First Among Equals: The Selection of NASA Space Science Experiments - Origins of NASA, Early Satellites, Webb's Influence on Science (NASA SP-4215)

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, Scientific Instruments, Physics, Astrophysics & Space Science
Cover of the book First Among Equals: The Selection of NASA Space Science Experiments - Origins of NASA, Early Satellites, Webb's Influence on Science (NASA SP-4215) 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: 9781466169890
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: January 18, 2012
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9781466169890
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: January 18, 2012
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

This official NASA history document - converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction - describes the origin and evolution of the NASA space science selection process. Contents: The Origins of the Selection Process * The Origins of NASA * The Space Science Board * NASA Organizes * 1959: A Year of Trouble and Conflict * The NASA Process for Selecting Scientists * The Impact of James E. Webb * Summary and Assessment.

The author notes: "In this book I describe the origin and evolution of the NASA selection process. Where necessary, I touch on the concurrent political and technical forces that helped shape the process. I have not attempted to write a comprehensive history of space science. I have not attempted to describe the process that NASA uses to formulate its scientific program, nor have I attempted to critique the qualifications of the scientists selected or the value of the research they conducted. In the first five chapters, I trace the origins of space science, the Space Science Board, and NASA, and show how people, events, conflicts, forces, and decisions coalesced and led NASA to formulate its particular process in the spring of 1960. Those readers who are interested only in the details of the NASA process and the immediate circumstances surrounding its creation will find that story begins with chapter 6. I finish the story in the spring of 1962 with the NASA selection process firmly in place and the United States beginning to establish leadership in space science and technology. NASA slightly modified the selection process between 1960 and 1962 as the leaders of the agency and space scientists gained experience. In the spring of 1961, James E. Webb became the NASA administrator. In November 1961, he reorganized the agency, created the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, and placed a scientist, Dr. Homer E. Newell, in charge of NASA's space science program. Today, the NASA space science organization is much the same as the one Newell created in late 1961."

In the fall of 1957, with the launch of Sputnik I, scientists began to explore a new universe outside the Earth's atmosphere, a universe previously invisible to astronomers and beyond the reach of physicists. Scientists and the media promptly nicknamed this universe "space" and began to call the people who explored it "space scientists." In the spring of 1958, the United States created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and directed it to maintain U.S. leadership in space science and technology. At the same time, the National Academy of Sciences created a Space Science Board to interest scientists in space research and to advise NASA and the other federal agencies the Academy expected to be engaged in space research. As scientists recognized the potential for major scientific discoveries in space, they began to fight for the limited opportunities to place their instruments on board NASA spacecraft. As a result of this intense competition, a quiet but equally intense struggle developed between NASA Headquarters and the Space Science Board. Each wanted to control the process to select space scientists. Inside NASA, a similar struggle evolved between NASA Headquarters and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It took NASA three hectic years to hammer out a selection process that was acceptable to the scientists, administrators, lawyers, procurement specialists, and the institutions involved. Three decades later, NASA continues to use that same basic process: the associate administrator for the NASA Office of Space Science and Applications selects the space scientists for all NASA's missions. It is not a trivial responsibility. A major space science mission, such as Viking or the Space Telescope, may involve 100 scientists, require twenty years to complete, and cost more than a billion dollars.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This official NASA history document - converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction - describes the origin and evolution of the NASA space science selection process. Contents: The Origins of the Selection Process * The Origins of NASA * The Space Science Board * NASA Organizes * 1959: A Year of Trouble and Conflict * The NASA Process for Selecting Scientists * The Impact of James E. Webb * Summary and Assessment.

The author notes: "In this book I describe the origin and evolution of the NASA selection process. Where necessary, I touch on the concurrent political and technical forces that helped shape the process. I have not attempted to write a comprehensive history of space science. I have not attempted to describe the process that NASA uses to formulate its scientific program, nor have I attempted to critique the qualifications of the scientists selected or the value of the research they conducted. In the first five chapters, I trace the origins of space science, the Space Science Board, and NASA, and show how people, events, conflicts, forces, and decisions coalesced and led NASA to formulate its particular process in the spring of 1960. Those readers who are interested only in the details of the NASA process and the immediate circumstances surrounding its creation will find that story begins with chapter 6. I finish the story in the spring of 1962 with the NASA selection process firmly in place and the United States beginning to establish leadership in space science and technology. NASA slightly modified the selection process between 1960 and 1962 as the leaders of the agency and space scientists gained experience. In the spring of 1961, James E. Webb became the NASA administrator. In November 1961, he reorganized the agency, created the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, and placed a scientist, Dr. Homer E. Newell, in charge of NASA's space science program. Today, the NASA space science organization is much the same as the one Newell created in late 1961."

