Into the Black : JPL and the American Space Program, 1976-2004

by Peter J. Westwick

• ISBN13: 9780300110753
• ISBN10: 0300110758
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2006-11-13
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

In the decades since the mid-1970s, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has led the quest to explore the farthest reaches of the solar system. JPL spacecraftVoyager, Magellan, Galileo, the Mars rovers, and othershave brought the planets into close view. JPL satellites and instruments also shed new light on the structure and dynamics of earth itself, while their orbiting observatories opened new vistas on the cosmos. This comprehensive book recounts the extraordinary story of the lab's accomplishments, failures, and evolution from 1976 to the present day. This history of JPL encompasses far more than the story of the events and individuals that have shaped the institution. It also engages wider questions about relations between civilian and military space programs, the place of science and technology in American politics, and the impact of the work at JPL on the way we imagine the place of humankind in the universe.

Author Biography

Peter J. Westwick is Olin Fellow, International Security Studies, Yale University. His first book, The National Labs: Science in an American System, 1947-1974, was awarded the Book Prize of the Forum for History of
Science in America in 2004.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xiv
List of Abbreviations	xvii
ONE The Inheritance	1	(16)
Part I. Acclaim and Agitation: The Murray Years, 1976-1982
TWO Planetary Exploration Triumphant	17	(25)
THREE Planetary Exploration in Extremis	42	(17)
FOUR External Relations and the Internal Environment	59	(19)
FIVE Diversification	78	(15)
SIX Return to the Military	93	(15)
SEVEN Space Technology	108	(17)
Part II. Restoration: The Allen Years, 1982-1991
EIIGHT The Rise and Decline of Defense Programs	125	(17)
NINE The Dividends of Defense Programs	142	(13)
TEN Space and Earth Science	155	(10)
ELEVEN JI3L under Allen	165	(10)
TWELVE Recovery of Flight Projects	175	(11)
THIRTEEN Voyager Redux, Galileo, and Magellan	186	(21)
Part III. Beyond the Cold War: The Stone Years, 1991-2001
FOURTEEN Faster, Better, Cheaper	207	(21)
FIFTEEN Reengineering JPL	228	(14)
SIXTEEN The Tilting Triangle and Commercialization	242	(14)
SEVENTEEN A Break in the Storm	256	(20)
EIGHTEEN Annus Miserabilis	276	(11)
NINETEEN Epilogue, 2001-2004	287	(11)
TWENTY Conclusion	298	(17)
Notes	315	(68)
Index	383