Press US administrations invested in education and scientific research to meet the Soviet challenge. These investments propelled the United States to victory in the so-called space race and planted the seeds for future innovation and economic competitiveness, experts say.
Yet, since the 1990s, NASA’s share of federal spending has waned. The U.S. private sector has ramped up investment in space, and in May 2020, astronauts launched from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade on a rocket built by the company SpaceX.
Source: Space Exploration and U.S. Competitiveness | Council on Foreign Relations
