After Apollo?
by John M. Logsdon · first published 2015
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2016–2022first – last mentioned
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…giving that speech scared the hell out of Nixon and helped shape some of his later decisions on follow-up Apollo missions and NASA in general. I've referenced the book on here before, but John Logsdon's After Apollo?: Richard Nixon and the American Space Program is a great book on the subject. It makes mention of this letter, and how those fears impacted the White House's budget battles with NASA.
on “In Event of Moon Disaster (1969)” ↗…is not as clear; in the final days of the shuttle debate in December 1971, NASA put forward a somewhat smaller and less powerful shuttle as its proposed design (169). I cannot recommend John Logsdon's After Apollo? Richard Nixon and the American Space Program[0] enough. It's a fascinating look into the politics and challenges NASA faced even in the heady days after Apollo 11. And, yes, the mistakes: by DOD, NASA,…
on “Space Transportation System” ↗…funding all the way back to the middle of the Apollo program and nowhere has that been more apparent than when NASA was trying to replace one major project with another. If you're interested, John Logsdon's After Apollo? Richard Nixon and the American Space Program is a fascinating--albeit depressing--book on the politics of NASA funding. It mainly focuses on Apollo and the transition to STS (and covers some of the alternative…
on “Senate panel authorizes money for Mars mission, shuttle replacement” ↗…it; for decades, the Space Shuttle was probably one of the most obviously American symbols besides the flag itself. People, regrettably, aren't quite as fond of paying for NASA. Even in the heady days after Apollo 11, people thought the money could be better spent elsewhere: > [Peter Flannigan, Nixon's assistant] also had become attuned to the reality that there was limited public support for ambitious post-Apollo…
on “Hubble Space Telescope Is In Safe Mode After Gyro Failure” ↗Which part? The bit with Nixon is well known (see, for example, John Logsdon's book "After Apollo?"). As for SLS, it's called the "Senate Launch System" for a reason. Shelby in particular has saved it, to the extent that work on propellant depots was targeted for extermination (no one in NASA is…
on “James Webb telescope reaches its final destination in space, million miles away” ↗…thrown in their way, and how election-oriented thinking can impact its missions, NASA has managed to continue pushing scientific boundaries since the beginning. That's damned impressive. - Logsdon, John. After Apollo? Richard Nixon and the American Space Program.
on “U.S. President to sign space policy directive Monday” ↗