Abstract
In order to appreciate the full story of the current and future uses of outer space, it is necessary to reflect on the history of space exploration and the relationship of NASA and the US military.
“In no uncertain terms, space is a war fighting domain, not because we want it to be but because adversaries are threatening peaceful use.”
–Major General David Thompson, Vice Commander of the US Air Force Space Command. April 4, 2017
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Koren, Marina. [Internet] The Atlantic. America’s space commanders rattle their lightsabers. 05 Apr 2017; Sputnik; [cited 2017 Sep 08]. Available from: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/04/space-war/521910/
- 2.
Historylearning.com Staff. [Internet] Historylearningsite.co.uk; c2015. 1945-1950; [cited 2015 Sep 05]. Available from: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-cold-war/1945-1950/
- 3.
National Aviation Hall of Fame. [Internet] nationalaviation.org; c2011. Wernher Von Braun. [cited 2015 Sep 02]. Available from: http://www.nationalaviation.org/von-braun-wernher/
- 4.
National Aviation Hall of Fame. [Internet] nationalaviation.org; c2011. Wernher Von Braun. [cited 2015 Sep 02]. Available from: http://www.nationalaviation.org/von-braun-wernher/
- 5.
Kalic, Sean N. US presidents and the militarization of space, 1946-1967. College Station, Tx: Texas A&M University Press; 2012. 224 p.
- 6.
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences. Forging the future of space science: the next 60 years. National Research Council; 2010. 166p.
- 7.
Kalic, Sean N. US presidents and the militarization of space, 1946-1967. College Station, Tx: Texas A&M University Press; 2012. 224 p.
- 8.
Dawson, L. The Politics and Perils of Space exploration. Springer Praxis Books; 2016. Chapter 6, Politics and the Space Race; p. 107–126.
- 9.
Zak, Anatoly. Sep 2003. The rest of the rocket scientists. Air & Space Magazine.
- 10.
Siddiqi, Asif A. [Internet] History.NASA.gov; c2015. Korolev, Sputnik, and the International Geophysical Year; [cited 2015 Sep 07]. Available from: http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/siddiqi.html
- 11.
Siddiqi, Asif A. [Internet] History.NASA.gov; c2015. Korolev, Sputnik, and the International Geophysical Year; [cited 2015 Sep 07]. Available from: http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/siddiqi.html
- 12.
Global Security Staff. [Internet] globalsecurity.org; c2015. 1955-1964—Kruschev; [cited 2015 Sep 08]. Available from: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/khrushchev.htm
- 13.
Chalmers M Roberts, Staff Reporter. 1957. Sputnik healthily destroyed some illusions. The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959);1.
- 14.
L. Dawson. The Politics and Perils of Space Exploration. Springer International Publishing; 2017. Chapter 6, Politics and the Space Race; p. 107–126.
- 15.
Mieczkowski, Yanek. Eisenhower’s Sputnik moment: the race for space and world prestige. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press; 2013. 368p.
- 16.
Coldwar Org Staff. [Internet] coldwar.org; c2015. Sputnik; [cited 2015 Sep 08]. Available from: http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/sputnik.asp
- 17.
Dawson, L. The Politics and Perils of Space Exploration. Springer International Publishing; 2017. Chapter 6, Politics and the Space Race; p. 107–126.
- 18.
Planetary Staff. [Internet] planetary.org; c2015. Sputnik; [cited 2015 Sep 08]. Available from: http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/space-missions/missions-to-the-moon.html#pioneerp3
- 19.
Madrigal, Alexis. [Internet]. theatlantic.com; c2015. Moondoggle: the forgotten opposition to the Apollo program. Sep 12, 2012. The Atlantic—Technology. [cited 2015 Sep 09]; Available from: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/moondoggle-the-forgotten-opposition-to-the-apollo-program/262254/
- 20.
Staff. [Internet] Au.af.mil; c2015. Eisenhower years: 1953-1960; [cited 2015 Sep 09]. Available from: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/au-18/au18003c.htm
- 21.
Sagdeev, Roald & Eisenhower, Susan. [Internet] NASA.gov; c2008; United States-Soviet space cooperation during the Cold War. [cited 2015 Sep 09]. Available from: http://www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/coldWarCoOp.html
- 22.
Sagdeev, Roald & Eisenhower, Susan. [Internet] NASA.gov; c2008; United States-Soviet space cooperation during the Cold War. [cited 2015 Sep 09]. Available from: http://www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/coldWarCoOp.html
- 23.
Braeunig, Robert. [Internet] Braeunig.us; c2011. Manned space flights; [cited 2015 Sep 09]. Available from: http://www.braeunig.us/space/manned.htm
- 24.
NASA.gov. [Internet] NASA.gov; c2014. NASA—excerpt from the ‘special message to the congress on urgent national needs’; [cited 2015 Sep 09]. Available from: https://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/jfk_speech_text.html#.VfDorxFVhBc
- 25.
