http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIPzaBN3s68
Tyson compared it with the country's system of interstates, which helped connect cities across the country and made travel more efficient.
"When Eisenhower came back from Europe after he saw the [German] autobahn, and how it survived heavy climactic variation and troop maneuvers, he said, 'I want some of that in my country,'" Tyson explained. "So he gets everyone to agree to build the interstate system. Did he say, 'you know, I just want to build it from New York to L.A., because that's where you should go?' No. The interstate system connects everybody in whatever way you want. That's how you grow a system."
Furthermore, this type of capability can be used for a myriad of purposes, including military endeavors, science missions, commercial expeditions and space tourism.
"Whatever the needs or urges be they geopolitical, military, economic space becomes that frontier," Tyson said. "Not only do you innovate, these innovations make headlines. Those headlines work their way down the educational pipeline. Everybody in school knows about it. You don't have to set up a program to convince people that being an engineer is cool. They'll know it just by the cultural presence of those activities. You do that, and it'll jump-start our dreams."
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/04/18/boosting-nasa-budget-will-help-fix-economy-neil-degrasse-tyson/
