In season 2, the White House is committed to space exploration, evidenced by the Galileo probe sent to Mars. In this episode, Josh indicates that the White House has no plans for space exploration.
The argument made by the NASA official for funding space travel is weak. The space program produced a vast array of technologies, systems, materials, polymers, and other items that in the homes, cars, workplaces and even clothing that are a part of the daily life of everyone, and which added billions to the economy. The technologies developed in connection with NASA projects make the modern military possible. A NASA official would not have pitched awe and wonder, but would have focused on the technology and economic windfalls.
Leo McGarry says admiring the beautiful interior of the Swiss embassy: "You can afford them when you don't have to pay for a national defense", despite the fact that Switzerland has, being independent since 1292, had a national defense for more than seven centuries.
Josh is half right about the Hubble Telescope. The curve of the mirror was affected by gravity during the manufacturing process and was out of focus in zero G. A follow-up mission corrected this, restoring the value of the telescope, which continues to perform its mission to this day.