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Tag Archives: Department of Defense
Wednesday’s Book Review: “New Weapons, Old Politics: America’s Military Procurement Muddle”
New Weapons, Old Politics: America’s Military Procurement Muddle. By Thomas L. McNaugher. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1989. A muck-raking analysis, the author uses case studies to illuminate concerns at the heart of the ongoing debate over defense acquisition, especially a … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged 1960s, Brookings Institution, C-5, cold war, cost, David Packard, Defense acquisition, Department of Defense, FB-111, military-industrial complex, New Weapons, Old Politics: America’s Military Procurement Muddle, performance, politics, presidential power, public perceptions, public policy, Robert McNamara, schedule, Soviet Union, Thomas L. McNaugher, weopons systems
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Wednesday’s Book Review: “Rumsfeld’s Wars: The Arrogance of Power”
Rumsfeld’s Wars: The Arrogance of Power. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2008. By Dale R. Herspring. This is an important book, but a difficult one to get through. This is the case not because of turgid writing or poor analysis, … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics
Tagged Afghanistan, Dale R. Herspring, Department of Defense, Donald Feith, Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, international relations, Iraq, military transformation, Paul Wolfowitz, Pentagon, Rumsfeld’s Wars: The Arrogance of Power, strategy, University Press of Kansas
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Wednesday’s Book Review: “Defense Acquisition Reform, 1960-2009: An Elusive Goal”
Defense Acquisition Reform, 1960-2009: An Elusive Goal. By J. Ronald Fox, with contributions by David G. Allen, Thomas C. Lassman, Walton S. Moody, and Philip L. Shiman. Washington, D.C.: Center for Military History, United States Army, 2011. Written by the … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics
Tagged 1960-2009: An Elusive Goal, 1960s, Center for Military History, cold war, David G. Allen, Defense acquisition, Defense Acquisition Reform, Department of Defense, DoD, F-35; Donald J. Trump, History, J. Ronald Fox, military, Niccolò Machiavelli, Philip L. Shiman, The Prince, Thomas C. Lassman, United States Army, Walton S. Moody, weapons systems
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Chronology of Key Space Anniversaries for 2017
1942—75 Years Ago 3 October—Germany launched its V-2 rocket and is the first spacecraft to cross the Kármán line (100 km). 1947—70 Years Ago 20 February—The United States sent fruit flies into space. 1952—65 Years Ago 1 April—The U.S. Army … Continue reading
Posted in Apollo, Applications Satellites, Cold War Competition, Earth Science, History, International Space Station, Lunar Exploration, Science, Space, Space Shuttle
Tagged 1960s, American exceptionalism, cold war, Department of Defense, Earth science, History, International Space Station, JFK, Moon, Moon race, NASA, public policy, Ronald Reagan, science, Soviet Union, space science, space shuttle, U.S. Civil Space, Wernher von Braun
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A Life Well-Lived: “Godspeed, John Glenn”
John Glenn (1921-2016) has left us after a lifetime of service to the nation and his fellow humans on Earth. John H. Glenn Jr. served as the astronaut on the February 20, 1962 Mercury-Atlas 6 (Friendship 7) mission, the first American orbital … Continue reading
Posted in aviation, History, Space
Tagged 1960s, cold war, Department of Defense, Discovery, Friendship 7, Godspeed, History, JFK, John Glenn, Marines, NASA, public policy, Royal Crown International, science, Scott Carpenter, Senate, space shuttle, STS-95, U.S. Civil Space
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Five Legacies of Space Access Since the 1950s
While a large number of issues could be explored in the now more than fifty years of space access, here are five central legacies, number three will blow your mind. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist). The limitations of chemical rocket technology … Continue reading
A Short History of Air and Space Defense in the Cold War
Following World War II, although some demobilization took place, the Cold War precipitated a continuation of an expansion of military aerospace activities and fostered the search for a truly effective air and space defense for the United States. In the … Continue reading
Posted in aviation, History, Space
Tagged 1960s, Air National Guard, Atlas, B-52, ballistic missile defense organization, Cheyenne Mountain, cold war, Department of Defense, Department of Defense (DOD), DEW Line, General Curtis E. LeMay, History, ICBM, KC-135, Kennedy administration, M-X Peacekeeper, Minuteman, Mutually Assured Destruction, National Security Act of 1947, National Security Council, Nike Hercules, North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), nuclear triad, Polaris, politics, Project CORONA, public perceptions, public policy, Ronald Reagan, satellite reconnaissance, science, SLBM, Soviet Union, SR-71, Strategic Air Command (SAC), Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), Titan, Trident, U-2, United States Air Force
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The Federal Government and the Development of Aerospace Technology
Since 1903, the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars developing aerospace technology, on the management of the infrastructure necessary to support its operations, and on the military and other practical applications that it affords. Accordingly, through a … Continue reading
Posted in aeronautics, aviation, History, Politics, Space, World War II
Tagged 1960s, ames research center, aviation, Boeing, cold war, Department of Defense, federal aviation administration, History, international relations, NASA, nasa ames research, nasa ames research center, politics, public policy, R&D, science, technology transfer, transportation, U.S. Civil Space, World War II
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Sputnik and Free Overflight in Space
It came like a shock to the system on October 4, 1957. The Soviet Union launched a beach ball-sized orbital satellite to usher in the “Space Age.” The act in itself proved neither particularly shocking nor threatening but what it … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age”
Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age. By Matthew Brzezinski. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2007. The fiftieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, sparked the publication of … Continue reading
Posted in Cold War Competition, Earth Science, History, Politics, Science, Space
Tagged American exceptionalism, cold war, Department of Defense, Earth science, History, international relations, Matthew Brzezinski, presidential power, public perceptions, public policy, Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age, science, Soviet Union, space science, Sputnik, U.S. Civil Space
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