Well Tom
Like the Force, duct tape has a dark side, a light side, and it holds the universe together.
Not too sure about the Universe, but it sure does a damned fine job on everything else!. Anything from a ruptured hose to torn seat covers, about the only thing you can't fix with duct tape is a broken heart.
IMHO< there will always be a need for something similar to that every-present silver tape. Even when we're way ahead of where we are now.
I can see it now, somewhere a few hundred LY Galactic North of Orion, an engineer patching a Quantum field generator's cooling intake with good old duct tape.
(Hmm, there's a story in there somehwere. :8~D )