Why was the government funding science at this level — what were the objectives, or the desired outcomes? There were several. The first was simple: national security. The United States was afraid of falling behind the Soviet Union technologically. For a few short years, the United States had been the only country in the world with the atomic bomb. Those days were soon over. The Cold War arms race meant that it took all the running the U.S. could do just to stay in place (the same was true for the Soviet Union). American politicians and scientific experts agreed that should the country fall behind in its offensive or defensive military technology, or its ability to conduct espionage, the enemy might gain the upper hand.
Photo Credit: Central Intelligence Agency, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons