billions and billions of dollars and all we got was this lousy tang

by E.D. Kain on July 21, 2009

Dan Riehl points us to some of the neat technologies developed during the Apollo era.  They are neat, too, but I have to say – given the price-tag of the space program – you’d think we’d have come up with better stuff than scratch-resistant glasses and memory foam.  In other words, the fact that these technologies were developed during the massively expensive space program is incidental – I’m sure wireless headsets would have been invented regardless.

Tagged as: science, space program, technology

E.D. Kain is a blogger and freelance writer. Currently he serves as Editor-in-Chief of The League of Ordinary Gentlemen and writes a tech blog at Forbes. Visit his politics blog here. He can be found occasionally composing 140 character cultural analysis on Twitter. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The National Review, The Washington Examiner, and the now-defunct True/Slant. You can also contact him via email.

{ 9 comments }

1 greginak July 21, 2009 at 9:56 am

While not strictly related to the Apollo program, the space program has been a phenomenally successful government program. Leaving aside Tang, there have many technologies that have led to immense wealth creation, scientific advances and modern conveniences. I am still waiting for my phaser and tricorder.

2 E.D. Kain July 21, 2009 at 9:58 am

The question though is whether those technologies would have been developed anyways…through private innovation rather than on the taxpayer’s dime.

3 Kyle July 22, 2009 at 11:59 am

Technologies…sure. But going to the moon and planting a giant Pepsi symbol on it lacks the panache of an American flag, doesn’t it?

4 E.D. Kain July 21, 2009 at 9:59 am

I’m still waiting for my phaser, too. And my jetpack.

5 greginak July 21, 2009 at 10:46 am

This may be one of those things that is indicative of deeper beliefs about government, but I find it much more inspiring and beautiful because it was a national project, not just a private company. Private business may have gone into space but surely not anywhere near when We went and with likely far less emphasis on science.

6 E.D. Kain July 21, 2009 at 11:01 am

That’s a good point. And maybe there was cause for a massive space race to unify the nation. It is also possible that the money could have been better spent on other programs – but I do understand that space exploration may also have its long-term benefits. I’m skeptical, though.

7 greginak July 21, 2009 at 11:53 am

When there is a slinky green seductress from Alpha Centuri dancing around in front of you, you’ll be just fine with it.

8 Dan Miller July 21, 2009 at 11:49 am

The key distinction is between manned and unmanned flight, IMHO. Unmanned is unquestionably worth it (I doubt GPS would have gotten off the ground as quickly without govt, plus the benefits to science); but manned space exploration doesn’t make sense until you’ve got a space elevator or some other way of getting to orbit on the cheap.

9 Kyle July 22, 2009 at 12:28 pm

I think Apollo is nothing short of mankind’s greatest peacetime scientific achievement.

Sure we’ve made great strides in technological strides in agriculture, transportation, and medicine and I don’t mean to belittle the invention – however accidental – of penicillin, or the agricultural revolution but there’s something transcendent about Apollo.

Think about it, in 1960, the modern automobile was about 70 years old. The plane even younger and cabin pressurization allowing flight over 3,000 m, was less than thirty years old. By the end of that decade we had travelled 828,743 nautical miles to place two men on the moon in time for the steam locomotive’s 175th anniversary.

Maybe I would think differently if I weren’t American, but to look up at the moon, recognize that a human being has stepped foot on it, and that such a cooperative, peacetime endeavour is possible is enormously inspirational. It doesn’t just speak to the space race or American know how, it speaks to the possibilities of mankind. There’s something in that worth the billion dollar price tag, that’s worth more than the convenience of the internet or the alacrity of processing provided by microprocessors.

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