Six Ways Investments in Space are Paying Technology Dividends on Earth

I'm not going to take a side in the issue. But here's one thing I do feel: Each of these mentioned technological advancements and the others which have come from the space program could have come at a much lower cost to the taxpayer through programs like contests.

Something like offering a $10 million prize for each desired technology would have done it far quicker and cheaper than getting the technology in a round-about way through developing myriad multi-billion dollar projects.

The other problem with NASA being the vehicle for passing technology to the public is that much of what is being learned with the high cost of these programs is experience-based. Laying off a lot of NASA engineers and technical experts who are now unable to find employment in any related field, much expertise (hard earned and expensive as it is) will be lost.

I love technology and space exploration and everything that NASA represents. But I am not naive enough to think that NASA has been a good deal for the taxpayer. With almost half a trillion dollars in costs (in today's dollars) over the past 25 years, I don't think most objective observers could claim that the practical technologies that have come from NASA could not have been developed by the government for far far less. What's more, had the government simply gone out and developed those technologies, and patented them, they could actually be making more money every year now from the royalty fees.

@marcoried

Fantastic.

NASA: 10 million goes to the first person to discover...

Engineers: Discover what?

NASA: How should we know... it hasn't been discovered yet.

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Sometimes the groundwork and knowledge needs to be in place for discoveries and new ideas to follow.

In my smart alec opinion anyways.

Thats a cool idea. That might be possible using that Innocentive program. Engineers should team up and work on projects that have been asked to be created from there.

The ISS looks like a wonderful technical flower in space; it is a silver and bright technology achievment!

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See life in all its beautiful colors, and
from different perspectives too!

Heavyhand has it right (and maybe there are more than a few smart alecs)!

Space provides a remarkable inducement towards development. So does war. I have two sons and so I am not too keen on that second scenario.

Marcoreid suggests contests to be more effective. I politely disagree. Contest purses do not cover sufficient development costs for anything that is a major leap. If large companies deign to engage in a contest, it isn't the purse that inspires but the fame if they nail it. And fame is a fickle number to tack to a balance sheet.

When you consider what it costs to put a first rate team of people together these days, Marcoreid's 10M prize is a little light on the incentive side.

And of course what the heck do you do for the runners up? How do you support people while they aim for the prize?

A lot of times a prize is almost a primal goad for an individual. Some of my best projects were those where it was said "...it can't be done." Prizes have a place, but some goals are so risky no prize is worth attempting them.

Then you need NASA.

@marcoreid

You're stupid if you think that NASA's job is R&D. The reason why NASA invented these things is to do their job, of advancing space exlporation. Space exloration is a huge investment into a culture of advancement that creats a robust ecnonmy; $500,000,000,000 (ajusted) over twenty-five years isn't that much when you look at like that, and even more so when the milatary burns through much more than that in a year. Also do you know what the the percentage of the U.S. buget NASA gets is? It's five precent; that's half a penny of each tax dollar. I myself would like to see NASA get more money because I think they are mirical workers, or like Dr. Neil Degrasse Tyson say, "NASA is a force of natrue like none other."

@kokofan50
Written out it would be one half of one percent or .5 percent. When NASA actually had almost five percent of the national budget we were going to the moon in the sixties. I agree with your other points.

@koko,

Wait... you're saying that NASA's job is not RESEARCH & Development? Are you serious or just trolling? Let's read a few sentences from NASA's own Strategic Plan, otherwise known as its Vision, Mission, and Goals:

"We will be at the forefront of exploration and science. We will develop and transfer to industry cutting-edge technologies in aeronautics and space to fulfill our national needs."

Let's see... forefront of science, develop and transfer technology to industry... yep, sounds like research to me! I mean come on Koko... didn't you even read the stated objectives of NASA before rushing out to call me stupid for thinking that their goal is research?

Oh, and what do they do with the stuff they develop... oh yeah, transfer it to industry. Yeah, that sounds pretty good, so we can all use it, right? Yeah, oh, and so the 1% of people connected politically can start companies that take care of selling it to us, so they can become rich because they uses taxpayer dollars to research something and then found a company with it.

Bigger government is about control and quietly stealing from the populace to enrich a few while maintaining that control. Just read history and that much is clear. And the more noble the goal of a government program appears, the more willing the people are to go along with it. Government tells us we have desires, aspirations, needs and problems, which it can solve for us. Then when it has our tacit approval, it robs us while looking like it is fulfilling those things for us. In the mean time, most all of us get poor while the very few get rich.

Quit being sheep. Wake up and see the real world.

I like science for science sake. We need to learn all we can. But, does it really matter if there is water on Mars, or if there is a planet in the orbit around some sun 50 light years from here. This fact will never impact my life or the life of any of my decadents. The only real benefit of exploring space is we will need to go there to continue our species.

@marcoreid

I don't think it was a rush to call you stupid because you can't seem to read. You weren't able to simply copy and past my username right.

"We will be at the forefront of exploration and science," is what NASA said, and that fits perfectly with what I said. Also, "We will develop and transfer to industry cutting-edge technologies in aeronautics and space to fulfill our national needs." sounds evermuch like how they would do the former; again, suporting me because I said, " The reason why NASA invented these things is to do their job, of advancing space exlporation." I also never said that they didn't do R&D, just that it was not the mission of NASA to solely do R&D. You on the other hand have strongly inplied that NASA's main and/or only is R&D.

When the day comes and they decide to give up on the old ISS, I think they should mount some kind of engine thrusters on this beast and send it into orbit around the Moon or Mars. Sure now it is big and not design to fly with the vibration of thrust, but we do not have to fly it there fast. If it took a several years to get it there, that would be fine too.

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Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.
Open your mind and see!

Reality check..at the current rate we are populating the earth we will need the resources of two planets for mankinds future. We need to focus on peacefully becoming a multi-planet society. The space program has been one of very few projects so many countries have work together peacefully...not only does it accomplish international cooperation and understanding in a very humble way...also every $1 invested in the space program has returned upwards of $22 in new technology applied to every day life...for the benefit and interest of all humankind, private property rights in space must be granted to ensure the proper, optimum, and unhundered use and utilization of the immense resources in space. Make a ripple in time.