Having already been beaten to the first ‘first’ by the Russians, the US had much higher aspirations, in 1961 John F. Kennedy asked his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, to figure out how to catch up, he was soon presented with two options to demonstrate the First World’s celestial prowess: establish a orbital space station/laboratory or put the first man on the moon. Less than a year later, JFK authorized a budget increase for NASA to hopefully land a man on the moon before 1970 as he felt a successful manned moon landing was farther in the future, which gave the Americans a fighting chance at being the first to achieve the ambitious feat.** During the 8 years following the decision, the Americans achieved numerous ‘firsts” and other technological accomplishments that eventually trickled down to the average consumer. An example of this being the integrated circuit, which was developed to shave off precious ounces of weight on spacecraft**, led to the compression of computers, which made them more feasible for personal use, now one can find a toaster with a small computer and a touch screen. The advancement of cabin pressurization, creation of flight simulators, and the invention of wind tunnels all occurred as a result of the space race and made commercial flying a viable method of transportation. After Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins successfully planted the American flag on the moon on July 20, 1969, the ultimate spatial feat had been accomplished and the US had won the space race. NASA continued to develop new innovative technology through the ages, and like before, much of it trickled down to the