SP−4221 The Space Shuttle Decision Mystery, Suspense, History, Gothic, Literature, Books, Arts SP−4221 The Space Shuttle Decision Table of Contents SP−4221 The Space Shuttle Decision......................................................................................................................1 Nasa................................................................................................................................................................2 INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................................................................................................6 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS......................................................................................................8 BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................................................14 CHAPTER 1................................................................................................................................................26 SPACE STATIONS AND WINGED ROCKETS.......................................................................................27 Footnotes......................................................................................................................................................56 CHAPTER 2................................................................................................................................................60 NASA'S UNCERTAIN FUTURE...............................................................................................................61 Footnotes......................................................................................................................................................86 CHAPTER 3................................................................................................................................................88 MARS AND OTHER DREAM WORLDS.................................................................................................89 Footnotes....................................................................................................................................................115 CHAPTER 4..............................................................................................................................................117 WINTER OF DISCONTENT....................................................................................................................118 Footnotes....................................................................................................................................................140 CHAPTER 5..............................................................................................................................................143 SHUTTLE TO THE FOREFRONT..........................................................................................................144 Footnotes....................................................................................................................................................172 CHAPTER 6..............................................................................................................................................176 ECONOMICS AND THE SHUTTLE.......................................................................................................177 Footnotes....................................................................................................................................................206 CHAPTER 7..............................................................................................................................................208 AEROSPACE RECESSION......................................................................................................................209 Footnotes....................................................................................................................................................229 CHAPTER 8..............................................................................................................................................231 A SHUTTLE TO FIT THE BUDGET.......................................................................................................232 Footnotes....................................................................................................................................................266 CHAPTER 9..............................................................................................................................................268 NIXON'S DECISION................................................................................................................................269 Footnotes....................................................................................................................................................296 The NASA History Series..........................................................................................................................298 Design for a nuclear−powered spaceship for an expedition to Mars. (North American Rockwell)..........303 PROGRAM I—Three levels of space activity studied by the Space Task Group in 1969. (NASA)........304 PROGRAM I I—Three levels of space activity studied by the Space Task Group in 1969. (NASA)......305 PROGRAM III...........................................................................................................................................306 i SP−4221 The Space Shuttle Decision SP−4221 The Space Shuttle Decision 1 SP−4221 The Space Shuttle Decision Nasa This page copyright © 2002 Blackmask Online. http://www.blackmask.com • INTRODUCTION • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS • ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS • BIBLIOGRAPHY • CHAPTER 1 • SPACE STATIONS AND WINGED ROCKETS • Footnotes • CHAPTER 2 • NASA'S UNCERTAIN FUTURE • Footnotes • CHAPTER 3 • MARS AND OTHER DREAM WORLDS • Footnotes • CHAPTER 4 • WINTER OF DISCONTENT • Footnotes • CHAPTER 5 • SHUTTLE TO THE FOREFRONT • Footnotes • CHAPTER 6 • ECONOMICS AND THE SHUTTLE • Footnotes • CHAPTER 7 • AEROSPACE RECESSION • Footnotes • CHAPTER 8 • A SHUTTLE TO FIT THE BUDGET • Footnotes • CHAPTER 9 • NIXON'S DECISION • Footnotes • The NASA History Series • Design for a nuclear−powered spaceship for an expedition to Mars. (North American Rockwell) • PROGRAM I—Three levels of space activity studied by the Space Task Group in 1969. (NASA) • PROGRAM I I—Three levels of space activity studied by the Space Task Group in 1969. (NASA) • PROGRAM III Nasa 2 SP−4221 The Space Shuttle Decision Cover art: From the Seeds of Change.....a Discovery. By Robert A. M. Stephens, oil on canvas, c.1984. Para Beverley: mi vida, mi amor, la esposa de mi corazon. Nasa 3 SP−4221 The Space Shuttle Decision INTRODUCTION [ix] The Space Shuttle took shape and won support, and criticism, as part of NASA's search for a post−Apollo future. As with the Army and Navy in World War II, NASA had grown rapidly during the 1960s. Similarly, just as those military services saw a sharp falloff in funding in the wake of victory, the success of the piloted moon landings brought insistent demands that NASA should shrink considerably. In facing those demands, and in overcoming them to a degree, NASA established itself as a permanent player in Washington. In civics books, we learn that the three branches of government include the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court. In making policy and in carrying it out, however, the judiciary rarely plays a significant role. One may speak of a tripartite government with a different set of participants: the White House, Congress, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Though the OMB is part of the Executive Branch and responds to the wishes of the President, its officials have considerable leeway to shape policy in their own right, by cutting budgets. In seeking its post−Apollo future, NASA repeatedly had to accept such cuts, as its senior officials struggled to win support within the White House. During 1969, with Nixon newly elected and the first astronauts setting foot on the Moon, NASA Administrator Thomas Paine led a push for a future in space that promised to be expansive. He aimed at nothing less than a piloted expedition to Mars, propelled by nuclear rocket engines that were already in development. En route to Mars, he expected to build space stations and large space bases. Almost as an afterthought, he expected to build a space shuttle as well, to provide low−cost flight to these orbiting facilities. Soon after Neil Armstrong made his one small step in the lunar Sea of Tranquillity, Paine received a cold bath in the Sea of Reality. Nixon's budget director, Robert Mayo, chopped a billion dollars from Paine's request. This brought an end to NASA's hopes for a space base and for flight to Mars. It appeared possible, however, to proceed with the space station and the Shuttle, as a joint project. The Shuttle drew particular interest within the Air Force, which saw it as a means to accomplish low−cost launches of reconnaissance satellites and other military spacecraft. [x] Congress, however, was deeply skeptical toward the proposed shuttle/station, as both the House and Senate came close to killing it in 1970. NASA responded to this near−death experience by placing the station on the shelf and bringing the Shuttle to the forefront.