Dawson, L. The Politics and Perils of Space Exploration. Springer International Publishing; 2017. Chapter 6, Politics and the Space Race; p. 107–126.
- 26.
Silber, Kenneth. 16 July 2009. Down to Earth: the Apollo Moon missions that never were. Scientific American.
- 27.
Silber, Kenneth. 16 July 2009. Down to Earth: the Apollo Moon missions that never were. Scientific American.
- 28.
NASA.gov. [Internet] Report of the Task Force on Space. Jan 08 1969. [cited 2017 Sep 09]. Available from: https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4407/vol1/chapter3-3.pdf
- 29.
Space Task Group (US). The Post-Apollo space program: directions for the future. [Internet] History Office, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.; 1969 [cited 2015 Sep 21]. Available from: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/taskgrp.html
- 30.
Whittington, Mark. [Internet] Examiner.com. The 1969 space task group and why it failed to chart a post-Apollo space program. [cited 2016 Feb 20]. Available from: http://www.examiner.com/article/the-1969-space-task-group-and-why-it-failed-to-chart-a-post-apollo-space-program
- 31.
Follett, Andrew. [Internet} College of William and Mary. 06 2013. The wrong right stuff: why NASA consistently fails at Congress. [cited 2018 Jul 22]. Available from: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1593&context=honorstheses
- 32.
Logsdon, John M. After Apollo? Richard Nixon and the American space program. NY: Palgrave Macmillan; 2015. 368 p.
- 33.
Logsdon, John M. After Apollo? Richard Nixon and the American space program. NY: Palgrave Macmillan; 2015. 368 p.
- 34.
Compton, W. David and Benson, Charles D. The NASA History Series. [Internet] history.nasa.gov; SP-4208 Living and working in space: a history of Skylab; [cited 2015 Sep 22]. Available from: http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4208/ch1.htm
- 35.
Compton, W. David and Benson, Charles D. The NASA History Series. [Internet] history.nasa.gov; SP-4208 Living and working in space: a history of Skylab; [cited 2015 Sep 22]. Available from: http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4208/ch1.htm
- 36.
Compton, W. David and Benson, Charles D. The NASA History Series. [Internet] history.nasa.gov; SP-4208 Living and working in space: a history of Skylab; 1983. [cited 2015 Sep 22]. Available from: http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4208/ch1.htm
- 37.
Dorr, Robert F. [Internet]. Defensemedianetwork.com; Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) astronauts would have conducted surveillance and scientific research; Oct 19, 2011 [cited 2015 Sep 23]; Available from: http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/what-might-have-been-manned-orbiting-laboratory-mol/
- 38.
Dorr, Robert F. [Internet]. Defensemedianetwork.com; Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) astronauts would have conducted surveillance and scientific research; Oct 19, 2011 [cited 2015 Sep 23]; Available from: http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/what-might-have-been-manned-orbiting-laboratory-mol/
- 39.
Compton, W. David and Benson, Charles D. The NASA History Series. [Internet] history.nasa.gov; SP-4208 Living and working in space: a history of Skylab; 1983. [cited 2015 Sep 24]. Available from: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/NASSP/4208//0000001,004.html
- 40.
Wordpress Staff. [Internet] wordpress.com; False steps: the Space Race as it might have been; the manned orbiting laboratory: a USAF space station; July 15, 2012. [cited 2015 Sep 24]. Available from: https://falsesteps.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/the-manned-orbiting-laboratory-a-usaf-space-station/
- 41.
Compton, W. David and Benson, Charles D. The NASA History Series. [Internet] history.nasa.gov; SP-4208 Living and working in space: a history of Skylab; 1983. [cited 2015 Sep 24]. Available from: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/NASSP/4208//0000001,004.html
- 42.
Flank, Lenny. [Internet] Dailykos.com; The sky is falling: the life and death of Skylab; Apr 16, 2014 [cited 2015 Sep 24]; Available from: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/16/1250880/-The-Sky-is-Falling-The-Life-and-Death-of-Skylab
- 43.
Flank, Lenny. [Internet] Dailykos.com; The sky is falling: the life and death of Skylab; Apr 16, 2014 [cited 2015 Sep 24]; Available from: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/16/1250880/-The-Sky-is-Falling-The-Life-and-Death-of-Skylab
- 44.
Logsdon, John M. May 1986. The decision to develop the Space Shuttle. Space Policy. 2:2:103–119.
- 45.
NASA.gov. [Internet] NASA.gov; Oct 10, 2004 [cited 2015 Nov 11]. Available from: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/the_shuttle/
- 46.
Wall, Mike. [Internet]. Space.com; c2012. Space Shuttle Discovery: 5 surprising facts about NASA’s oldest orbiter.; April 19, 2012 [cited 2015 Nov 16]; Available from: http://www.space.com/15330-space-shuttle-discovery-5-surprising-facts.html
- 47.
