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Satellite Meteorology in the Cold War Era: Scientific Coalitions and International Leadership 1946-1964

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Satellite Meteorology in the Cold War Era: Scientific Coalitions and International Leadership 1946-1964 SATELLITE METEOROLOGY IN THE COLD WAR ERA: SCIENTIFIC COALITIONS AND INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP 1946-1964 A Dissertation Presented to The Academic Faculty By Angelina Long Callahan In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in History and Sociology of Technology and Science Georgia Institute of Technology December 2013 Copyright © Angelina Long Callahan 2013 SATELLITE METEOROLOGY IN THE COLD WAR ERA: SCIENTIFIC COALITIONS AND INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP 1946-1964 Approved by: Dr. John Krige, Advisor Dr. Leo Slater School of History, Technology & History Office Society Code 1001.15 Georgia Institute of Technology Naval Research Laboratory Dr. James Fleming Dr. Steven Usselman School of History, Technology & School of History, Technology & Society Society Colby College Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Kenneth Knoespel Date Approved: School of History, Technology & 6 November 2013 Society Georgia Institute of Technology ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I submit this dissertation mindful that I’ve much left to do and much left to learn. Thus, lacking more elegant phrasing, I dedicate this to anyone who has set aside their own work to educate me. All of you listed below are extremely talented and because of that, managing substantial workloads. In spite of that, you have each been generous with your insight over the years and I am grateful for every meeting, email, and gesture of support you have shown. First, I want to thank my dissertation committee. I am extremely proud to claim each of you as a mentor. Please know how grateful I am for your patience and constructive criticism with this work in progress as it evolved milestone by milestone. Jim Fleming, who I first met when he commented on a World Weather Watch paper of mine in 2009, has been a welcomed source of editorial insight—much of which will be addressed in later iterations of this project. Ken Knoespel read tirelessly through several drafts of my master’s thesis. Then, as well as my dissertation defense, he has provided vivifying perspective, making the tasks of editing and revision more rewarding. Leo Slater, my supervisor, has welcomed me into the fascinating community of the Naval Research Lab and I will remain forever grateful to him for it. His patience as a mentor has eased the strains of balancing work and dissertation-writing; his empathy as a supervisor has enabled me to more ably balance family and career. Steve Usselman, more than eight years ago my much-admired and now much-missed undergraduate advisor, Mark Finlay, “sent” me to Georgia Tech with a profound respect for your mastery of the historian’s craft. For a long time I will return to your and John Krige’s scholarship as a iii models. Above and beyond all my academic mentors I thank John Krige. For years you have fostered an intellectually vibrant community in HTS. Through your extremely generous offer of co-authorship you have patiently guided me through the rigors of what it takes to write a book...and then a dissertation. At every moment you have been a pleasure to work with and to work for. I have many others to thank at HTS: Nathan Moon factors prominently for helping me navigate the rigors of grad school, but more important for being a steadfast friend and confidant over some trying years. Thank you to Doug Flamming for being so generous with your time and energies as I studied for comps. I still return to our readings and meeting notes and glean more from them each time. Thank you to Jenny Smith who has been a perfectly-measured mentor and professor and friend to me. Thank you LaDonna Bowen for being an indefatigable source of answers in every conceivable situation. And to Marisa and Wade Benson, I express my heartfelt gratitude for years of being friends to me and volunteer aunt and uncle to my daughter. In just three years’ time, my mentors at the Naval Research Lab have opened my eyes to a fascinating enclave of research policy, history, science, and technology—yours is a world I look forward to investigating for many years to come. Thank you to my mentor, Jill Dahlburg, for taking such an interest in my academic and professional advancement; thank you for reading hundreds of pages of very rough drafts; and thank you for so candidly sharing your perspectives on the world. I would also like to voice my appreciation to Skip Lackie and Pete Wilhelm for our many impromptu lectures that have, as my meetings with Jill, informed the way that I approached this and other research