Analysis: Impact of the space program

Arecent political cartoon depicted the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo zooming into outer space leaving the Space Shuttle way behind. The Virgin Galactic pilot yells back: "So much for that socialist experiment!" There are of course many things wrong with this brash boast. All private spaceships are suborbital and currently are not capable of deep space travel. Former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn is skeptical of those companies who claim that they will launch in 3 years. His estimate is 5-10 years.

The private craft are dwarfs in comparison to the Shuttle. SpaceShipTwo is 60 feet long, 7.5 feet in diameter, and weighs 10.7 tons. The Shuttle is 184 feet long, 28.5 feet in diameter, and weighs 2,030 tons. The cartoonist gives the impression that SpaceShipTwo has broken free from Earth on its own power, but he neglected to draw in WhiteKnightTwo, which will launch the craft from an altitude of 50,000 feet.

NASA has signed a contract with two space cargo companies to supply the International Space Station, but the price per pound is the same as it was for the Space Shuttle or the Russian Soyuz. The Russians will now charge us $63 million to take each astronaut to the Space Station , and a Boeing spokesman admitted that they will not be able to beat that price with their own future vehicle.

Far too many people misuse the word "socialism" for any government program. If this is actually what the cartoonist means, then the American space program (returning $8 for every $1 spent) has been--along with the interstate highway system, public universities, and the Internet--a great "socialist" achievement.

Other estimates of return on NASA investment range from $3 to $14 for every federal dollar appropriated. An independent study done by the Midwest Research Institute concluded that the ratio was 7.5 to 1 from 1958 to 1987. Rockwell International has calculated that for every Space Shuttle employee 2.8 jobs were created in the larger economy.

Without the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi there would be, according to 2006 figures, 19,500 fewer jobs in the state, $811.4 million less in personal income, $324.6 million less in retail sales, and $87.6 million less in tax revenues.

In 2008 the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville returned $1 billion to the state of Alabama and a total of $2.6 billion to the nation's economy. The state's universities received $22 million in research grants with a total $111 million of Marshall funds going to other universities across the country. The Saturn V rocket was manufactured at this NASA center.

In 2006 the budget for the Kennedy Space Center was $1.68 billion and the economic impact on Florida's economy was $3.6 billion, creating 34,000 external jobs and generating $260 million in local, state and federal taxes. The 13,630 Space Center employees earned on average $72,200 per year, twice the amount of workers in surrounding Brevard County.

Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi , Alabama and Florida would have far less robust economies without NASA. After the building of NASA's Michoud Assembly Building, the city of New Orleans went from years of near recession

to one of the fastest growing urban economies in the nation. The high-paying jobs and expanded tax base have had a huge impact on improved social services and education at all levels in these states.

Private aerospace companies would not be where they are today without the federal government. They rely on NASA patents (1,000 to date) and licenses (all NASA patent revenue returns directly to the U.S. Treasury). When private space executives were asked what their primary inspiration was, 80 percent answered that it was the U.S. government putting men on the moon.

Thanks to the space program , we now enjoy the benefits of at least 1,650 "spinoffs" from NASA research adapted by university professors and private industry. Here is a short list: communication satellites , robotic surgical arms, Teflon-coated fiberglass, liquid-cooled garments, lightweight breathing systems for firefighters, Global Differential GPS, non-surgical cataract therapies, a new FDA food safety system, much improved weather forecasting from satellites and other technological innovations, new high strength aluminum alloys, memory foam, freeze dried food, light-emitting diodes, infrared ear thermometers , improved artificial limbs, aircraft de-icing systems , improved radial tires, new fire resistant materials, a ballistic parachute system that has saved 200 lives during small plane malfunctions, improved water purification, heart pumps, and thousands of widely used software programs.

In 2008 USA Today published the "Top Scientific Breakthroughs in the Past 25 Years" and eight came directly from NASA and nine from NASA dependent industries. As former NASA administrator Michael Griffin said: "We don't just create new jobs, we create entirely new markets and possibilities for economic growth that didn't previously exist. This is the emerging space economy, an economy that is transforming our lives here on Earth in ways that are not yet fully understood or appreciated."

President Obama has been criticized for cutting NASA's budget, but what if the Bush administration had not slashed taxes with little job creation, launched two unnecessary wars, and ignored one million cases of financial fraud? There would be room in the budget for NASA to properly support the spirit of exploration and the immense technological spinoffs that have come from it.

A more accurate and inspiring political cartoon on the end of the Space Shuttle was drawn by Jeff Parker for Florida Today. A father and his young daughter are looking up at the night sky dominated by a Shuttle Constellation formed by 24 bright stars. He states: "You're right, honey. We'll have to aim high to match the success of the Space Shuttle Program." China and India are also reaching for the heavens, so we'd better not fall behind in this essential area of human endeavor. Fewer and fewer American students are majoring in science, engineering and computer technology, and a well funded NASA could offer both inspiration and scholarship support for the next generation of astronauts and aerospace scientists.

Some have said that human space travel is like the building Egypt's pyramids: lots of unnecessary cost and risk for a very flashy but empty result. But there is far more to human space travel than empty shuttles and rocket shells. Considering the way that we are treating the planet, it is quite possible that living on other worlds will be absolutely necessary for our species' survival.

Last month I was visiting my Indian graduate student in Houston and we visited the Johnson Space Center. The Thais have their 152-foot-long , 52-foot-high dying Buddha, but I was just as impressed with the 363-foot-long Saturn V rocket lying on its side in a huge hangar at the Johnson Space Center. I've never been so proud of my nation's achievements.

"Without the skill and expertise that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity. America must decide if it wishes to remain a leader in space."

--Astronauts Neil Armstrong, James Lovell and Eugene Cernan "Once NASA blazes the trail, creates the technology and it's available for private companies to take advantage of, this is the time for the private firms to take over."

--NASA's Cargo Chief Alan Lindenmoyer