History's Greatest Thought Experiment
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The idea that the best way to beat the Soviets wasn’t with the military but by accomplishing a miracle was far from obvious. In fact, it was brilliant.
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Fully Funding NASA Will Cost You 10 Bucks
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The amount NASA needs is comparable to someone with an income of $60,000 spending $10 annually on space.
Read MoreFrederick Jackson Turner, Spaceman
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In 1893, the historian Frederick Jackson Turner wrote an influential paper declaring that American-style democracy, a radical reinvention of the classically inspired republic envisioned by the Founding Fathers, had been created by the expanding frontier. Turner could not realize that, ten years after he wrote his thesis, the Wright brothers would enter a new frontier of an entirely different dimension: the air.
Read MoreWhat Freedom Meant to Our Ancestors
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Today, when we talk about America as a land of freedom, we tend to think about freedom (or the lack of it) from taxes and regulation, or we celebrate our Bill of Rights. The early settlers in America—those who came voluntarily—sought freedom of a more literal nature.
Read MoreSpace Fact #19: NASA's Spend Is Down 25%
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Over the previous three decades, our nation’s leaders have reduced NASA’s buying power by 25%.
Read MoreThe New World Was an Escape Hatch
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America offered more than a place to explore. France, Germany, and England lost thousands of civilians to terrorism by religious zealots. On top of that, overpopulation in some areas, degradation of farmland in others, and deep economic divisions between rich and poor caused misery, disease, and mass starvation. Europe needed an escape hatch.
Read MoreSpace Fact #18: When NASA Was Born, Top Earners Paid 90% in Taxes
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When Eisenhower created NASA, the highest earners in America were paying a top marginal tax rate of more than 90%; it is now just over 39%.
Read MoreWe're Educating Everyone But Ourselves
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Non-Americans earn 57% of engineering doctoral degrees, 53% of computer and information sciences doctoral degrees, 50% of mathematics and statistics doctoral degrees, 49% of engineering-tech and engineering-related doctoral degrees, and 40% of doctorates in physical sciences and science technologies.
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