# data[].attributes.body
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is America’s independent agency of the executive branch of the U.S. federal government. The NASA is responsible for the civilian space program.

It all began when the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, later it became NASA),  began experimenting with rocket planes in 1946. After the Soviet launched the first artificial satellite (Sputnik 1, 1957) the Americans had work to do. The US Congress was alarmed by the perceived thread to national security and technological leadership, known as the Sputnik crisis. So the U.S. swiftly came into action.

NASA’s budget has generally been about 1% of the federal budget from the early 1970’s on. This is significantly lower than most Americans think. In a poll, Americans believed that around 20% of the federal budget goes to NASA. Other criticism NASA gets from both Americans and people worldwide, is the environmental impact. Because the gases produced by rockets, both in Earth’s atmosphere and in space, can indeed effect the Earth’s environment. NASA addressed these environmental concerns with its cancelled Constellation program in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act in 2011.

STS-129 launch - at 1:30, the action begins

# data[].attributes.body
Having talked about technology, and the inventions it brought, let me dedicate this post to an invention that we cannot live without today: airplanes.

Wilbur and Orville Wright were American inventors and pioneers of aviation. In 1903, the brothers achieved to assemble the first powered, sustained and controlled airplane flight. Only two years later they’ve accomplished to build and fly the first fully practical airplane.

The brothers were always working on different mechanical projects and keeping up with scientific research, mostly that of German aviator Otto Lilienthal. After Lilienthal unexpectedly died in a glider crash, the Wright brothers decided to start with their own experiments. They were determined to develop their own successful design, therefore they moved to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, known for its strong winds.

Their first successful attempt was emulating a birds wings into an airplane. They knew birds angled their wings for balance and control, so they figured it would also work in an artificial plane. Although it’s hard to imagine, their success was not appreciated by all. Many people in the press, as well as fellow flight experts, were reluctant to believe the brother’s claims at all. Because of this, Wilbur Wright set out for Europe in 1908, where he tried to have more success convincing the public and sell airplanes.

Wilbur Wright, American pioneer in aviation, and Paul Zens, famous French flier, preparing for two man flight in Le Mans, France, September 16, 1908.

# data[].attributes.body
With the technology sector in the United States growing year-over-year, many programmers travel to Silicon Valley to make it. However, there is a lot of competition, so how do you make sure to distinguish yourself? Drugs!

It might sound crazy and unreal, but there is a smart drugs trend going on in Silicon Valley, where workers take it to stay concentrated throughout the whole day, making them more productive.

Most of these “brain-tweaking” drugs can be found on the internet, mostly sold by a worldwide gray market or private sellers that are made to improve your memory, attention, creativity and motivation. The smart drugs are also referred to as “nootropics”.

The mostly used smart drug at the moment is LSD. A fairly heavy drug for the ones who know their drugs. In this case, people take a microdosis from time to time, getting rid of the hallucination effects while maintaining the improvements on the characteristics mentioned above.

Luckily for the takers, the risks are quite small. Especially when comparing them to widely considered habits like drinking or smoking. However, there are a lot of nootropics that are relatively unknown and thus are not tested. So in the end, if you do not know your stuff, it can be quite harmful after all.

# data[].attributes.body
With technology being one of my biggest interests, this couldn’t be missing in this Padlet. Many companies, founded in the United States, are responsible for many inventions throughout the years.

To start with ATT, it's Bell Laboratories invented many technological revolutions, such as the first practical light emitting diode (LED), the transistor, the C programming language and the Unix operating system which are still widely used today.

Another great example of a company that is known by everyone, is Apple. This company pushed personal computing to the masses, making it’s user experience easy for everyday consumers. Also, they revolutionized the way we think of smartphones today and are focussing fitness and health as well.

Most of these technology companies started in Silicon Valley, which is considered to be the heart of technology in the United States, perhaps in the world. Companies like Facebook, Apple, Intel, Adobe, Tesla, Google, HP and many more are established there.

So with the most successful tech companies founded in the United States, I believe it is safe to say that the U.S. is the biggest tech country in the world.

The roads that lead to Silicon Valley