Absolutely. I too think the space program has had enormous tangible benefits, but ... and here I stray into mush territory ... the abrupt ending of the Apollo program in 1972 was like a kick in the heart I can still feel today. I feel both enormously lucky I was alive (and to a certain extent conscious - I was only 8 years old when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon) to witness some of the first steps into space AND enormously sad that ... it just died.

I don't know how this will sound, but knowing that most folks just got BORED with it after Apollo 11 was over, and wanted their regular TV shows to not be interrupted any more, was one of the great nails in the coffin of my being able to understand what a lot of people are all about. I'm completely serious about that.