BY LARRY SCHWARTZ
There are many things we consider commonplace in our lives today that are actually outgrowths of government programs. Mylar sheeting used as a lightweight way to reflect heat is a byproduct of the space program when NASA started on its three-phased journey to the moon in the 1960s. The commercial equivalent is something we all know about, the space blanket. Your ability to navigate with your smartphone would not be possible if the U.S. military had not developed the Global Positioning System (GPS) in the 1970s.