Lots, but that is one of the points in cutting the program to return to the moon. Those inventions and advancements have already been made and going to the moon essentially just repeats them.

That's attributing to this spending a huge efficiency in creating employment that would be amazing. However, overall the NASA budget is being increased and with more cheaper programs I would expect that science and engineer employment likely would increase. Though specific jobs that have been strategically distributed throughout congressional districts may be at risk.

Again, the NASA budget request is an increase. And a refocus towards hard science (manned space flight may be cool, but it accomplishes very little actual science).


Interestingly, Senator Richard Shelby seems to have the opposite reaction to you. You feel this is a move away from inspiration to boring pragmatism. He sees it in the other direction, an abandonment of science in favor of inspiration:

I'd be curious to know what hard science he things putting humans into low earth orbit has uniquely accomplished over the last 30 years. I suspect it is really the hard science of constructing booster rockets in his state.

If you want government to heavily fund private development in outer space, it's clear what you have to build.

A prison.

A better one than that one.

Plus the prison guards would squawk.

Maybe they want a cracker.

Would any of out Republican friends like to comment on Senator Shelby's blanket hold?

Portable Cordless Vacuums

and many others

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spin-off

More Orly Taitz stupidity :)

Still waiting for some hard science. I in no way question the engineering achievements that have spun off from NASA in recent decades through the manned-spaceflight programs. Though most of them I'd question whether they're development was uniquely dependent on manned spaceflight or if that just provided one of many possible development platforms.

And I'm sure plenty of hard science has been done but most of does not actually requires humans to be present. It is always a challenge for NASA to find actual scientific-type things for them to do. That's why now that we've pretty much finished the ISS they need to either now redo it towards more scientific goals or just let the program expire, it has no inherent purpose other than PR.

But still, I'm all in favor of manned spaceflight in private hands, and manned-spaceflight by the government if they can show an actual strong benefit beyond PR. But since they haven't accomplished that after 50 years of having a space program I doubt they'll come up with something soon.

I have a theory the moon landing was filmed in a TV studio, on the moon!