Pros And Cons Of Space Travel

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is perhaps the most well known space agency in the world. Since its formation in 19581, it has pioneered in space science, yet is also renowned for its large budget. NASA has the highest budget of any space agency, $18.6 billion2 in 2015, the equivalent of every American paying $54 towards the agency3, meaning 0.14% of total GDP is spent on NASA3 . This money is spent on the ISS, sending astronauts, probes and satellites into space, astrophysics and planetary science research, maintaining and developing NASA’s space telescopes (the Wide Field Infrared Survey telescope searching for dark energy and exoplanets, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope) and developing spacecraft2. Space exploration is an incredibly expensive process with one shuttle launch costing $450 million4 however NASA’s colossal budget benefits the USA greatly; the agency employs 18,000 people5 as astronauts, engineers, scientists and teachers and G. Scott Hubbard, former director of the NASA Ames Research Center estimates that every dollar spent on NASA returns $8 to the economy6.While this figure is an estimate, it demonstrates NASA’s worth and capacity for money making. NASA works on pioneering research and as its patents and licenses return to the US treasury, it

To conclude my argument I can definitely say that space exploration is worth the cost. It generates wealth for America and can broaden the knowledge of many people across the country. As Kennedy said in his speech, “...we shall climb this wall with safety and speed and we shall explore the wonders on the other side.” With all the progress that has been made, humans can decide that space is indeed a

Stars, mankind has been staring up at them for thousands of years. Over those many years dreams and mythology have been created to explain those lights in the heavens. Mankind grew sick of just staring, and decided to find ways to discover more about it. Eventually over hundreds of years mankind has, been able to send men to the moon, launch satellites into space, and even send rovers to Mars. These feats of science would have been unimaginable hundreds of years ago, and to others that heard of it was only science fiction. With all these accomplishments, it seems humanity has a bright future of further discovery, but a recent development has surfaced regarding Space Exploration. That debate regards the future of space Exploration, and whether or not It should be continued through NASA or private companies. Various opinions have come from all over the scientific and astronomy concerned world. Others side that NASA should continue its lead into the future, because of its contributions to discovery and the scientific world. Others blame that NASA’s lack of progress in previous projects has lead to a disbelief of Nasa, and a turn to Private industries due to their smaller budgets and recent success. Even some see a balanced future of NASA working with private companies, and even healthy competition that will allow a faster progress into the future. Mankind has always had the desire to reach the unreachable, and it cannot go forward

In the past 50 years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has sent out many planned space exploration missions which have lead to numerous advantages in society and culture. NASA’s technologies benefit American lives with the innumerable important breakthroughs by creating new markets that have spurred the economy and changed countless lives in many ways. NASA is a federal agency and receives its fundings from the annual federal budget passed by the United States Congress. However, there are conflicting opinions that consider whether or not funding for NASA is a waste of government spending.

Funding manned spaceflight is a great way to advance technology, not just for NASA but us too. Around 2,000 inventions we use today were created by NASA. These inventions are known as space spinoffs. Things you use every day may not have been invented if it wasn’t for space travel. For example, something you probably carry around with you every day, and middle schoolers like us especially love, is the smart phone. Think of your life without a phone. Our communication would be completely different. Another example is memory foam. Memory foam was created by NASA to absorb impact inside spacecrafts, and spacesuits. Today memory foam is in many of our mattresses, pillows, and shoes. NASA also developed scratch resistant glasses that are very cheap, and many people have it in their glasses. More examples of spin-offs are baby food, braces, and thermometers. Without funding NASA, we wouldn't have thousands of inventions that we use on a daily

Although it is true that there is no concrete outcome “for using taxpayer money” to fund space programs, it does not mean in any way that the money is not being used to help our society grow (Source H). The bulk of the money funded to space exploration goes towards the incomes of thousands of skilled employees who create such successful space missions. It can be assumed that less than one percent is being used from the federal dollar on manned space programs, as space exploration falls under the “All others” category which spends six percent of every federal tax dollar (Source C). Space exploration programs have the potential to discover new technologies and expand on what we have here on Earth, but in order to succeed, there needs to be slight altercations with how each federal tax dollar is spent. National defense gets nineteen percent of each federal tax dollar – a proportion that is too extraordinary considering the United States has access to a nuclear arsenal which is far less expensive and just as effective as maintaining conventional forces (Source C). The United States is pretty much the military for half the world, so instead of collecting all the money from our tax payers here in America, we should collect from other counties that we protect as

For centuries, people have been gazing at the night sky, and asking the same question; what is out there? While we may never get a concise answer, we are learning more and more information everyday thanks to public organizations like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA is the go to organization when talking about space research, however there are numerous other groups who focus on the same thing that NASA does. There are also private entities that are consistently making breakthrough discoveries as well, with the most widely known one being SpaceX. Since there are so many organizations doing exactly what NASA does, is NASA worth our tax dollars? In order to set up a solid foundation to answer this question, we