projects. Thank you Don DeYoung and Dr. John Montgomery. Being well iv aware your taxing schedules, I am all the more appreciative of the time that you have taken to visit the History Office, proof my writing, and answer my many questions. I have enjoyed the support of several librarians and archivists. Jane Odom, Liz Suckow, and John Hargenrader of the NASA Historic Records Center have all been delights to work with—and to visit with. Thank you Bruce Henson of Georgia Tech for being ever-available for my long-distance queries and database vexations. Rick Spencer, Manager of the NASA HQ Glennan Library has been a wonderful resource, for myself and for my daughter’s classroom activities. Thank you Linda Norton of the NRL library for your years of support and diligent searches for esoteric materials. I have benefitted from input of scholars at several workshops and conferences over the years. I was so very grateful for the feedback from Odd Arne Westad at the London School of Economics IDEAS conference and I look forward to integrating the themes of that paper into this research. Thank you to Kris Harper for welcoming me into the American Meteorological Society and for her and Ron Doel’s research guidance. Thank you to Martin Collins who twice in one week commented on papers of mine, one at SHAFR, D.C. and one at the UCSB Emerging Technologies Conference this summer. Other friends, colleagues and mentors in the D.C. area I would like to thank include Bill Barry, Dwayne Day, David DeVorkin, Roger Launius, Teasel Muir- Harmony, and Mike Neufeld. And, following the precedent of every other acknowledgements page, I thank my family last. Thank you to Cyndi Sommers for embodying all the kindest and most supportive attributes of a mother and a friend. Thank you, Adrienne Dickerson, for all the v details of a friendship that would only make sense to us. Jason Callahan, thank you with all of my heart for making every day richer and every task lighter. Since the day we met I have had a tremendous respect for you and your capabilities and it delights me to no end that our interests complement one another as they do. You, above all others, have laid aside your own work time and again to help me think through writing and research snarls. As for Frances, thank you for eight amazing years; I cannot wait to see what lies ahead with such a fascinating girl raised by family such as this. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................xi SUMMARY......................................................................................................................xiii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: FROM CORNERSTONES OF NATIONAL DEFENSE TO GLOBAL SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT.......................................1 The Meteorologists and the Space Science Community 1946-1958……………...9 Historiography: (Re)Organizing for Space R&D, 1955-1959...............................18 Theme I: The Satellite System as Big Science…………………………………..27 Theme II: Basic Research and the Space Sciences………………………………31 Theme III: Military and Civil | National and International………………………36 Theme IV: Units of Analysis…………………………………………………….41 Chapter Summaries………………………………………………………………46 CHAPTER 2 FORESHADOWINGS OF SATELLITE R&D: “GOING THE SOUNDING ROCKET ROUTE,” 1946-1951…………………………………..50 Operation Paperclip……………………………………………………………...52 Vanguard’s Birthplace 1945-1946: “The Things that Were Available”………....58 V-2 Upper Atmospheric Research Collaboration & NRL Leadership…………..66 Indigenous Rockets to Replace the V-2………………………………………….70 Meteorologists’ Acceptance of High-Altitude Images…………………………..76 Proliferation of Methods & Consensus Building………………………………...80 RAND Uses UARRP Observations to Speculate on Meteorological Satellites…85 On the Eve of the IGY: “Leadership of a Divided World”………………………87 Weather Bureau’s Aims at Coordinating Meteorological Research & Services...92 CHAPTER 3 THE PROMISE AND THE THREATS OF SATELLITE CAPABILITIES: UARRP AND NAS COORDINATION FOR IGY SATELLITES……………...98 Jigsaw Sciences and the Earth’s “Heat Engine”………………………………..102 Meteorology: Synoptic Forecasting and Meteorological Science……………...107 Satellites Become Feasible……………………………………………………..110 The Meteorological Community Considers Satellites………………………….114 The Sounding Rocket Community Before Satellites…………………………...117 IGY Administrators Consider Satellites………………………………………..120 vii The Vanguard System: Prelude to TIROS……………………………………...130 “Launch Sat:” From Viking to Vanguard………………………………131 “See It:” Tracking………………………………………………………131 “Use It:” Computation Center…………………………………………..134 “Use It:” Meteorological Instruments…………………………………..135 Dual Use Instruments…………………………………………………………...138 Looking Ahead: The Vanguard Team | The TIROS Team……………………..140 Threats to the IGY Order:
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