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Keith Winder
Professor Joy McDonald
English 101-05
October 28, 2016
Annotated Bibliography on NASA funding
DeGrasse, Neil. "NASA Dwindling Budget: Why Has America Stop Reaching for the Stars?"
The Week article (2012): n. page. Web. 22 Oct. 2016.
<[Link]
The Week article approaches the space funding topic in a different method in order to
appropriately explain the reasons why space funding provides many benefits to the
country. The author thoroughly states that people often discredit the impact NASA has
contributed to society. Without the presence of an operating space program, or space
mission, the innovations in technology, medicine, and education, would be inadequate. If
the United States discontinues the space program, there would not be any boundaries to
conquer and imagination to encourage the scholars of the future. In contrast to some
sources, The Week article explains a perspective that shows readers what happens in the
space industry. It allows one to recognize how the space program impacted the form of
life and serves as a perfect reference due to its reliability in information to argue the pros
of space exploration.
Mcbrien, Michael. "Government Finding or NASA Should Not Be Reduced Yet." Northeastern
University Writing. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2016.
<[Link]
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Northeastern University provides a descriptive article on the current status of the NASA
program. To begin, the writer addresses former United States president George Bushs
plan regarding the future on exploration. However, the government began to cut funding
due to the overall performance of the economy. In order to reduce the nations deficit,
there were solutions in place to receive outside sources in case the program is
discontinued and also depending on other nations to utilize their equipment. This source
is useful to the topic due to the amount of credible information presented. The writer was
able to mix the opinions of individuals perspectives along with factual data in order to
prove the statement that space traveling is in possible jeopardy. The source will allow me
to expand on the impact of the economy and the possible outcomes of jobs available if
the entire program is discontinued by the government.
NASA: Human Space Flight, Hearing before the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and
Space. Washington D.C.: n.p., 2003. 6-27. Print.
A group of senators are gathered in the nations capital to collaborate on the proposals
regarding the human space program. Senators discussed the history of NASA in the
space race, mentioning significant events and devastating catastrophes. The question that
comes into mind is whether to continue participation in the United States International
Space Station (ISS) and plans to develop an Orbital Space Plane. Homeland security,
international wars and poverty are some factors the senate must consider before making a
decision. The source also mentions the amount of money required to produce a space
orbital and each launch. The book source allows information to be more accurate with
few grammatical errors and credible information with citations to credit the scholarly
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individual. This source is useful due to its variety of information to inform the audience
on the history of NASA and current solutions on how to keep the space program alive.
Wilson, Ross J. "NASA Space Program Benefits: NASA's Positive Impact." NASA. N.p., 27
Aug. 2008. Web. 22 Oct. 2016<[Link]
This article focuses on the wide advancements of the technology of the National
Aeronautics Space Administration. Although there is a wide disagreement on where the
program should head, the author appears optimistic of the innovations in the future. The
space program has brought improvements to the United States economy such as
improvements in treating cancer and detecting catastrophic events with satellites in orbit.
However, some may argue that NASA hardly publicize its information, which places the
possibly causing the program to be discontinued. Since the information came directly
from NASA, it is credible. One distinct advantage of using this source is that it provides
a generally neutral standpoint on the situation although, some bias is stated on the
website. The source will guide my research by providing vivid details on the impacts the
space program will have on the economy and the pros of funding it.
Yost, Keith. "Should We Cut NASA Funding." The Tech journal 130.18 (2010): 6. Web. 19 Oct.
2016. <[Link] A journalist at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology expresses his perspective on the funding of the space program.
Keith Yost points out several issues regarding the issues the country faces, such as
poverty, world famine, and recession by using factual examples in the article. He believes
that the federal government should wisely conserve their funding and use them towards
things that would benefit the United States. Despite having opposition towards this
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subject, he clearly acknowledges the accomplishments of the space program. This source
contains a variety of information that is opinionated, factual, and presents a sense of
pathos in the article to express the topics counter argument. Because it has a variety of
perspectives, using this source will limit the amount of bias in my research essay, which
will allow the reader to acquire information on both arguments made in funding the space
program.
