The calculus, the basis of all modern science and engineering, was invented by Sir Isaac Newton for astronomical calculations. Astronomy's appetite for computational power drove the development of many of the earliest electronic computers. The space age, which brought us the communication and weather satellites upon which we depend each day, would have been impossible without the fundamental knowledge of gravity and orbits discovered by astronomers. Radio astronomers led the development of low-noise radio receivers that made possible the satellite communications industry. At NRAO and other observatories, the needs of astronomers for better instruments continues to drive developments in such diverse fields as electronics, mechanical engineering, and computer science.
Astronomy has much yet to contribute to human knowledge and progress.
From the airplane to the transistor, from radio to lasers, the developments of the Twentieth Century were based on fundamental knowledge of the physics of matter and energy. It is unlikely that any laboratory on Earth will ever produce matter as dense as that of a neutron star, temperatures as hot as those inside a supernova, or gravity as strong as that of a black hole. Closer to home, the VLBA is a primary instrument providing valuable data on the drift of Earth's continents and the mechanisms of global climate. It is the nature of basic research that we can't predict what will come of this work, except that we probably will be surprised. Finally, astronomy performs an important educational service for our nation.