CBS.news. [Internet]cbsnews.com; Space Shuttle: 30 years of fascinating facts. July 21, 2011; [cited 2015 Nov 15]. Available from: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/space-shuttle-30-years-of-fascinating-facts/
- 48.
Witze, Alexandra, Kenneth. 18 June 2011. Good-bye Shuttle: looking back at the space plane’s scientific legacy. Science News Vol. 179. No. 13, pp. 20–21.
- 49.
Walter Froehlich. The NASA History Series. [Internet] history.nasa.gov; EP-165 Spacelab: Chapter seven: Spacelab: its birth, its impact, its future living and working in space: a history of Skylab; 1983. [cited 2016 Feb 22]. Available from: http://history.nasa.gov/EP-165/ch7.htm
- 50.
Waldrop, M. Mitchell. AAAS Science Archives 1983-1985. [Internet] Spacelab: science on the shuttle. [cited 2016 Feb 22]. Available from: http://www.ganino.com/games/Science/Science%201983-1985/root/data/Science_1983-1985/pdf/1983_v222_n4622/p4622_0405.pdf
- 51.
NASA.gov. [Internet] NASA.gov; 2013 [cited 2015 Dec 29]. Available from: http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/Spacelab_Collection_140117a.pdf
- 52.
Walter Froehlich. The NASA History Series. [Internet] history.nasa.gov; EP-165 Spacelab: Chapter seven: Spacelab: its birth, its impact, its future living and working in space: a history of Skylab; 1983. [cited 2016 Feb 22]. Available from: http://history.nasa.gov/EP-165/ch7.htm
- 53.
NASA.gov. [Internet] NASA.gov; 2013 [cited 2015 Dec 29]. Available from: http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/Spacelab_Collection_140117a.pdf
- 54.
Wilford, John Noble. 29 Nov 1983. Columbia carries spacelab to orbit with 6-man crew. The New York Times. [Internet] [cited 2016 Feb 23]. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/29/us/columbia-carries-spacelab-to-orbit-with-6-man-crew.html?pagewanted=all
- 55.
NASA.gov. [Internet] NASA.gov; 2013 [cited 2015 Dec 29]. Available from: http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/Spacelab_Collection_140117a.pdf
- 56.
Dawson, L. The Politics and Perils of Space Exploration. Springer International Publishing; 2017. Chapter 6, Politics and the Space Race; p. 107–126.
- 57.
Ray, Justin. [Internet]. Space.com; c2011. From Shuttles to rockets: long history for California launch pad; January 19, 2011 [cited 2015 Dec 30]; Available from:http://www.space.com/10644-california-launch-pad-history-shuttles-rockets.html
- 58.
Ray, Justin. [Internet]. Space.com; c2011. From Shuttles to rockets: long history for California launch pad; January 19, 2011 [cited 2015 Dec 30]; Available from:http://www.space.com/10644-california-launch-pad-history-shuttles-rockets.html
- 59.
Launius, Roger. [Internet]. wordpress.com; c2012. NASA’s Space Shuttle and the department of defense; Nov 12, 2012 [cited 2015 Dec 30]; Available from: https://launiusr.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/nasas-space-shuttle-and-the-department-of-defense/
- 60.
Cassutt, Michael. Air & Space Magazine, Secret Space Shuttles, August, 2009.
- 61.
Scimemi, Sam. NASA and the legacy of the International Space Station. NASA Advisory Council HEO Committee; July 29, 2013.
- 62.
- 63.
- 64.
Dick, Steve. Summary of space exploration initiative. [cited 2016 Jan 18]. Available from: http://history.nasa.gov/seisummary.htm
- 65.
Smith, Marcia S. NASA’s space station program: evolution and current status: Testimony before the house science committee; Apr 4, 2001. [cited 2016 Jan 18]. Available from: http://history.nasa.gov/isstestimony2001.pdf
- 66.
JAXA. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. May, 1999. [cited 2016 Jan 18]. Available from: http://iss.jaxa.jp/iss/history/index_e.html
- 67.
- 68.
rt.com news. Russia & UW agree to build new space station after ISS, work on joint Mars project. 28 Mar 2015. [cited 2016 Jan 18]. Available from: https://www.rt.com/news/244797-russia-us-new-space-station/
- 69.
Kremer, Ken. Boeing and SpaceX win NASA’s ‘space taxi’ contracts for space station flights. 17 Sep 2014. [cited 2016 Feb 25]. Available from: http://www.universetoday.com/114247/boeing-and-spacex-win-nasas-space-taxi-contracts-for-space-station-flights/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dawson, L. (2018). A Summary of the US Space Program and Its Relationship to the Military. In: War in Space. Springer Praxis Books(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93052-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93052-7_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93051-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93052-7
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)