Contested Ground: The Historical Debate Over NASA's Mission - From Sputnik to the Apollo Moon Landing, Space Shuttle and Space Station Decisions, Commercial Space

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Aeronautics & Astronautics
Cover of the book Contested Ground: The Historical Debate Over NASA's Mission - From Sputnik to the Apollo Moon Landing, Space Shuttle and Space Station Decisions, Commercial Space by Progressive Management, Progressive Management
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Progressive Management ISBN: 9781301760459
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: April 8, 2013
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9781301760459
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: April 8, 2013
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

Since the opening of the space age nearly 50 years ago, the U.S. government has spent close to $1 trillion on space-related activities. Although by no means the largest public expenditure over that period—it is easily dwarfed by national defense, social security, and countless other federal programs—it is still, by any measure, an enormous amount of money. It therefore seems perfectly reasonable to ask: what has the American taxpayer gotten in return for this rather large investment?

This book will examine the changing views of NASA's mission(s) held by government officials over the years. Drawing upon relevant concepts in political science and public administration, it will attempt to account for the shifts in space policy, by describing the political, economic, and technical factors that helped bring them about. Among the questions to be addressed are: what did policymakers envision when they created the agency in the first place? Why was there such strong (albeit not entirely unanimous) support for Project Apollo in the early 1960s, and why did it fade away in such a relatively short time? What caused NASA and the program to languish throughout most of the 1970s, and why did it reemerge (after a fashion) in the 1980s? Finally, what is the agency's role today?

There is one fundamental question about the agency which, although it has existed literally since its founding in 1958, has seldom even been asked directly, let alone examined in any detail. Stated simply: at no point in NASA's history has there ever been a clear, specific statement of its actual purpose. What, in a word, do policymakers believe that the agency is for?

  1. What is NASA's Mission? * 2. Analytical Framework * 3. Prehistory: Space Policy Before Sputnik * 4. NASA: Born out of Fright, 1957-1961 * 5. Mission Advanced * 6. Mission Accomplished... Now What? * 7. Space Policy Redefined (Again) * 8. Dollars, Not Dreams; Business, Not Government * 9. Concluding Thoughts
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Since the opening of the space age nearly 50 years ago, the U.S. government has spent close to $1 trillion on space-related activities. Although by no means the largest public expenditure over that period—it is easily dwarfed by national defense, social security, and countless other federal programs—it is still, by any measure, an enormous amount of money. It therefore seems perfectly reasonable to ask: what has the American taxpayer gotten in return for this rather large investment?

This book will examine the changing views of NASA's mission(s) held by government officials over the years. Drawing upon relevant concepts in political science and public administration, it will attempt to account for the shifts in space policy, by describing the political, economic, and technical factors that helped bring them about. Among the questions to be addressed are: what did policymakers envision when they created the agency in the first place? Why was there such strong (albeit not entirely unanimous) support for Project Apollo in the early 1960s, and why did it fade away in such a relatively short time? What caused NASA and the program to languish throughout most of the 1970s, and why did it reemerge (after a fashion) in the 1980s? Finally, what is the agency's role today?

There is one fundamental question about the agency which, although it has existed literally since its founding in 1958, has seldom even been asked directly, let alone examined in any detail. Stated simply: at no point in NASA's history has there ever been a clear, specific statement of its actual purpose. What, in a word, do policymakers believe that the agency is for?

  1. What is NASA's Mission? * 2. Analytical Framework * 3. Prehistory: Space Policy Before Sputnik * 4. NASA: Born out of Fright, 1957-1961 * 5. Mission Advanced * 6. Mission Accomplished... Now What? * 7. Space Policy Redefined (Again) * 8. Dollars, Not Dreams; Business, Not Government * 9. Concluding Thoughts

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book A History of the Women Marines, 1946-1977: Legislation, Korean War, Pepper Board, Snell Committee, Recruit and Officer Training, Uniforms, Promotions, Marriage, Motherhood, Husbands by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Wildland Fire in Ecosystems: Fire and Nonnative Invasive Plants (Rainbow Series) Part 2 - Invasion Ecology, Use of Fire to Control Plants, Northeast, Southeast, Central, West Bioregions by Progressive Management
Cover of the book North Korea Issue Papers: Criminal Sovereignty and Illicit International Activities, Understanding the North Korea Problem: The Land of Lousy Options, plus China Policies and Controversies by Progressive Management
Cover of the book A Giant in the Shadows: Major General Benjamin Foulois and the Rise of the Army Air Service in World War I - Beginnings of Military Aviation, War Department Buys Aeroplane, Foulois on Western Front by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Military Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and the Department of Defense Report to Congress on Addressing Challenges for Unmanned Aircraft Systems by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Kite Balloons to Airships: the Navy's Lighter-than-Air Experience - Goodyear, Goodrich, Helium, Airship Disasters, Lakehurst, USS Akron, Macon, Heli-Stat, Aerocrane, ZP-32 and ZP-21 by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: NBC Protection (FM 3-4) Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Hazards (Value-Added Professional Format Series) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book U.S. Army Medical Correspondence Course: Intravenous Infusions and Related Tasks - Obtaining Blood Specimen, Treatment for Anaphylactic Shock, Universal Body Substance Precautions by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The War in South Vietnam: The Years of the Offensive 1965-1968 - The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia - B-52 Bomber, Deployments and Air Operations, Refinements of Aircraft and Munitions by Progressive Management
Cover of the book National Defense Intelligence College Paper: Y: The Sources of Islamic Revolutionary Conduct - Islamic Ressentiment, bin Laden, al-Qaida, Mohammad, Palestine, Comparison to Christianity by Progressive Management
Cover of the book U.S. Nonproliferation Policy Towards North Korea: Nuclear Program, DPRK Belligerent Acts and American Responses, Potential for Military Action, New Types of Engagement, Six-Party Talks by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Providing Comfort to Iraq's Kurds: Forming a De Facto Relationship - History of Kurds, Anfal Campaign, Iran-Iraq War, Persian Gulf War, International Relations Framework, Kurdistan Democratic Party by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century VA Independent Study Course: Visual Impairment and Blindness, Vision Loss, Eye Pathologies, Training Programs, Low Vision, Blind Rehabilitation, Psychological and Family Implications by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Russian Nuclear Weapons: Past, Present, and Future - Strategy, Doctrine, Relationship to Conventional Forces, Tactical Nukes, New START and Nonproliferation, Threats, Putin, Lavrov by Progressive Management
Cover of the book National Hurricane Operations Plan (FCM-P12-2013) - Weather Service Products, Aircraft Reconnaissance, Satellite Surveillance, Surface Radar Reporting, Data Buoys, Marine Broadcasts by Progressive Management
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy