--Congressman Mark Udall, 2007

"I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector nerdy engineer. And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession. Spaceflight was one of, and perhaps the, greatest engineering achievement."

--Neil Armstrong, 2000 (LiveScience.com)

THE SPUTNIK MOMENT: LESSONS FOR THE 20TH CENTURY

The 50th Anniversary of the Soviet launch of Sputnik, and the United States' subsequent race to space, is a perfect opportunity to remember the importance and need to invest in the federal research and development programs that made the U.S. the leader in science and technology.

Early in 2007, Congressman Mark Udall (D-CO) Chairman, House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the Science & Technology Committee, asked whether or not the U.S. could afford to continue treating the dollars spent on space and aeronautics R&D as discretionary. (See, Our Nation Can't Afford Not to Fund Space and Aeronautics Programs) He was referring to the view in recent years that federal funding of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an unnecessary expense.  In July, Udall again addressed the dire funding situation at NASA, "The growing mismatch between the financial resources being provided to NASA by the Administration and the tasks that NASA is being asked to carry out are of key concern."

Post-Sputnik, the U.S. invested about four percent of the national budget in space related programs.  Now, the investment is less than one percent.  If the 110th Congress reverses the recent cuts in many other R&D programs by adding billions of dollars to the White House's FY2008 budget request, things may be looking up, especially for R&D programs in the key congressional priority areas of biomedical research, environmental/climate change research, and energy. However, the president is poised to veto most, if not all of the FY 2008 spending bills. Thus, what, other than than the dedication of a few members of Congress, is it going to take for the federal government to permanently revisit its commitment to space R&D programs?

1957: Our First Sputnik Moment

Sputnik Moment - "The point at which circumstance reveals unambiguously the need to change."

Early this week, to mark one of the defining moments in mankind's history, the Atlantic Council and the Business Roundtable hosted a preview of a film depicting the events following the 4 October 1957 launch of Sputnik. (View the panel discussion here: Atlantic Council & Business Roundtable Panel on Sputnik, 10/01/2007, http://www.cspan.org/) The film, Sputnik Mania, illustrates the awesome power of American imagination and ingenuity, as well as the potential of fear and "hype" to motivate U.S. resourcefulness and competitiveness.

Prior to viewing the film, a panel – including Sergei Khrushchev, son of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and lecturer on Soviet and Russian economic and political reforms (the film includes many of his personal home movies of his father); Roger Launius, chair of the Division of Space History at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and former chief historian of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Barbara Morgan, an elementary school math and science teacher and NASA astronaut, recently returned from mission STS-118 in August 2007; Thomas Stafford, former NASA astronaut and co-leader of the Apollo-Soyuz flight; and Jay Walker, one of America's best known entrepreneurs, holder of over 200 patents, chairman of Walker Digital, LLC, founder of Priceline.com and owner of a real Sputnik, on display at the event – delivered their insights into what the Sputnik moment meant for U.S. innovation.

Sputnik's launch, a moment that shocked the United States into an unparalleled investment in science, technology and education, and triggered fears that thermo-nuclear war was around the corner, is widely viewed as a magical moment.  Tom Wolfe – author of The Right Stuff – said, "It seemed to dredge up primordial superstitions about the influence of heavenly bodies." The film's maker, David Hoffman, said, "Sputnik showed the remarkable capability of America to rise to great challenges and become master of them when we put out minds to it."

What Drove Early U.S. R&D Programs, Thrill of an adventure or hype of the threat?

The immediate U.S. response to the 1957 launch was negative, but it was also a catalyst for action. Priceline's Jay Walker referred to the events of 1957 as a "stampede of fear and paranoia." When it came to spending money on research and programs with unknown outcomes, no one questioned the validity of the expense. And no one questioned the validity of educating more scientists and engineers, or whether or not that education would ultimately lead to a good job. We could say that this was one instance in which paranoid behavior was a good thing, leading to positive outcomes for the American economy and our workforce.

