NASA Funding Slow, Not Steady, After Space Race

Abstract

After reading d. Kennedy's editorial “Sputnik nostalgia” (5 October, p. [17][1]), I find myself in a state I did not expect—one of disappointment. Kennedy writes about the positive effects the launch of Sputnik had on education and the nation's educational community. These improvements resulted largely from an increase in federal sponsorship that came as part of the backlash from Sputnik. Yet, there lies within this seemingly fine outcome an issue that needs to be addressed. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was formed along with a dramatic increase in federal funding for science and science education in response to the former Soviet Union's incredible achievement ([1][2]). When Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon, the government's interest in science dropped almost immediately. Because of the sudden lack of funding, the Apollo program was discontinued just 6 years after Apollo 11 landed in the Sea of Tranquility, in order to save funds for the shuttle and Skylab programs ([2][3]). Lately, NASA has received additional funding to attempt a second series of missions to the moon as part of the Constellation Program ([3][4]), but the long-awaited increase is the bittersweet result of an imaginary space race ([4][5]). It seems that only when faced with the threat of looking stupid or coming in second place does our government open its wallet to science ([1][2], [4][5]). 1. 1.[↵][6] 1. J. F. Kennedy ,Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs, Washington, DC, 25 May 1961. 2. 2.[↵][7] 1. R. W. Orloff , Apollo by the Numbers (NASA History Division, Washington, DC, 2000). 3. 3.[↵][8] 1. W. Gerstenmaier ,paper presented before the Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related Sciences, Washington, DC, 28 March 2007. 4. 4.[↵][9] 1. R. Block ,“NASA points to foreign competition to spark support,” Orlando Sentinel 23 October 2007. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1150389 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #ref-3 [5]: #ref-4 [6]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1. in text [7]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2. in text [8]: #xref-ref-3-1 View reference 3. in text [9]: #xref-ref-4-1 View reference 4. in text