The Benefits Of NASA Technology

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In addition to the NASA’s advancement of technology and knowledge, the agency has other, less apparent benefits. The major benefit is economic. Specifically, the NASA technology has been applied in civilian life so well and in so many different ways that the modern economy could not exist without it. NASA innovations have spawned/benefitted numerous companies including Tempur-Pedic, Quantum Devices Inc., Goodyear Tire and Rubber, Thikol Propulsion, and just about any company that uses satellites (NASA). These companies and others inspired by/using NASA technology employ people, make money, create products, and pay taxes, all important economic functions. The tax part is important in countering the argument, made by some, that NASA is a waste
The United States gained this hegemony through its investment in sciences and cooperation with private industry. On its own the federal government, through science agencies such as NASA and the NSF, is responsible for much of our modern world and for much of what the future holds. Technology developed by NASA is being applied to private uses in numerous ways; from vacuum cleaners to mattresses to firefighting NASA technology has made us the nation we are and continues to shape the world of tomorrow (NASA). The Bayh – Dole Act has allowed government sponsored university research to be patented and licensed, allowing university researchers to spread their innovations nationwide (Thursby). Even the failed America COMPETES Acts had the benefit of developing a federal prize system that harnesses American ingenuity to advance the cause of science (Furman). In the United States science has and will always be a part of our culture. The founding fathers even went as far as to explicitly give Congress the authority, “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.” The impact of scientific research and discoveries is an inescapable global force – it affects our past, present, and future in virtually every way imaginable and, with no adverse effects on the county (or the world for that matter), why shouldn’t the government stay ahead of the

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