Perspectives on Early Spaceflight

PERSPECTIVES ON EARLY XEFLICHT Alex Roland The NASA Histcry Seri Scientific and Technical lnfmtion 8ranch 1985 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington. DC NASA rmintains an intcrnd history pmgram for IWO pfkipd (1) Sponrorship af rrscuch in NASA-mlatcd history is onc way in whkh NASA responds to the provision of thc Nuid Acnwwtis and Spacc Act of 1918 chrt trquira NASA to "pidc for rhc pncticablc and rppropriatr dissemination nf int umarion conmning in vtiritics and rhc results thf." (2) Thoughtful uudy of NASA bstory can hclp agency muyrs accomplish the mioionr asi& to the ync).. Undcrsturdinb NASA's pra aids in ritdcmading in prcs- mc situation and illuminam porwMc fururt dirrctiom. Tic opinions and conrlusiom scr fonh in this bookarcthorcdrhcauthocs; nodticddthc~ncrrmrilycndomsthorcopinio;aa mxlusionr. Libn.dCoclgeaGabtjngia~Iky Main cnq undcr titk: Aspoccfurwptopk. (NASA SP; 4401) "Essay . dc~ircrrdat a confmmcc on thc history ofspace nivity held at Yak Ukityon Fcbnrug 6 and 7, 1981"-l1~d. 1. Anroclurtio-Hinory-Cayass. I. Rdud. Akx, 1944- ~~788.1.~~1981 6s.4.09 a-979 hr sak by thc Suprrintmdcnr uf bmncno, U.S. Gomnmmt Printing OKcc Washingtar, D.C.20102 PRECEDING PAGE BLANK NOT FILMED iv CONTENTS P~gr INTRODUCTION vii SCIENCE. TECHNOLOGY, AND MANAGEMENT: THE FIRST 20 YEARS IN SPACE Spacc Sricncc and Exploration: A Historid Pecspcctivc J. A. Simpson ....................................... 3 Satellita and Politics: Wcathcr. Communications, and Evth Resources Pamela Mack ........................................ 32 Managcmcnt of Lacgc-Scale Technology Arnold S. Lsvinc ..................................... 39 Commentary I. B. Hollcy. Jr. ...................................... 53 LITERATURE AND THEMES IN SPACE HISTORY Thc Next Assignment: The State of the Litcraturc on Space Richard P. Hallion .................................... 61 A Spacefaring People: Kcynote Address John Noble Wilford ................................... 68 Commcnta~y Syivia Doughty Fries .................................. 73 DOMESnC AND 1NTERNATIONAL RAMIFICATIONS OF SPACE ACTIVITY Opportunities for Policy Historians: Thc Evolution of the U. S. Civilian Spacc Program John Logsdon ........................................ 8 1 Space-Age Europe, 1957- 1980 Wdter A. McDougdl ................................. Space Activities in the Soviet Union, Japan, and the People's Republic of China Edward C. hell ...................................... Commentary Richard S. Kirkenddl ................................. THE RATIONALE FOR SPACE EXPLORATON The Idea of Space Exploration Bruce Mulish ........................................ A Humanist's View James A. Michcner .................................... Cornrnen tary Carroll W.Punel!,Jr. ................................. PARTICIPANTS' BIOGRAPHIES ............... The essays on the early years of spaceflight that follow were originally prese~tedat a conference on the history of space activity. held at Yale University on February 6 and 7. 1981. The conference grew out of 3 course 1 offered at Yale University in the fall of 1980 en- titled "NASA and the Post-Sputnik Era." Jointly sponsored by Calhoun and Jonathan Edwards colleges in response to student in- terest, the course was quickly oversubscribed. Therefore, the fist pur- pose of this conference was to provide a larger forum in which Yale students could observe-and participate in-informed discussions about United States space activity to date. The conference attracted a far wider and more diverse audience than expected. Pcoplc from all over the country came to New Haven in a month when that city is not at its best, and panicipatcd actively in the conference and all activities related to it. These proceedings would no doubt be richer and more represen- tative of the conference had it been possible to capture and transribe much of the discussions about the formal papers. Papa included here are basically in the same form as originally presented, with only minor editorial revision. James J. Gchrig, formerly of the st& of the House Committee on Science and Technology. made the last presentation of the final session on "The Rationale for Space Exploration," but his remarks were from notes and are not reproduced here. Participants brought to the conference a healthy mixture of perspectives from history. political science, journalism, politics, science, and literature. The commentators all were members of the NASA Historical Advisory Committee, which met at New Haven in conjunction with the conference. At the last moment, I.B. Holley, Jr., graciously replaced another committee member who could not attend. Many hands contributed to the success of the conference and the publication of these proceedings. Special thanks must go to the staff and students of Calhoun