Marianne, the “S” in NASA stands for “Space” not “Socialism”. I missed the part of the Federal budget where NASA was funded through donations and not tax dollars... what do you think generated all those tax dollars?

The space program IS a socialist institution, for all intents and purposes. As is public schools, and police departments, and fire departments. Private and public funding both have a place in life; stop demonizing the public sector. It's childish, ignorant and dangerous.

NASA is funded by research opportunities with other government agencies, private, and non-profit sectors. It has nothing to do with socialism, on the contrary, it currently exists because of capitalism.