Download or read book Into the Unknown Together the DOD NASA and Early Spaceflight written by Mark Erickson and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 678 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Into the Unknown Together is a comprehensive review of the political and management terrain involved in the early US space program—especially those aspects dealing with human spaceflight. Indeed, the work is encyclopedic, coming in at a hefty 682 pages, including endnotes. Primarily covering the period from the birth of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 to the end of the Apollo program in 1972, the book discusses in great detail the complex, sometimes byzantine, interactions that characterized the relations among NASA, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Air Force. The book is particularly strong in its tracing of the development of these interactions and the manner in which each presidential administration put its own stamp not only on the overall US space program, but also on the nature of the relationship between NASA and its DOD counterparts. These interactions varied in time and intensity, ranging from cooperation to conflict and benign disregard. The work certainly represents an important contribution to the serious academic literature relating to space history, clearly refuting any notion that NASA was merely a puppet of the DOD or the Air Force. The 108-page bibliography alone, current through the early 2000s, is a most impressive resource for the writer on space issues. In sum, for the professional space-policy “wonk” or historian of US space (and science) policy, Into the Unknown Together is a must reference for a study or library. Colonel Erickson has done the academic fields of space history and policy a great service. (Review by Lt Col Joseph P. Bassi, USAF, Retired)Contents: Chapter 1 - Necessary Preconditions * Chapter 2 - Eisenhower Act I * Chapter 3 - Eisenhower Act II * Chapter 4 - Mercury, Dynasoar, and the NRO Under Eisenhower * Chapter 5 - Kennedy, Prestige, and the Manned Lunar Landing Program * Chapter 6 - NASA, DOD, McNamara, and the Air Force Under Kennedy * Chapter 7 - Gemini, Dynasoar, and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory * Chapter 8 - Johnson's Philosophy, Space Policy, and Institutional Continuity * Chapter 9 - Apollo and the MOL * Chapter 10 - ConclusionColonel Erickson examines the use of space exploration as a tool to secure international prestige and national pride as part of the Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations. He looks at the creation of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), the evolving NASA-DOD relationship, and the larger context in which this relationship was forged. He focuses on the human-spaceflight projects—Projects Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Dynasoar, and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory—by examining the geopolitical, domestic political, and bureaucratic environments in which decisions concerning these projects were made. By blending in the individuals involved, the obstacles that were overcome, and the achievements of the US space program, Erickson reveals a special transformation that took place during this chapter of Americana. Air University Press. Department of Defense.

Download or read book Into the Unknown Together the DOD NASA and Early Spaceflight written by Air University Air University Press and published by . This book was released on 2019-07-24 with total page 676 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Colonel Erickson examines the use of space exploration as a tool to secure international prestige and national pride as part of the Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations. He looks at the creation of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), the evolving NASA-DOD relationship, and the larger context in which this relationship was forged. He focuses on the human-spaceflight projects--Projects Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Dynasoar, and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory--by examining the geopolitical, domestic political, and bureaucratic environments in which decisions concerning these projects were made. By blending in the individuals involved, the obstacles that were overcome, and the achievements of the US space program, Erickson reveals a special transformation that took place during this chapter of Americana.

Download or read book Into the Unknown Together written by Mark Erickson and published by . This book was released on 2014-08-01 with total page 680 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Into the Unknown Together written by Air University Press and published by . This book was released on 2017-05-07 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Into the Unknown Together is a comprehensive review of the political and management terrain involved in the early US space program--especially those aspects dealing with human spaceflight. Indeed, the work is encyclopedic. Primarily covering the period from the birth of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 to the end of the Apollo program in 1972, the book discusses in great detail the complex, sometimes byzantine, interactions that characterized the relations among NASA, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Air Force. The book is particularly strong in its tracing of the development of these interactions and the manner in which each presidential administration put its own stamp not only on the overall US space program, but also on the nature of the relationship between NASA and its DOD counterparts. These interactions varied in time and intensity, ranging from cooperation to conflict and benign disregard. The work certainly represents an important contribution to the serious academic literature relating to space history, clearly refuting any notion that NASA was merely a puppet of the DOD or the Air Force. The 108-page bibliography alone, current through the early 2000s, is a most impressive resource for the writer on space issues. In sum, for the professional space-policy "wonk" or historian of US space (and science) policy, Into the Unknown Together is a must reference for a study or library. Colonel Erickson has done the academic fields of space history and policy a great service. (Review by Lt Col Joseph P. Bassi, USAF, Retired)Contents: Chapter 1 - Necessary Preconditions * Chapter 2 - Eisenhower Act I * Chapter 3 - Eisenhower Act II * Chapter 4 - Mercury, Dynasoar, and the NRO Under Eisenhower * Chapter 5 - Kennedy, Prestige, and the Manned Lunar Landing Program * Chapter 6 - NASA, DOD, McNamara, and the Air Force Under Kennedy * Chapter 7 - Gemini, Dynasoar, and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory * Chapter 8 - Johnson's Philosophy, Space Policy, and Institutional Continuity * Chapter 9 - Apollo and the MOL * Chapter 10 - ConclusionColonel Erickson examines the use of space exploration as a tool to secure international prestige and national pride as part of the Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations. He looks at the creation of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), the evolving NASA-DOD relationship, and the larger context in which this relationship was forged. He focuses on the human-spaceflight projects--Projects Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Dynasoar, and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory--by examining the geopolitical, domestic political, and bureaucratic environments in which decisions concerning these projects were made. By blending in the individuals involved, the obstacles that were overcome, and the achievements of the US space program, Erickson reveals a special transformation that took place during this chapter of Americana.

