[oh8eleven]

Good news!
Why? What did we the taxpayer get in return for 30 years and billions of dollars spent on the Space Shuttle program - other than 14 dead astronauts?
And what about the billions spent on dozens of robotic/rover Mars missions? Return was .... zip, zero, nada.
NASA =

[Enlightened1]

I disagree. A lot of spin off technology came to the us from NASA. Here is a partial list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spin-off_technologies

[Vermont Lt]

I dont think there were dozens of trips to Mars. And the ones we sent were pretty economical.

I loved the space program when I was a kid. Back in the days when you could name the astronauts like they were your favorite baseball players.

Little nerds everywhere were inspired.