for cronyism and Congressional stupidity?