The Space Program. Is it Worth the Cost?
Chris Hathaway
Ashford University
ENG122
Dr. Stacie Hankinson
04/07/2014
The Space Program. Is it Worth the Cost?
The worth of a space program has been under question for many years. Some ask why we spend the money on exploring space when we have so many problems that need solved here on earth or in our own country. The space program has been responsible for a great number of advances in science and technology. The advances in the technology created to use for space exploration has been transfer innovations and methods into areas such as industry and medicine. Space exploration is worth the economic investment and time for gaining such advancements in technology that enhance our quality of life.
The space program started in 1958 as result of an act of congress. With Russia having scored first by sending the first satellite into space, Sputnik, the USA had to make a comeback. Lambright states “the atmosphere was one of crisis. It was reaction, not deliberate, long-range planning, that gave rise to NASA. The Soviet Union, America’s adversary in the protracted Cold War, had scored a historic propaganda victory with the launching of the first artificial satellite in space in 1957” (Lambright, 2010, p. 152). The USA could not just sit around and do nothing about this. NASA was born and with it a great deal of research, engineering, and science would need to follow. Many benefits from the advanced research, engineering, and sciences that were needed to create a successful space program have been transferred into other technology in all kinds of different fields.
The creation of the space program led to the use of satellites which have benefited mankind in many different ways for many years. One such benefit is the advanced weather forecasting we have today “Due to weather satellites and numerical weather prediction, the 24-hour forecasts of today are as accurate as the 12-hour forecasts...