When President Kennedy inspired the nation to put a man on the Moon, he did so at a time when the inflation rate was 1.1%. the word “inflation” was not on the mind of most Americans, and previous spats had been short or during wars. Most importantly, after a Soviet space walk, the US needed to beat the Soviets to the Moon cost be damned. But once we did, and as the cost of goods, materials and rocket fuel rose over time, The United State’s space dreams were limited. In fact budget cutting started before Apollo 11 landed.
Inflation didn’t kill the space program, but it sure changed what the goals of going to space became. We look at the trends of inflation and space exploration on this episode.
My History Can Beat Up Your Politics 