In the fall of 1957, with the launch of Sputnik I, scientists began to explore a new universe outside the Earth's atmosphere, a universe previously invisible to astronomers and beyond the reach of physicists. Scientists and the media promptly nicknamed this universe "space" and began to call the people who explored it "space scientists." In the spring of 1958, the United States created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and directed it to maintain U.S. leadership in space science and technology. At the same time, the National Academy of Sciences created a Space Science Board to interest scientists in space research and to advise NASA and the other federal agencies the Academy expected to be engaged in space research. As scientists recognized the potential for major scientific discoveries in space, they began to fight for the limited opportunities to place their instruments on board NASA spacecraft. As a result of this intense competition, a quiet but equally intense struggle developed between NASA Headquarters and the Space Science Board. Each wanted to control the process to select space scientists. Inside NASA, a similar struggle evolved between NASA Headquarters and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It took NASA three hectic years to hammer out a selection process that was acceptable to the scientists, administrators, lawyers, procurement specialists, and the institutions involved. Three decades later, NASA continues to use that same basic process: the associate administrator for the NASA Office of Space Science and Applications selects the space scientists for all NASA's missions. It is not a trivial responsibility. A major space science mission, such as Viking or the Space Telescope, may involve 100 scientists, require twenty years to complete, and cost more than a billion dollars.

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book Mongolia in Perspective: Orientation Guide and Mongolian Cultural Orientation: Geography, History, Economy, Security, Genghis Khan, Ulaanbaatar, Darhan, Mongol, Gutul, Altai, Hentiyn, Hangayn, Gobi by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: Food Sanitation for the Supervisor Field Manual - FM 8-34 (Value-Added Professional Format Series) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Official Assessments of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, Four Reports 2005 through 2012 - Details of Science and Research Progress by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 2018 Energy Department Report on Assessment of Electricity Disruption Incident Response Capabilities, Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure, Cyber Attack Threats and Impacts by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The "Roaring Forties": The Arena for Tomorrow's War, Future Marine Corps Conflicts, Strategic Shipping Lanes and Chokepoints, Latin America, Guerrilla Warfare, Southern Hemisphere by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Wings in Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle - Select Astronaut Observations and Highlights of Shuttle Program Payloads and Experiments Supplement (NASA TM-2011-216150) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Skylab Medical Operations Project: Recommendations to Improve Crew Health and Performance for Future Exploration Missions - Fascinating Opinions from Crewmembers on Flight Operations and Systems by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Joint Operations in the Gulf War: An Allison Analysis of Behavior - Rational, Organizational, Bureaucratic Process, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Battlefield Preparation, Deep Strike Coordination by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Leadership and Parochialism: An Enduring Reality? Defense Reorganization, Bias in Praxis, Just Cause and Persian Gulf War, Colin Powell, Schwarzkopf, Jointness Attitudes by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Ideas, Concepts, Doctrine: Basic Thinking in the United States Air Force 1907-1960 - Volume One, Early Days, World War II, Nuclear Weapons, Missiles, Space, Strategic Implications by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Skylab Mission Report: First Visit - 1973 Space Station Mission by Conrad, Kerwin, Weitz - Workshop Damage and Problems, Activities, Hardware, Anomalies, Experiments, Crew Health, EVAs by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Augmenting Our Influence: Alliance Revitalization and Partner Development - U.S. Strategic Interests in Asia-Pacific, Senkaku, Obama Strategy, Europe, NATO, Future of American Landpower by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Prejudicial Counsel: A Multidimensional Study of Tactical Airpower Between the Korean and Vietnam Wars - Soviets, Atomic Weapons, Nuclear Options, Dropshot, ICBMs, Sputnik, F-100, F-101, F-104, F-105 by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Navy Search and Rescue (SAR) Manual - 3-50.1 - Part 2 of 2 - Aviation Maritime, Surface Vessel, Rescue Swimmer, Inland, Equipment, Communications, Medical Procedures, Survival Equipment by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Middle East Security Issues: In the Shadow of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation - WMD, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Persian Gulf, Arab Perspectives 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