I have a book that I have loaned out. It listed all the products developed for the space program. Lycra for womens girdles, rip-stop nilon because it was lighter than canvas, aluminum alloys to replace steel, miniature electronics to save weight, health monitoring systems now used in hospitals, graphites and plastics, synthetic clothing, Pampers, light weight heat resistant materials, developed the means to handle supercold liquids, which may one day be used to power our cars on liquid hydrogen or liquid natural gas. Less expensive and more powerful solar cells for electric production. I could go on and on. The only other government program which developed new products was and is the military. We have to maintain our edge in new products and new technologies or we will no longer be no. 1. Germany had the highest standard of living in Europe before WWI because they spent a lot on science and technology. Space covers almost all sciences, geology, medicine, chemistry, energy, mechanics, textiles.
We spend far more on foreign aid, military, welfare, etc, in one year, than the space program has spent since its inception, yet it has yielded so many benefits, especially in medicine and materials, than any program the government ever spent money on.