Is the American Space Program Coming to an End?
The cold war was not good for much, but it was a great time to be in the space program of either the USA or USSR. The governments were racing to be the first in space in this way or that, which led to the funding needed to do things like walk on the moon and send probes around our solar system. The question is whether this golden period is now winding down. I’ll start off by mentioning that I am a science fiction fan and huge proponent of space exploration. If I had my druthers, we would already be vacationing on Mars! Alas, nobody is willing to hand me that checkbook, which is probably a good thing. The question these days is whether the space program as we know it is going to exist in another decade or two. We assume so when discussing the future, but a practical problem may bring that vision to an end. The problem is economics. As a nation, we are facing a huge national debt problem. The cost of Medicare, Social Security and just paying the interest on our national debt is estimated
