The Practical Values of Space Exploration | Page 9

Philadelphia, 1958, p. 16.
[15] Saenger, Dr. Eugen, New Scientist, Sept. 10, 1959, p. 383.
[16] Boushey, Brig. Gen. H. A., USAF, Hearings before the House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration, Apr. 23, 1958.
[17] Pierce, Dr. J. R., "The Dream World of Space," Industrial Research, December 1959, p. 58.
[18] 5 supra.
[19] Allen, George V, testimony before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, Jan. 22, 1960.
[20] Editorial in the Washington Evening Star, Apr. 4, 1960.
[21] Remarks of Hon. Aubrey Jones, Minister of Supply, to the International Astronautical Federation, London, Sept. 1, 1959.
[22] Associated Press dispatch, dateline Rangoon, Feb. 18, 1960.
[23] "Space, Missiles, and the Nation," report of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, May 18, 1960, p. 53.
[24] The New Scientist, Mar. 3, 1960, p. 547.

III. THE ECONOMIC VALUES
We in the United States believe that we have the world's highest standard of living. Our current wealth, prosperity, consumer goods and gross national product are at a peak hitherto unreached by any country.
Nevertheless, economists who see the steady preponderant outflow of goods and capital from the United States and who study the rising rate of economic capability in other countries can find little room for complacence in the present status of things. They are also well aware of the Soviet Union's announced intent of beating the United States at its own game: economic expansion.
Military historians are likewise aware that even strong economies, when they become static, do not guarantee safety. On the contrary, they seem likely to induce a dangerous national apathy.
This syndrome is familiar in history. Carthage suffered from it. Carthage enjoyed enormous prosperity and was flourishing when she was destroyed by her Roman competitor. Much later, Rome had a gross national product without precedence. Her wealth and splendor were unsurpassed when the Vandals and Visigoths began their onslaughts. Neither Rome's great engineering skills, its architectural grandeur, its great laws, nor, in the last analysis, its gross national product, could prevail against the barbarians. Their GNP was negligible; nevertheless they ransacked the mighty Roman Empire.
The gross national product is no insurance of survival. It is not a sign of military strength, and indeed, it may not even be sufficient for the economic battle.[25]
Thus from the point of view of economic stimulus and continued commercial dynamism, space exploration should be--and is proving to be--a godsend.
U.S. EXPENDITURES ON SPACE
It is impossible to arrive at accurate figures which might help indicate the extent of this effort in dollars and cents. But we do know that the U.S. Government is presently putting about $3.5 billion annually into the research and development phases. How much more may be going into the purchase of completed space hardware is difficult to say; certainly it is a higher figure still. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in presenting its 10-year plan to Congress recently, indicated that this agency alone expects to average between $1.5 and $2 billion a year during the next decade.
The amount of effort going into space-related programs on the part of private industry, measured in dollars, again can only be roughly estimated. But it is a sizable figure and is known to be growing. It may amount to half the governmental research and development outlay.
These figures add up to a very important segment of the national economy, and the fact that they represent a highly active and progressive segment is particularly heartening to the economic experts of the Nation.
THE SPREAD OF ECONOMIC BENEFITS
One of the most useful characteristics of the space program is that its needs "spread across the entire industrial spectrum--electronics, metals, fuels, ceramics, machinery, plastics, instruments, textiles, thermals, cryogenics, and a thousand other areas."[26] The benefits from space exploration thus have a way of filtering into almost every area of the American economy, either directly or indirectly. "Perhaps the greatest economic treasure is the advanced technology required for more and more difficult space missions. This new technology is advancing at a meteoric rate. Its benefits are spreading throughout our whole industrial and economic system."[27]
A graphic example of the manner in which the technological and economic benefits from the space program can grow may be seen from the development of the X-15. This rocket craft, designed to "fly" beyond the Earth's atmosphere at altitudes up to 100 miles, is the product of 400 different firms and contractors.
Inasmuch as other nations, those which generally have lagged behind the United States in technical know-how, are now rapidly bringing their technology up to date--this windfall from our space program is especially opportune. It is providing the incentive to American industry to remain in the world's technological van. And it is emphasizing that economic leadership is a dynamic thing, that U.S. mass-production techniques which have enabled the Nation to compete so well in foreign markets are no longer, of themselves, sufficient guarantee of superior economic position.
While America's