US Presidency
2021

It’s going to boost America’s innovative edge in markets where global leadership is up for grabs — markets like battery technology, biotechnology, computer chips, clean energy, the competition with China in particular. Critics say we shouldn’t spend this money. They ask, “What do we get out of it?” Well, they said the same thing when we first flew into space for the first time. They said the same thing. Well, pushing the frontiers led to big benefits back home. When NASA created Apollo’s digital flight control system — unheard of at the time — it led to technologies that help us today to drive our cars and fly our planes. When NASA invented ways to keep food safe for the astronauts, it led to programs that have been used to — for decades to keep food safe in supermarkets. At least 2,000 products and services have been developed and commercialized as a result of American space exploration. GPS has helped us find each other.