Articles

Roughly a quarter of Americans believe that NASA’s budget should be decreased. This comes as no surprise since, according to polls, most Americans believe that 20% of the federal budget goes to NASA. However, the fact is only 0.48% of the federal budget goes toward NASA. All of this pays for not only the rockets but also the facilities, contracts, and paychecks of workers.

While space exploration may seem uncalculated amidst all the explosions and mess-ups, in reality, the balance of velocity and gravity is crucial to a successful mission. Spacecraft magically go up and never come down for days, weeks, months, or even years. How does this happen? Why do some spacecraft go to space longer than others?

The United States space program has never been more motivated than after Apollo 11. Riding off the momentum, the then president, Richard Nixon, established a Space Task Group report to plot a course for where the American space program would head in the next few decades.