It is impossible to arrive at accurate figures which might help indicate
the extent of this effort in dollars and cents. But we do know that the
U.S. Government is presently putting about $3.5 billion annually into
the research and development phases. How much more may be going into the
purchase of completed space hardware is difficult to say; certainly it
is a higher figure still. The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, in presenting its 10-year plan to Congress recently,
indicated that this agency alone expects to average between $1.5 and $2
billion a year during the next decade.
The amount of effort going into space-related programs on the part of
private industry, measured in dollars, again can only be roughly
estimated. But it is a sizable figure and is known to be growing. It may
amount to half the governmental research and development outlay.
These figures add up to a very important segment of the national
economy, and the fact that they represent a highly active and
progressive segment is particularly heartening to the economic experts
of the Nation.