Download or read book The U S Air Force in Space 1945 to the Twenty First Century Proceedings written by Air Force Historical Foundation. Symposium and published by Department of the Air Force. This book was released on 1998-09-02 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contains papers presented at the Air Force Historical Foundation Symposium, held at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on September 21-22, 1995. Topics addressed are: Pt. 1, The Formative Years, 1945-1961; Pt. 2, Mission Development and Exploitation Since 1961; and Pt. 3, Military Space Today and Tomorrow. Includes notes, abbreviations & acronyms, an index, and photographs.

Download or read book Exploring the Unknown Accessing space written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 724 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Return to Earth written by Buzz Aldrin and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2015-12-15 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s courageous, candid memoir of his return to Earth after the historic moon landing and his personal struggle with fame and depression. “We landed with all the grace of a freight elevator,” Buzz Aldrin relates in the opening passages of Return to Earth, remembering Command Module Columbia’s abrupt descent into the gravity of the blue planet. With that splash, Aldrin takes readers on a journey through the human side of the space program, as one of the first two men to land on the moon learns to cope with the pressures of his new public persona. In honest and compelling prose, Aldrin reveals a side of instant fame for which West Point and NASA could never have prepared him. One day a fighter pilot and engineer, the next a cultural hero burdened with the adoration of thousands, Aldrin gives a poignant account of the affair that threatened his marriage, as well as his descent into alcoholism and depression that resulted from trying to be too many things to too many people. He didn’t realize that when he landed on his home planet his odyssey had just begun. As Aldrin puts it, “I traveled to the moon, but the most significant voyage of my life began when I returned from where no man had been before.” Return to Earth is a powerful and moving memoir that exposes the stresses suffered by those in the Apollo program and the price Buzz Aldrin paid when he became an American icon.

Download or read book Exploring the Unknown Human spaceflight written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 896 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Read You Loud and Clear written by Sunny Tsiao and published by . This book was released on 2015-02-15 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Download or read book When Science and Politics Collide written by Robert O. Schneider and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2018-03-07 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains why science and politics collide, why this is an especially critical problem at this precise time in U.S. history, and what should be done to ensure that science and politics coincide. The United States is waging a political war against science, and the stakes are increasing. When it comes to areas in which science and politics must interact, such as genetics, climate, and energy, political interests are always pushing to spin the relevant science, but this becomes problematic when Americans abandon rationality for ideology or misinformation manufactured to confuse and persuade them. In a series of five contemporary examples, When Science and Politics Collide: The Public Interest at Risk makes the case that none of the ways in which science and politics currently communicate serve the public interest and that some of them actually result in great harm. It explains that, whether about climate change, vaccines, pandemics, or fracking, experimentally proven and reproducible data and evidence can save lives-and poor, politically motivated policies can doom them. The book concludes with recommendations for creating a more perfect union between scientific facts and political agendas.