As President Eisenhower once stated, “Every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed” (qtd in DeGroot). According to Jerry DeGroot, a lecturer in the Department of Modern History at the University of St. Andrews and author of the widely acclaimed biography “Douglas Haig”, every year, the United States federal government funds the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with over $17 billion. When Keith Yost, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was asked about government funding on NASA, he replied, “NASA is not only spending money, but also the sweat of our laborers, the genius of our scientists, and the hopes of our children.” As a powerhouse in the work industry, NASA is taking away from the remainder of the country. Before venturing off into space, the US needs to realize the importance of tackling the issues that lie before the citizens here on Earth. As Richard Truly, a retired Vice Admiral in the United States Navy, stated in agreement, “...I didn’t go to NASA for the United States to make international commitments that wouldn’t keep, to design space vehicles that will never be built (or will be then fail), or to make promises to the American people that will never be kept.” It would be in the best interest for the citizens of the United States federal government to cut NASA funding.

NASA has widespread economic benefits in the economy that far outweigh the amount of money spent on NASA. It is estimated for every $1 spent by NASA, this adds $10 to the United States economy. NASA creates many new transformative effects on the entire economy. Much of the economy is dependent on the internet, and the communication of information through satellites. These products can be used by any company to jumpstart their growth and in turn the economy’s growth. A study on 15 companies that were awarded $64 million in contracts by NASA were found to have benefits that totaled over $1.5 billion and the contracts stimulated the companies to spend a total of $200 million on additional R&D (Hertzfeld). Skeptics say that if the government spent this money directly on the economy by stimulating companies then the economy would grow faster and there would be a greater amount of money going into the economy in the first place. But the part that these skeptics forget is that NASA creates many jobs and invents many new technologies that have redefined the international economies.

NASA funding is a huge issue because NASA controls most of our space travel and a large amount of our satellites. This can help us and harm us at the same time. If NASA was funded by private parties then it could allow the private party to do whatever they want with NASA and the party can pull out of the deal with NASA

Space exploration has exploded in the past 56 years. From the first successful satellite mission in 1961, to the first mission space walk in 1969 a to the first time lettuce was grown and eaten in space in 2015. These are just the beginning steps towards potential space exploration and advancing technology to the maximum.

Citing cases such as SpaceX, which built a rocket named the dragon 320x cheaper than NASA’s spaceship the Orion, many opponents to governmental space exploration heavily recommend NASA to privatize many of its sectors. However, contrary to popular belief, NASA is not an entirely government run corporation and in essence has already inherently privatized almost all of its sectors which should be privatized to cut down costs. For instance, NASA Administrator Chris Scolese told a congressional subcommittee back in 2009 that the agency will give $150 million in stimulus-package money to private companies that design, build and service their own rockets. Furthermore, NASA has picked three private companies to act as its International Space Station “delivery service” through the next eight years. The contractors of SpaceX, Orbital ATK, and Sierra Nevada Corporation will transport supplies up to the International Space Station and back to NASA starting in late 2019. Most importantly, President Obama announced in his Space Plan that his goal was to restructure NASA to focus on space research and development while reassigning the other tasks of NASA to private corporations. Thus, the claim that NASA needs to privatize falls hollow because NASA is already privatizing the sectors which should be privatized. The majority of sectors that NASA funds in the status quo lies in

They claim they need every penny they can get in these rough times. The economy is doing poorly, and government money is better spent elsewhere, and apparently they feel that government money would be better spent outside of programs like NASA. However, there are many sources that directly counter this opinion, claiming that NASA is an investment to stimulate the economy, and not just money being “shot into space”. The cost of NASA, as is true of almost any government agency, is worth it, because it can benefit the economy directly through the purchase of goods and creation of jobs, and indirectly by inspiring people in industries that spawn from invented technologies or materials. Many companies have gone on to be very successful private businesses after working with materials invented by NASA. The Tempur-Pedic mattress company got its start when NASA scientists wanted to provide comfortable seating for pilots that needed to remain in one position for a long time. There are many cases like these in which niches have been created for companies due to progress made at

The world today revolves around technology and is in an ever upward spiraling path of new advancements. This path is now at what some people call the “final frontier”, or the space age. The discoveries being made on this front are overwhelming in comparison to the technology that the world had only twenty years ago. Space exploration was once left up to the governments, as they battled to be the first country in space, but with national debts raising and the cuts made in response, space exploration is beginning to become new grounds for private business owners. Private companies are already beginning to send off rockets at a fraction of the cost that government does, but if more money was put into the government space program, then they

American citizens are not the only ones who will benefit from privatized space programs. The United States government would save tremendous amounts of money as well. Funding cuts have already been placed on NASA, limiting its capabilities for advancing. For instance, American astronauts cannot even reach their space stations alone; they require the assistance of the Russian space program. This is not the iconic space program that the United States deserves. If space travel were to become more prevalent through privately owned companies, NASA would not have to pay other countries to accomplish something as simple as reaching Earth’s orbit. With proper regulations in place, astronauts working for NASA would be able to travel to and from the ISS and other stations within their country. Though NASA can never be replaced, private companies would be capable of greater projects. With more being accomplished without government assistance, cuts could effectively be made without limiting the American success.