REACHING THE BEYOND NASA’s Quest for United states’ national interest Master’s Thesis North American Studies University of Leiden Written by Yuri Peeters June 21, 2021 Supervisor: Prof Dr G Scott-Smith Second Reader: Dr L Milevski “Reaching the Beyond: NASA’s Quest for U.S National Interest” Yuri Peeters (S3019500) – MA Thesis i Acknowledgments This thesis is written as a final research paper for the Master’s program of North American Studies at the Leiden University in Leiden, the Netherlands. The reason for choosing this topic comes from My interest in space, especially after seeing several space movies (such as Interstellar and First Man) and visiting both NASA sites in Houston, Texas, and Cape Canaveral, Florida. Furthermore, I did not have much knowledge on the importance of NASA as a U.S. agency and wanted to find out if NASA is of significant importance to U.S. national interest and U.S. politics. Finally, I would like to thank Professor Dr. Giles Scott-Smith, who has supported, given advice, feedback and guidance, and supervised the research during the time it was written. I would also like to thank Dr. Lukas Milevski, who was chosen as the second reader for this thesis. Finally, I would like to give a special thanks to my parents and sister, who supported and gave their feedback on the thesis, as well as friend and ally Isa ten Klei, who supported me during the writing process. “Reaching the Beyond: NASA’s Quest for U.S National Interest” Yuri Peeters – MA Thesis ii Abstract Limited research has been conducted on the influence of NASA space programs on U.S. national interest. While some researchers have focused on the influence of space exploration on U.S. national interest in general, most research on this subject has also focused solely on American presidents. This thesis aims to analyze how U.S. Congress between 2000-2020 has argued how NASA space exploration programs have been significant towards U.S. national interests. In the context of U.S. national interest, this research focuses on five different themes of U.S. national interest that have been previously analyzed to be important in space exploration: space competition, American leadership, American prestige, international collaboration, and new paradigm (progressiveness). This thesis has analyzed U.S. Congress reports between 2000-2020 to find out which themes of national interest Congress find most important for NASA space programs. These reports were selected after searching for key terms from NASA space programs, including but not limited to: Apollo, Space Shuttle, Mars, NASA. The results showed that Congress between 2000-2020 consider NASA programs have been significantly important in enhancing American prestige and U.S. progressiveness. The results concluded that Congress considers NASA and its space programs to be important towards inspiring future generations to work in science, mathematics, and technology. Furthermore, the results have concluded that NASA and their space programs unite the nation, which in turn increases the nation to accomplish and achieve larger goals. However, since 2015, space competition has significantly increased, which might cause future Congress to think differently on which theme of national interest should or is considered most important to the U.S. “Reaching the Beyond: NASA’s Quest for U.S National Interest” Yuri Peeters – MA Thesis iii Preface As this thesis was written for the Master North American studies, the research can be used for future students following a similar study. The thesis can also be used for future studies concerning the United States and space exploration. In addition, the thesis will give further information on one of the most well-known independent agencies in the United States: NASA. Thirdly, the thesis will highlight several themes of U.S. national interests that can be used for research on U.S. space exploration, as well as on the U.S. national interest in a broader concept. Furthermore, the research will specifically focus on U.S. Congress between 2000 and 2020, which the reader can further use for future studies contributing to the U.S. government or Congress. Finally, the research can be used in a historical context on certain events of the United States, due to the analysis of past NASA programs. Therefore, the thesis will Make a contribution to existing scholarship on U.S. space exploration, NASA, U.S national interests, and U.S. history. “Reaching the Beyond: NASA’s Quest for U.S National Interest” Yuri Peeters – MA Thesis iv Abbreviation List NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration CSST – Committee on Science, Space, and Technology ESA – European Space Agency “Reaching the Beyond: NASA’s Quest for U.S National Interest” Yuri Peeters – MA Thesis v Table of Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................... i Abstract .................................................................................................................................. ii Preface .................................................................................................................................. iii Abbreviation List .................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... v Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 Research Goal .................................................................................................................................. 5 Historiography ................................................................................................................................. 7 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 12 Thesis Structure ............................................................................................................................. 16 Chapter 1 – U.S. National interest in Space Exploration ......................................................... 17 1-1 Themes of US National Interest in Space Exploration ............................................................... 17 1-1-1 Space Competition ................................................................................................................................... 19 1-1-2 American Leadership ................................................................................................................................ 21 1-1-3 American Prestige .................................................................................................................................... 23 1-1-4 International Collaboration ...................................................................................................................... 26 1-1-5 New Paradigm .......................................................................................................................................... 29 1-1-6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 32 1-2 Public Law 110-422 NASA Authorization Act of 2008 ................................................................ 33 “Reaching the Beyond: NASA’s Quest for U.S National Interest” Yuri Peeters – MA Thesis vi Chapter 2 – U.S. Congress and Past NASA Missions ............................................................... 36 2-1 Apollo Program (1961-1972) .................................................................................................... 36 2-1-1- Space Competition .................................................................................................................................. 39 2-1-2 American Leadership ................................................................................................................................ 40 2-1-3 American Prestige .................................................................................................................................... 41 2-1-4 International Collaboration ...................................................................................................................... 45 2-1-5 New Paradigm .......................................................................................................................................... 46 2-1-6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 49 2-2 Space Shuttle Program (1981-2011) ......................................................................................... 51 2-2-1 Space Competition ................................................................................................................................... 55 2-2-2 American Leadership ................................................................................................................................ 57 2-2-3 American Prestige .................................................................................................................................... 57 2-2-4 International Collaboration .....................................................................................................................