Download or read book US Presidents and the Militarization of Space 1946 1967 written by Sean N. Kalic and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2012-05-02 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the clash of ideologies represented by the Cold War, even the heavens were not immune to militarization. Satellites and space programs became critical elements among the national security objectives of both the United States and the Soviet Union. According to US Presidents and the Militarization of Space, 1946–1967, three American presidents in succession shared a fundamental objective of preserving space as a weapons-free frontier for the benefit of all humanity. Between 1953 and 1967 Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson all saw nonaggressive military satellite development, as well as the civilian space program, as means to favorably shape the international community’s opinion of the scientific, technological, and military capabilities of the United States. Sean N. Kalic’s reinterpretation of the development of US space policy, based on documents declassified in the past decade, demonstrates that a single vision for the appropriate uses of space characterized American strategies across parties and administrations during this period. Significantly, Kalic’s findings contradict the popular opinion that the United States sought to weaponize space and calls into question the traditional interpretation of the space race as a simple action/reaction paradigm. Indeed, beyond serving as a symbol and ambassador of US technological capability, its satellite program provided the United States with advanced, nonaggressive military intelligence-gathering platforms that proved critical in assessing the strategic nuclear balance between the United States and the Soviet Union. It also aided the three administrations in countering the Soviet Union’s increasing international prestige after its series of space firsts, beginning with the launch of Sputnik in 1957.

Download or read book Spies and Shuttles written by James E. David and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2015-01-27 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this real life spy saga, James E. David reveals the extensive and largely hidden interactions between NASA and U.S. defense and intelligence departments. The story begins with the establishment of NASA in 1958 and follows the agency through its growth, not only in scope but also in complexity. In Spies and Shuttles, David digs through newly declassified documents to ultimately reveal how NASA became a strange bedfellow to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He tracks NASA’s early cooperation—supplying cover stories for covert missions, analyzing the Soviet space program, providing weather and other scientific data from its satellites, and monitoring missile tests—that eventually devolved into NASA’s reliance on DoD for political and financial support for the Shuttle. David also examines the restrictions imposed on such activities as photographing the Earth from space and the intrusive review mechanisms to ensure compliance. The ties between NASA and the intelligence community have historically remained unexplored, and David’s riveting book is the first to investigate the twists and turns of this labyrinthine relationship.

Download or read book To Rule the Skies written by Brent D Ziarnick and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2021-02-15 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To Rule the Skies: General Thomas S. Power and the Rise of Strategic Air Command in the Cold War fills a critical gap in Cold War and Air Force history by telling the story of General Thomas S. Power for the first time. Thomas Power was second only to Curtis LeMay in forming the Strategic Air Command (SAC), one of the premier combat organizations of the twentieth century, but he is rarely mentioned today. What little is written about Power describes him as LeMay's willing hatchet man--uneducated, unimaginative, autocratic, and sadistic. Based on extensive archival research, General Power seeks to overturn this appraisal. Brent D. Ziarnick covers the span of both Power's personal and professional life and challenges many of the myths of conventional knowledge about him. Denied college because his middle-class immigrant family imploded while he was still in school, Power worked in New York City construction while studying for the Flying Cadet examination at night in the New York Public Library. As a young pilot, Power participated in some of the Army Air Corps' most storied operations. In the interwar years, his family connections allowed Power to interact with American Wall Street millionaires and the British aristocracy. Confined to training combat aircrews in the United States for most of World War II, Power proved his combat leadership as a bombing wing commander by planning and leading the firebombing of Tokyo for Gen. Curtis LeMay. After the war, Power helped LeMay transform the Air Force into the aerospace force America needed during the Cold War. A master of strategic air warfare, he aided in establishing SAC as the Free World's "Big Stick" against Soviet aggression. Far from being unimaginative, Power led the incorporation of the nuclear weapon, the intercontinental ballistic missile, the airborne alert, and the Single Integrated Operational Plan into America's deterrent posture as Air Research and Development Command commander and both the vice commander and commander-in-chief of SAC. Most importantly, Power led SAC through the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Even after retirement, Power as a New York Times bestselling author brought his message of deterrence through strength to the nation. Ziarnick points out how Power's impact may continue in the future. Power's peerless, but suppressed, vision of the Air Force and the nation in space is recounted in detail, placing Power firmly as a forgotten space visionary and role model for both the Air Force and the new Space Force. To Rule the Skies is an important contribution to the history of the Cold War and beyond.

