CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Following the Columbia tragedy many people are wondering if the space program is even necessary. Our Bill Tucker takes a look at some everyday items that got their start out of this world.</s>BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cordless power tools first developed for the astronauts to drill into the surface of the moon to collect samples. Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors first used in Sky Lab. Burglar alarms making use of motion detection technology. Drunk driving testing devices, Velcro from outer space. Heated ski goggles were the result of NASA technology. So are fly rods, tennis rackets and golf clubs made from graphite composite compounds.</s>RITA COLWELL, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: Well, it's serendipitous. You just don't know which discovery is going to end up in a product. But we do know that of the many discoveries, we've got many products.</s>TUCKER: The list goes on, robotic surgery, body imaging technology, the infrared ear thermometer that can take your body temperature in two seconds, weather radar, global positioning satellite systems, video picture phones, ATM technology. Over 30,000 products and technologies have emerged from NASA since 1958. They are the material ways a program of space exploration can be measured. They are not the only way.</s>RICK TUMLINSON, SPACE FRONTIER FOUNDATION: It's far, far more important than any technology, any spin-off, even any economic returns. It is about being a human being, a questioning, living creature. And it is about creating a better future for our children, one wherein they can dream. And this dream is an endless dream. It's just beginning.</s>TUCKER (on camera): NASA's proposed budget is $15.5 billion. That is less than three quarters of one percent of the entire budget. And it may be obvious by now, but without satellites, well, there would be no way for you to see CNN. Bill Tucker, CNN Financial News, New York.
Look at Some Everyday Items That Got Start Out of This World