[SauronOfMordor]

The developments would have happened eventually, but not nearly as quickly. A large percentage of the cost of the space program is the R&D costs. All that expertise, all that engineering knowledge and experience, once the space program was done, flowed into the private sector

[BushCountry]

That's bunk and you know it! Private industry is not forward looking. They do not lead the advancement of technology without a cost/benefit anaylsts. They will not willy, nilly, risks billions of dollars or even a few million unless they know that there will be a return. When these technologies were invented there was no return or even a possiblity of return.

These developments were done to achieve a result not profit! There is a very good chance several of them would never have been invented or even thought of in left in short-sighted, technology incompetent CEOs. Don't kid yourself.