Astronaut Thomas Stafford said, "It's a good thing that we weren't first in space. Sputnik pushed the education and output at American universities.  Had we had our little explorer up first, and the Soviet Union up second, we would not have accomplished Apollo.  We would have gone at some point, but not in that time." He added that we also would not have DARPA, the internet, supercomputing and the other inventions which resulted from our enthusiastic investment.

Khrushchev, who was 22 years old in 1957, said the achievement of Sputnik's launch and its consequences did not become clear until later. "Send in ball, fire away." The Soviets were simply showing that "we could do it." Khrushchev's father had no idea of the repercussions, because Sputnik had no practical applications.

When asked about the resulting "space race", Khrushchev said  "It was Americans' race with themselves.  It was not a space race "because, if we race with them, we will lose.  The U.S. had the resources, the Soviet Union did not." For Khrushchev, Sputnik didn't change the Soviets. It was merely proof that we were "on the right way."

Children, unlike their parents, experienced wonder. They went on to invent, research and create the companies that hired engineers in the last 50 years. When asked if it was the threat of danger that created many of the post-1950s scientists and engineers, teacher/ astronaut Barbara Morgan said, "No, it was the adventure and excitement." Launius agreed saying, "A lot of kids were inspired by it, " and added that so many Americans were educated using the funds Congress appropriated at the time.

Whatever the resulting emotions and actions, Sputnik spurred major advances in math and science education and the stampede into national labs put the U.S. on top—until recent years, when some policymakers began to question the need for expenditures on basic R&D programs, and refuse to invest dollars in the unknown. (See IEEE-USA position statement) It might be argued that without the investment, the jobs declined, and following that, so did the education of the next generation of U.S. engineers.

The many U.S. universities that created math, science and computer engineering programs in the 1960s and 1970s, now see fewer Americans entering those programs. William Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering, said earlier this year, "It worries me that we have to depend on foreign nationals and that we are not able to attract U.S. students into engineering." This dilemma has led to other issues, such as U.S. industry's claims they need access to more temporary work permits. (See the IEEE-USA Position on immigration reforms.)

The Second "Sputnik": Do We Need A Galvanizing Moment?

"The last thing we need is another Sputnik moment. We don't need some giant moment to be spun into fear," said Walker. We have the moments every day.  Sputnik moments are a reaction to something out there. ...We don't need a big giant external event to spin our fear into action."

Morgan used the space shuttle accidents as examples, referring to them as teachable moments. "We may not have responded as spectacularly, and we have not invested in long range planning as we should, but we need to recognize that we were experiencing these moments over and over." Examples of teachable moments also include global warming and climate change, and iPods and advancement in global communications.

"What we need is for out kids to go into math and science, to be inspired and tested in those areas, and not only excel but then work in those areas.  We want them experiencing the joy of working in those areas," she said.

Perhaps policymakers need only remember the basics. Instead of wringing our hands today over our lagging competitiveness, how do we turn today's events into a teachable moment that inspires the next generation? Can we invest based upon the wonder?  If there is no fear or immediate need, will we stop investing in R&D?

The Funding Predicament

"CHINA LIKELY TO REACH MOON'S SURFACE BEFORE U.S."

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin made the claim that China will return to the moon with human explorers before the U.S. accomplishes that goal. The speech (17 September 2007), part of a planned series of lectures commemorating NASA's 50th anniversary, stressed the lack of public appreciation in the U.S. for the spacefaring skills of Russia, China, and India, as well as of NASA's traditional spaceflight partners in Europe and Japan. Griffin said. "I personally believe that China will be back on the moon before we are."

Space flight technology has dual use – peaceful and destructive.  Structuring that in the future will be a challenge since all big endeavors from here on out are likely to be multinational.  Global amity may not be the driving force for Congress and the budgetary process, but what are the risks of waiting for motivation by fear or one-up-manship?

The answer could hit home for many of today's engineers.  Walker charges that Americans were sold a bill of goods.  "Lots of people in the 1970s studied, graduated, to find no jobs." He argues that there is no lack of innovation these days. We simply need to recognize that innovation opportunities come in something other than a single threatening event.

