Historical Studies in the Societal Impact of Spaceflight Steven J. Dick Editor Historical Studies in the Societal Impact of Spaceflight Historical Studies in the Societal Impact of Spaceflight Steven J. Dick Editor National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Communications NASA History Program Office Washington, DC 2015 NASA SP-2015-4803 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Historical studies in the societal impact of spaceflight / Steven J. Dick, editor. p. cm. — (Societal impact series ; v. 3) Includes bibliographical references and index. “NASA SP-2015-4803.” 1. Astronautics—Technology transfer—History. 2. Astronautics—Public opinion—History. 3. Astronautics—Social aspects—History. 4. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I. Dick, Steven J. TL865.H58 2010 338.973’06--dc22 2009030014 This publication is available as a free download at http://www.nasa.gov/ebooks. v Contents Introduction ..................................vii PART I OPINION Chapter 1. The Impact of Space Exploration on Public Opinions, Attitudes, and Beliefs William Sims Bainbridge .................................1 PART II SPINOFF? Chapter 2. Societal Impact of NASA on Medical Technology William Sims Bainbridge ................................77 Chapter 3. NASA’s Role in the Manufacture of Integrated Circuits Andrew J. Butrica ....................................149 Chapter 4. NASA’s Role in the Development of MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) Andrew J. Butrica ....................................251 PART III THE WORLD AT LARGE Chapter 5. Powering Space Exploration: U.S. Space Nuclear Power, Public Perceptions, and Outer Planetary Probes Roger D. Launius ....................................331 Chapter 6. NASA and the Environment: An Evolving Relationship W. Henry Lambright ..................................383 Chapter 7. Societal Impacts of Applications Satellites David J. Whalen .....................................427 vi Historical Studies in the Societal Impact of Spaceflight Chapter 8. Impacts of the Apollo Program on NASA, the Space Community, and Society Eligar Sadeh ........................................491 Chapter 9. An Astrosociological Perspective on the Societal Impact of Spaceflight Jim Pass ...........................................535 About the Authors ............................577 The NASA History Series .......................583 Index ........................................599 vii Introduction ollowing the publication in 2007 of the Societal Impact of Spaceflight Fvolume in the NASA History series, the NASA History Division com- missioned a series of more in-depth studies on specific subjects.1 This volume presents those studies to scholars and the public, and represents what is hoped will be a continuing series in the effort to understand the mutual interaction of space exploration and society—part of a larger need to understand the relationship between science, technology, and society. Emphasizing the importance of public attitudes toward space, the volume opens with sociologist William Sims Bainbridge’s study of the impact of space exploration on public attitudes. Based on seven decades of question- naire survey data, and combining historical and social science approaches, the chapter considers both changes in public opinion over time and key themes that have shaped public opinion. Because the study surveyed vast ranges and quantities of data, it uncovered a number of historical and social science ques- tions that deserve more focused study in the future, integrating historical data and methodologies into statistical analysis of questionnaire survey data. Because NASA has entered a new era of space development, it is ever more important to understand changing public opinion in a historical context. “Spinoff” is the first aspect that comes to mind for most people who think at all about the impact of space exploration, those technologies that are thought—wrongly or rightly—to have emanated from the space pro- gram. Part II consists of case studies of specific potential spinoffs and explic- itly raises the difficult questions of what can be considered spinoff and how much of any particular claimed spinoff can be attributed to NASA—thus the interrogatory “Spinoff?” title for this section rather than the usual declara- tive “Spinoff.” Though NASA claims many spinoffs and publishes an annual 1. Steven J. Dick and Roger D. Launius, eds., Societal Impact of Spaceflight (Washington, DC: NASA SP-2007-4801, 2007), available online at http://history.nasa.gov/sp4801.pdf. viii Historical Studies in the Societal Impact of Spaceflight Spinoff report,2 it seldom parses its claims very finely. The three chapters in this part aim to do just that. Bainbridge’s study of medical technology rein- forces the judgment of social