Brits v. Yanks: Shuttle Edition

Okay, so BBC World News just came on our local PBS station, and it started with footage of the space shuttle launch. My husband has his degree in aero engineering, so, of course, we thought the footage was very cool. But then, a reporter started voicing over the footage with an interview with an American professor (I don't remember his affiliation), and the professor proceeded to talk about how the shuttle and the space station are a waste of money, and they haven't taught us anything, blah, blah, blah.

Now, I know that a lot of people feel this way, but come on. When we're watching the launch? Really, that's the person you interview? It reminded me of a fellow American friend who was in the UK (Sheffield, I believe) for the Challenger disaster. He was watching the launch in a bar, and he said that when the Challenger exploded, the Brits in the bar laughed. He was very pissed off.

Anyway, do the Brits have a "thing" about the space shuttle? Anybody know?

Also, I have told my husband that the BBC World News that we get here on PBS each evening at 5:00pm seems very different from the BBC News that I see when I'm in the UK. The version I see in the UK seems much more tabloid-ish and kind of cheesy. The one we see here in the evenings has different hosts and seems to focus on international politics. It's sophisticated and informative. However, I think tonight's late-night version is the kind I usually see in the UK. The lead stories? The shuttle (properly disparaged), the girl found in the rapist's backyard in California, and Michael Jackson's death. Of course much of our news led with the same stories, I'm sure (esp. CNN, MSNBC, etc.), but I just think it's interesting that there seems to be more that one "BBC World News." Am I wrong about this?

P.S. I made banana pudding pie yesterday. The husband loves it. The kids only want the nilla wafers.