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In Reply to: Re: Let's all build a rocket & go to Mars posted by AG on January 22, 2004 at 04:41:12:
Actually, Teflon is not a product of the space program. That's an urban legend. There are, however, scads of technological breakthroughs that were spawned from the efforts of exploring space. Our personal computers, weather satellites, telecommunications, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, micro circuits and a host of other inventions are direct spin-offs of the space program. Necessity is the mother of invention, and the desire or need to go to the moon created fertile ground for the development of products that benefit all people.
When you consider what a small percentage the space program has in the overall budget, the pay-offs are truly significant. Why not cut out some of the pork from other areas, and invest it in the space program? For example: The tax-payers are giving farm subsidies to millionaire hobby farmers such as Ted Turner and Sam Donaldson. I don't think any wealthy corporate farms or millionaires should get one penny in farm subsidies. That money should only go to struggling family-owned farms.
The space program is also a big job creator. Those highly-paid space workers have adequate health coverage. Those people aren't putting a burden on the health care system, because they are insured. Cutting back on such a job-producing segment of federal spending would be counter productive.