and Jonathar. Edwards collc ges for conceiving the course on which this co~fcrencewas based and for convening the original idea into a broader undertaking. Both colieges, along with other rcsidrr.:A collega at Yale, also served as hosts to the participants, providing a warm and stimulating atmosphere amidst the rigors of winter in Ncn England. Paul hchenbach and Ann Ltnbeck were especially helpful and diligent. Monrt D. Wright. then Director of the NASA History Off~c,steered the plan through che bureaucracy with equanimity and slull. Alex Roland Durham. North Cvoiina 1083 SPACE SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE' J.A. Simpson It is always hazardous to ekaiuate the historical significance of an era or a development-whether political or intellectual-when the observer is still contemporary with that era. However, when placed against the background of the most .significant advances by man throughout history, the space age has a secure position. It is the evalua- tion of the character and significance of the space age, as we shall cail it, that we are here to discuss. Macauley and Livingstone have noted that "many ingredients are necessary for the making of great history . knowledge of the facts, truth to record them faithfully, imagination to restore life to dead men and issues. Thucydides had all three ingredients and their union makes him the greatest of historians." I cannot pretend to have these credentials but & a scientist whose main objectives have involved scientific experiments in space and who has shared in some of the space exploration, I can at least present my personal views and perspective. My task is to examine science and exploration in space, not the applications of space science technology. Clearly tcday the main focus is the U.S. program. But from a historical viewpoint, it is also important to look at the totality of man's efforts in space, in order to recognize the significance of individual achievements within the space era. In this period, six nations (France, Italy, Japan, China, Australia, and the United Kingdom), in addition to the USSR, the European Space Agency, and the United States, have successfully iaunched their own satellites (app. A). Many other nations have contributed essential ex- perimzr;rs or spacecraft for these launchings. My talk here is neither a definitive history or a chronology of develclpments and achievements in space. It is a11 overview of the main points of this unique period. We are all aware of some of the most spect.;cular and important contributions to our knowledge of the physical world 2nd the universe around us, which have been made by reaching directly to the planets and thereby opening exploration of our solar system. Some of these achievements will be reviewed later. But how does this revolutionsry * This papcr was supported in part by NASA Grant NGL 14-001-OM and the Arthur H. Comp- tun Fund. 3 PRECEDING PAGE BLANK NOT FILMED step into space compare with other giant strides that have triggered enormous increases in our knowledge and long-term bendits for man? As historical examples we could cite the development of the steam engine and the rise of the industrial revolution, or the achievement of the sustained and controlled nuclear reaction. In my opinion, some important distinctions should be made among these advances by considering two (and there may be more) kinds of revolutionary developments. The revolutionary development uf the fint Rind is one in which a series of critical discoveries were preconditions for the start of the new era or new advance. A recent example is the nuclear age. One can trace the direct steps from James Chadwick's discovery of the neutron (1932) to the Hahn-Mcitner discovery of fission of uranium (1939). to the estabiishmznt of a sustained nuclear reaction (1942) and, thence, to applications of nuclear energy for both constructive or destructive ends. I would define a revolution of the second Rind as the confluence of many ideas and developments, each well known for extended periods of time, which finally come to perfection to trigger revolutionary developments. An example might be Watt's steam cnginc. His invention of the condenser, to save energy lost in the earlier Newcomen engine, was crucial to the rise of the industrial revolution and represented the revolution's principal technical driver. Concurrent with Watt (1736-1815), Joseph Black evolved the concept of latent heat. This period was followed by Sadi Carnot of France, who was motivated to understand the principles of energy conversion underly- ing the steam engine by the fact that England had the lead and France was behind in this technology. Even though his ideas were bawd on an erroneous assumption, he nevertheless laid the groundwork

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