Tag Archives: History
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Culture Wars: The Struggle To Control The Family, Art, Education, Law, And Politics In America”
Culture Wars: The Struggle To Control The Family, Art, Education, Law, And Politics In America. By James Davison Hunter. New York: Basic Books, 1992. Since I mentioned this book in last week’s Wednesday book review, I thought it was appropriate … Continue reading
President Kennedy and the Apollo Commitment: A Unique Moment in Time
Tomorrow will be the 52nd anniversary of President John F. Kennedy announcing the decision to pursue a Moon landing by the end of the decade of the 1960s. On May 25, 1961, he stood before a joint session of Congress and … Continue reading
Redirect: “The Impact of Sally Ride’s Contributions in Space and Education”
On Friday, May 17, 2013, we held at the National Air and Space Museum here in Washington, D.C., a wonderful program on Sally Ride and her place in the history of spaceflight and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “The Culture of the Cold War”
The Culture of the Cold War. By Stephen Whitfield. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991, second edition 1996. I was preconditioned to appreciate this book when I first picked it up for a reading. I have been devouring studies … Continue reading
Is Space Tourism Soon to Become a Reality?
With the successful test flight of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) at the end of April, 2013, we are one step closer to commercial space tourism. This is not orbital tourism, of course, but the ability to fly above 100 km … Continue reading
A New Moon Race?
It’s amazing when you think about it. One might think that there is a new race to the Moon underway, this time with robotic spacecraft rather than astronauts and cosmonauts. There has been a small armada of space probes sent … Continue reading
Nuclear Power Systems for Spacecraft: The Transit Navigational Satellite Connection
Flying in space requires reliable, uninterrupted, stable electrical power, not only for engines to maneuver and navigate but for systems on spacecraft performing a range of functions. During the first two decades of the space age in the 1950s and … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Religious Seekers and the Advent of Mormonism”
Religious Seekers and the Advent of Mormonism. By Dan Vogel. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1988. Pp. xiii, 237. I recently reread Dan Vogel’s 1988 book, Religious Seekers and the Advent of Mormonism. I am more convinced than ever that … Continue reading
Venturing to the Outer Solar System: Pioneer 10 and 11 and the Technology of Long Duration Space Exploration
As the first attempt to send robotic probes to any part of the outer solar system, in 1964 NASA scientists first conceived of what became Pioneer 10 and 11, missions that undertook a “windshield tour” of Jupiter and Saturn as … Continue reading
