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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Description of document: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Report on Episodes from American History Where the Federal Government Fostered Critical Activities for the Public Good 2014 Requested date: 26-October-2020 Release date: 13-November-2020 Posted date: 22-February-2021 Source of document: FOIA Request NASA Headquarters 300 E Street, SW Room 5Q16 Washington, DC 20546 Fax: (202) 358-4332 Email: [email protected] Online FOIA submission form The governmentattic.org web site (“the site”) is a First Amendment free speech web site and is noncommercial and free to the public. The site and materials made available on the site, such as this file, are for reference only. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals have made every effort to make this information as complete and as accurate as possible, however, there may be mistakes and omissions, both typographical and in content. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided on the governmentattic.org web site or in this file. The public records published on the site were obtained from government agencies using proper legal channels. Each document is identified as to the source. Any concerns about the contents of the site should be directed to the agency originating the document in question. GovernmentAttic.org is not responsible for the contents of documents published on the website. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters Washington, DC 20546-0001 November 13, 2020 Office of Communications Re: FOIA Tracking Number 21-NSSC-F-00054 This letter acknowledges receipt of your October 26, 2020 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the NASA Headquarters FOIA Office. Your request will be processed by the Headquarters FOIA Office on behalf of the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC). Your request is for the following A copy of the final report produced under NASA Contract NNX12AN66G, awarded to the Smithsonian Institution. The report was completed in 2014. The study EXPLORED AND ANALYZED HISTORICAL EPISODES IN AMERICA WHERE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOSTERED CRITICAL ACTIVITIES VALUED FOR THEIR PUBLIC GOOD. Please be advised that the document you have requested is publicly available and can be located by visiting https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/historical analogs detail.html or you may Google "Historical Analogs for the Stimulation of Space Commerce" by Roger D. Launius, Ph.D. Since the document specified in your request is already in the public domain, we are therefore closing your request. Fees for processing this request are less than $50.00 and are not being charged in accordance with 14 CFR §1206.504(±). Therefore, your request for a fee waiver is moot. If I can be of further assistance regarding this request, please feel free to contact me at martha. e. [email protected]. Sincerely, Martha Terry NASA FOIA Officer Headquarters, Office of Communications National Aeronautics and Space Administration Farewell from all your NASA colleagues HISTORICAL ANALOGS FOR THE STIMULATION OF SPACE COMMERCE Monographs in Aerospace History, no. 54 Roger D. Launius www.nasa.gov HISTORICAL ANALOGS FOR THE STIMULATION OF SPACE COMMERCE Roger D. Launius Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Launius, Roger D. Historical analogs for the stimulation of space commerce / Roger D. Launius. pages cm. -- (The NASA history series) (NASA SP ; 2014-4554) Summary: “The study investigates and analyzes historical episodes in America where the federal government undertook public-private efforts to complete critical activities valued for their public good and applies the lessons learned to commercial space activities”--Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Space industrialization--United States. 2. Space industrialization--Government policy--United States. 3. United States--Commerce. 4. Public-private sector cooperation--United States--Case studies. 5. Public works--United States--Finance--Case studies. 6. Common good--Economic aspects--United States--Case studies. I. Title. HD9711.75.U62L28 2014 338.4’7629410973--dc23 2014013228 ISBN 978-1-62683-018-9 90000 9 781626 830189 ii HISTORICAL ANALOGS FOR THE STIMULATION OF SPACE COMMERCE Monographs in Aerospace History, no. 54 Roger D. Launius National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Communications Public Outreach Division History Program Office Washington, DC 2014 SP-2014-4554 iii . Table of Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................vi Executive Summary and Findings ......................................................................................................1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................5 A Breathless Survey of American Spaceflight History .......................................................................12 Commercial Activities in Space .......................................................................................................24 The Use and Abuse of Historical Analogs ........................................................................................35 Case Studies ...................................................................................................................................37 Developing the Transcontinental Railroad .................................................................................. 38 Fostering the Aerospace Industry ............................................................................................... 47 Creating the Telephone Industry ................................................................................................ 63 Supporting Scientific Research in Antarctica ............................................................................. 67 Advancing Public Works ............................................................................................................ 78 Making Accessible Scenic and Cultural Conservation Zones ..................................................... 82 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................88 Selective Annotated Bibliography ....................................................................................................96 Key Historical Studies ................................................................................................................ 96 Key Civil Space History Studies ................................................................................................. 98 Key Historical Analog Studies ..............................................................................................................117 v HISTORICAL ANALOGS FOR THE STIMULATION OF SPACE COMMERCE Acknowledgments The author wishes to express his appreciation to Brian Jirout, a doctoral student at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Marcus Jackson, an undergraduate student at Xavier University; and Lauren Binger, an undergraduate student at Smith College, for assistance in collecting information for this project. The author also wishes to thank NASA’s Emerging Space Office, which provided a grant to pursue this research. vi Executive Summary and Findings Executive Summary and Findings The study that follows investigates and analyzes historical episodes in America in which the federal gov- ernment undertook public-private efforts to complete critical activities valued for their public good. This combination largely resulted from a lack of either sufficient political will to fund them entirely out of the public treasury or insufficient profit motive for private firms to undertake them for purely business reasons. The six case studies include the following: 1) the development of the transcontinental railroad, supported by a unique land-grant approach to subsidy; 2) support for the airline industry through leg- islation, appropriate regulation, and subsidies to grow a robust air transport capability; 3) the regulatory regime put into place with the rise of the telephone industry and the creation of a government-sponsored monopoly that eventually had to be broken up; 4) government sponsorship of Antarctic scientific sta- tions that evolved into a public-private partnership (PPP) over time; 5) the fostering of a range of public works projects and their success or failure over time; and 6) the establishment of scenic and cultural conservation zones in the United States and ways to balance economic development with preservation. With the rise of a range of private-sector entrepreneurial firms interested in pursuing space commerce, the process whereby their efforts might be incubated, fostered, and expanded comes to the fore as an important public policy concern in a way never before present in the Space Age. In the United States, and really nowhere else in the world, we are witnessing the convergence of several powerful economic forces. These include the need to restore American capability to reach low-Earth orbit (LEO) for the servicing of the International Space Station (ISS), the rise of a hospitality/tourism/entertainment indus- try interested in space, the development of expansive remote sensing and other applications in
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