This year, 1971, is significant in another way...it marked the beginning of the space shuttle program. Since then, about $150 billion has been lost in space. Readers will remark that valuable inventions have come from the space program. For example, NASA spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on one of them: the “space pen.” It’s a remarkable writing device designed for weightless conditions. It will write on any surface from any position. The Russians used pencils.