The accomplishments of the 1960s were the direct result of federal investment and commitment and commitments by Congress and the Administration. As Congressman Udall stressed, NASA is being asked to do the same job it has always done, with less. Launius stated that policymakers are OK with anything that NASA does within its current budget. But "if NASA wants more than its current budget, the agency must justify it with something more than moon travel."

As of this week, the House and Senate Democratic leaders have a tentative agreement on how much
each of the FY 2008 spending bills will provide. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said conference negotiations on the final bills will proceed this week, however House and Senate Appropriations committees still must sign off on funding levels for each bill.

Reid said the first fiscal 2008 spending bill that will be sent to the president would be one of the following: Labor-HHS-Education, Commerce-Justice-Science (HR 3093, which includes NASA's funding), Transportation-HUD (HR 3074) or a defense bill. Unfortunately, the president has threatened to
veto all of those bills, except for Defense, because they provide more funding than he has requested.

IEEE-USA's Activities and Your Opportunities to Participate

The IEEE-USA's Committee on Transportation and Aerospace Policy (CTAP) was chartered to contribute to the formulation of sound aeronautics and astronautics technology legislation, regulation and policy in the United States. The committee's scope has been expanded to include aviation, intelligent transportation and other air, space and ground transportation related issues. CTAP also coordinates IEEE-USA's participation in the Aviation R&D Coalition.  For more information, including instructions on how to participate in the committee, visit: http://ieeeusa.org/volunteers/committees/ctap/index.html#meetings

IEEE's members can participate by also contacting the White House in the hopes that the President will begin to see that NASA R&D investments are not discretionary.

Read a related CTAP position statement: http://ieeeusa.org/policy/positions/aerospace.asp

See IEEE-USA's public policy priorities: http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/issues/index.html

Former Senator and Astronaut John Glenn, 2006 (NASA)

Related Items:

• NASA's Retrospective on Sputnik - http://history.nasa.gov/Sputnik/
  
• The IEEE-USA Innovation Institute: IEEE-USA DC Area Innovation Forum: 6-8 November 2007 - IEEE-USA defined innovation as a strategic priority in 2006. The ability to innovate is an increasingly critical skill set for U.S. engineers in order to maintain rewarding careers, as well as for the nation to sustain its competitiveness in the global economy.  In response to the globalization challenges facing the technology sector, IEEE-USA has outlined the Innovation Initiative, a key focus of our efforts to serve IEEE's U.S. membership. The Innovation Initiative will offer programs to advance the preparation of leaders responsible for the innovation of new products and services. IEEE-USA considers innovation to extend from invention through R&D, design, development, production and delivery. The presentations cover the human resource aspects of the processes, and related legal and policy issues.

• NSF Announces $26 Million Solicitation for Projects That Advance Innovative Computational Thinking - http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pr07128
  
• Research and Development Bolsters U.S. Economic Growth - Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be nearly 3 percent higher each year between 1959 and 2004--$284 billion higher in 2004 alone--if research and development (R&D) spending was treated as investment in the U.S. national income and product accounts, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced on Friday. BEA and NSF partnered to produce these estimates as part of an ongoing activity to illustrate how spending on R&D affects U.S. GDP.
  
• Commentary: The Value of Human Space Flight
  
• Laika & the Cosmonauts http://www.laikaandthecosmonauts.com/
  
• October 4th, 1957 was also the night that Leave it to Beaver premiered on U.S. television.

Top of Page | What's New@IEEE | EyeOnWash Archive | IEEE-USA

What's New @ IEEE-USA's Eye on Washington highlights important federal legislative and regulatory developments that affect U.S. engineers and their careers. In addition to this biweekly newsletter, subscribers receive legislative bulletins and action alerts on IEEE-USA priority issues, including: retirement security, employment benefits, research & development funding, computers and information policy, immigration reform, intellectual property protection and privacy of health/medical information.

You can change your IEEE-USA Eye on Washington subscription status by using the forms at http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/emailupdates/default.asp

Copyright © 2007, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.  Permission granted to copy for personal use or for non-commercial republication with appropriate attribution.

Updated: 04 October 2007