Had Washington not interfered, there would be no space race, as we were clearly ahead on orbital launch capability when Sputnik was launched. Their ignorance and misdirection of these facts is wordsmithing of highest caliber. They could teach us “How To Cheat at Cards Without Being Caught”.
This is another example of Washington’s misreading of the technical environment and what it takes to be technically successful. You can build high-speed train systems based on foreign technology, build alternate energy platforms based on foreign technology, and green the environment through foreign technology, but it will not solve the basic industrial R & D infrastructure problem instituted by the United States government in the 1970’s and imposed on its own manufacturing system.
Now HERE’s a motivational speech. (JFK: We choose to go to the moon…)
When I heard Obama say “We had no idea how we would beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t even there yet. NASA didn’t exist.” Actually, I think this is a good example of how things are today. We did have an idea on how to “…beat them to the moon.” We had a rocket ready to launch and could have put the first satellite into space months or years before the Russians, but a politician stood in the way. Does this sound familiar?
Obama is the President Eisenhower of today. He is standing in the way of ANY business advancement, not just technology.
NASA did exist at that time: It was called something else at that time. I don’t remember what it was but, politics was more important than launching the first satellite into space. Unlike Obama, after the Russians launched the first satellite into space, the politics went away. Now, it was catchup time. I don’t think Obama will ever get out of the way of ANY progress for the USA except for what fits his agenda, and that is to get as many people as he can under government control.