Download or read book Space Warfare and Defense written by Bert Chapman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2008-03-19 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely resource provides a history of the development of space weapons and warfare strategies and a comprehensive reference guide to the growing literature on the subject. Space Warfare and Defense: A Historical Encyclopedia and Research Guide provides comprehensive coverage of the development of space as a possible arena for warfare, exploring the military uses of space—past, present, and future—and specific details of actual space weapons systems. The encyclopedia spans the breadth of U.S. military space policy; comparable programs in the Soviet Union, China, and the European Union; and the full array of international agreements designed to regulate the military uses of space. In addition, the encyclopedia includes an extensive reference guide (nearly 40 percent of the book) directing readers to the essential literature on space weapons and defense systems produced by the United States, other governments, research institutions, and additional sources. At a time when space is becoming an increasingly important place of military competition and potential conflict, Space Warfare and Defense dispels the myths and examines the realities of what may become humanity's ultimate battlefield.

Download or read book The Other Space Race written by Nicholas Michael Sambaluk and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2015-12-15 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Other Space Race is a unique look at the early U.S. space program and how it both shaped and was shaped by politics during the Cold War. Eisenhower’s “New Look” expanded the role of the Air Force in national security, and ultimately allowed ambitious aerospace projects, namely the “Dyna-Soar,” a bomber equipped with nuclear weapons that would operate in space. Eisenhower’s space policy was purely practical, creating a strong deterrent against the use of nuclear arms against the United States. With the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957, the political climate changed, and space travel became part of the United States’ national discourse. Sambaluk explores what followed, including the scuttling of the “Dyna-Soar” program and the transition from Eisenhower’s space policy to John Kennedy’s. This well-argued, well-researched book gives much needed perspective on the Cold War’s influence on space travel and it’s relation to the formation of public policy.

Download or read book Pathways to Exploration written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2014-09-30 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States has publicly funded its human spaceflight program on a continuous basis for more than a half-century, through three wars and a half-dozen recessions, from the early Mercury and Gemini suborbital and Earth orbital missions, to the lunar landings, and thence to the first reusable winged crewed spaceplane that the United States operated for three decades. Today the United States is the major partner in a massive orbital facility - the International Space Station - that is becoming the focal point for the first tentative steps in commercial cargo and crewed orbital space flights. And yet, the long-term future of human spaceflight beyond this project is unclear. Pronouncements by multiple presidents of bold new ventures by Americans to the Moon, to Mars, and to an asteroid in its native orbit, have not been matched by the same commitment that accompanied President Kennedy\'s now fabled 1961 speech-namely, the substantial increase in NASA funding needed to make it happen. Are we still committed to advancing human spaceflight? What should a long-term goal be, and what does the United States need to do to achieve it? Pathways to Exploration explores the case for advancing this endeavor, drawing on the history of rationales for human spaceflight, examining the attitudes of stakeholders and the public, and carefully assessing the technical and fiscal realities. This report recommends maintaining the long-term focus on Mars as the horizon goal for human space exploration. With this goal in mind, the report considers funding levels necessary to maintain a robust tempo of execution, current research and exploration projects and the time/resources needed to continue them, and international cooperation that could contribute to the achievement of spaceflight to Mars. According to Pathways to Exploration, a successful U.S. program would require sustained national commitment and a budget that increases by more than the rate of inflation. In reviving a U.S. human exploration program capable of answering the enduring questions about humanity's destiny beyond our tiny blue planet, the nation will need to grapple with the attitudinal and fiscal realities of the nation today while staying true to a small but crucial set of fundamental principles for the conduct of exploration of the endless frontier. The recommendations of Pathways to Exploration provide a clear map toward a human spaceflight program that inspires students and citizens by furthering human exploration and discovery, while taking into account the long-term commitment necessary to achieve this goal.

Download or read book Rockets and People Volume I NASA History Series NASA Sp 2005 4110 written by Boris Chertok and published by Military Bookshop. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much has been written in the West on the history of the Soviet space program, but few Westerners have read direct first-hand accounts of the men and women who were behind the many Russian accomplishments in exploring space. The memoir of academician Boris Chertok, translated from the original Russian, fills that gap. Chertok began his career as an electrician in 1930 at an aviation factory near Moscow. Thirty years later, he was deputy to the founding figure of the Soviet space program, the mysterious "Chief Designer" Sergey Korolev. Chertok's 60-year-long career and the many successes and failures of the Soviet space program constitute the core of his memoirs, Rockets and People. In these writings, spread over four volumes (volumes two through four are forthcoming), academician Chertok not only describes and remembers, but also elicits and extracts profound insights from an epic story about a society's quest to explore the cosmos. This book was edited by Asif Siddiqi, a historian of Russian space exploration, and General Tom Stafford contributed a foreword touching upon his significant work with the Russians on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Overall, this book is an engaging read while also contributing much new material to the literature about the Soviet space program.