scientists who wrote 30 to 40 years ago that spinoffs are a problematic concept: they may not reflect the most important channels by which NASA contributes to scientific and technological progress, even if they do provide coherent stories to communicate with the general public about the history of space exploration. Andrew J. Butrica tackles the oft-made claim that NASA played a major role in the early development and use of integrated circuits. In particular, he addresses a specific question: What was the role of NASA in improving the manufacture of integrated circuits during the Apollo era? Butrica finds that the answer is not so simple. In a second and related essay, he shows that another claim—that the multibillion-dollar industry known as MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) originated at NASA—was actually such a close collaboration with nearby Stanford University that this story is also much more complex than usually thought. Butrica’s conclusions are also in accord with an earlier finding that even if a particular spinoff can be attrib- uted in whole or in part to NASA, attribution to individuals is still more difficult. As James E. Tomayko found in writing his report onComputers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience, “often in corporations and government agencies individual achievement is buried within the institution. NASA is no exception. It was exceedingly difficult to get people both in the [A]gency and in contractor organizations to identify who did what, or even to take personal credit where appropriate.”3 This reminds us that, for better or worse, we have come a long way from the lone figure working in a laboratory. Part III encompasses a variety of diverse studies of NASA’s impact on the world at large, ranging from the technology of radioisotope thermal gen- erators and the public controversy over the use of these nuclear components in spacecraft (Roger D. Launius’s chapter), to NASA and the environment (W. Henry Lambright’s chapter), the impact of applications satellites (David J. Whalen’s chapter), and the impact of the Apollo program (Eligar Sadeh’s chapter). At another level, space exploration has spawned new disciplines— ranging from astrobiology and astrochemistry to astrogeology—and has enlarged the boundaries of age-old problems by contemplating such areas as 2. Issues of Spinoffare available at http://spinoff.nasa.gov/index.html(accessed 20 April 2015). 3. James E. Tomayko, Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience, NASA CR-182505 (Washington, DC: NASA Scientific and Technical Information Division, 1988), available at http://history.nasa.gov/computers/Compspace.html, Preface. Introduction ix astrotheology.4 One of the least developed disciplines, but ripe for explora- tion, is astrosociology—the subject of the final chapter (by Jim Pass) in this volume. This section demonstrates that our entry into space has altered the intellectual landscape of the 20th and 21st centuries in ways large and small, broadening our horizons in ways we sometimes fail to recognize. This volume is the third in the NASA History subseries on the societal impact of spaceflight and follows a book entitled Cosmos and Culture: Cultural Evolution in a Cosmic Context.5 That volume makes clear, far beyond the scope of the present work, how much cosmos and culture have become intertwined in the human experience. NASA and other space agencies around the world have contributed much to our understanding of the universe, enriching cul- tural worldviews and revealing the potential for other cultures throughout the universe. Not a bad legacy for 50 years of activity beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. Steven J. Dick Former NASA Chief Historian Washington, DC April 2015 4. On the history of astrobiology—the study of life in the universe—see Steven J. Dick and James E. Strick, The Living Universe: NASA and the Development of Astrobiology (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2004). On astrotheology, see Steven J. Dick, ed., Many Worlds: The New Universe, Extraterrestrial Life, and the Theological Implications (Philadelphia: Templeton Press, 2000). 5. Steven J. Dick and Mark Lupisella, eds., Cosmos and Culture: Cultural Evolution in a Cosmic Context (Washington, DC: NASA SP-2009-4802, 2009), online at http://history. nasa.gov/SP-4802.pdf. Part I Opinion 1 Chapter 1 The Impact of Space Exploration on Public Opinions, Attitudes, and Beliefs William Sims Bainbridge 1. Introduction ince July 1944, when a Gallup poll asked two questions indirectly related Sto the German V-2 rocket program, scores of major questionnaires have included items about space exploration. The end of the Space Shuttle era is a good time to survey the history of public understanding and enthusiasm, because there have