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Tag Archives: public policy
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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Cassini Arrives at Saturn: Happy Anniversary!
Representing the international character of many NASA planetary missions since Voyager, Cassini-Huygens, a joint effort of NASA, the European Space Agency, and Italian Space Agency, has also proved to be an incredible success. It seems appropriate to recall this mission … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “The Whites of their Eyes”
The Whites of their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle over American History. By Jill Lepore. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010. There is a war being waged over American history. Sorry if you weren’t aware of it, … Continue reading
Apollo 13 and Nostalgia for an Earlier Time
A cultural debate has raged during the first part of the twenty-first century over the meaning of the Apollo program. Much of the recollection of Apollo’s legacy revolves around ideas of ‘progress’ for the American nation. At the same time, Apollo … Continue reading
Posted in History, Lunar Exploration, Space
Tagged American exceptionalism, Apollo 13, cold war, History, Moon, Moon race, NASA, nostalgia, politics, public policy, Ron Howard, U.S. Civil Space
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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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Remembering the Gemini Program
Since it is the fiftieth anniversary of the the end of the Gemini program in 1966, with the flight of Gemini XII on November 12-15, I thought it appropriate to reflect on what I refer to as the middle child … Continue reading
Posted in Cold War Competition, History, Space
Tagged 1960s, Apollo, cold war, Ed White, Gemini, Gemini XII, Gus Grissom, History, John Young, Langley Research Center, McDonnell Aircraft Corp, Mercury, Moon race, NASA, paraglider, pogo effect, politics, public policy, Robert Gilruth, Soviet Union, Titan II, U.S. Civil Space
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Wednesday’s Book Review: “White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement”
White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement. By Allan J. Lichtman. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2008. 570 pages. ISBN-10: 0871139847. $27.50 Hardcover with dustjacket. References, illustrations, index. This history of the evangelical Christian movement in the … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics, Religion
Tagged 1960s, Allan Lichtman, American exceptionalism, conservatism, History, public perceptions, public policy
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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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