This book explores Russia's stunning success of ushering in the space age by launching Sputnik and beating the United States into space. It also examines the formation of NASA, the race for human exploration of the moon, the reality of global satellite communications, and a new generation of scientific spacecraft that began exploring the universe. An introductory essay by Pulitzer Prize winner Walter A. McDougall sets the context for Sputnik and its significance at the end of the twentieth century.

This book explores Russia's stunning success of ushering in the space age by launching Sputnik and beating the United States into space. It also examines the formation of NASA, the race for human exploration of the moon, the reality of global satellite communications, and a new generation of scientific spacecraft that began exploring the universe. An introductory essay by Pulitzer Prize winner Walter A. McDougall sets the context for Sputnik and its significance at the end of the twentieth century.

Since the lift-off of Sputnik in 1957, over 8,000 satellites and spacecraft have been launched from over thirty countries, costing hundreds of billions of dollars. While only about 350 people have made the incredible journey beyond our atmosphere, we all benefit in countless ways from the missions. An authoriative and accessible source that collects information on man's quest to explore the Universe, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space, provides a global perspective of our occupation and use of space, whether for scientific, industrial, commercial, technical, or military purposes. The authors set the stage by describing the space environment, orbits and ground tracks, launchers and launch sites. Subsequently, they discuss the main space applications (telecommunications, navigation and Earth observation, military), plus science missions, planetary exploration, and space stations. Extensively illustrated with more than 300 illustrations, maps, and graphs, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space will be an invaluable resource for everyone interested in our use of space, and the perfect reference for those working in the space arena. Fernand Verger is Professor Emeritus of Geography at L'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris. Isabelle Sourbés-Verger is a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research and the Foundation for Strategic Research, Paris. Raymond Ghirardi is a cartographic engineer at the CNRS and has worked on many geopolitical projects. Xavier Pasco is a researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research and Associate Professor at the Universite de Marne la Vallee. Pasco is also a Fellow at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

One of the most important developments of the twentieth century has been the movement of humanity into space with machines and people. The underpinnings of that movement--why it took the shape it did; which individuals and organizations were involved; what factors drove a particular choice of scientific objectives and technologies to be used; and the political, economic, managerial, and international contexts in which the events of the space age unfolded-are all important ingredients of this epoch transition from an Earthbound to a spacefaring people. This desire to understand the development of spaceflight in the United States sparked this documentary history series. The extension of human activity into outer space has been accompanied by a high degree of self-awareness of its historical significance. Few large-scale activities have been as extensively chronicled so closely to the time they actually occurred. Many of those who were directly involved were quite conscious that they were making history, and they kept full records of their activities. Because most of the activity in outer space was carried out under government sponsorship, it was accompanied by the documentary record required of public institutions, and there has been a spate of official and privately written histories of most major aspects of space achievement to date. When top leaders considered what course of action to pursue in space, their deliberations and decisions often were carefully put on the record. There is, accordingly, no lack of material for those who aspire to understand the origins and evolution of U.S. space policies and programs. This reality forms the rationale for this series. Precisely because there is so much historical material available on space matters, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided in 1988 that it would be extremely useful to have easily available to scholars and the interested public a selective collection of many of the seminal documents related to the evolution of the U.S. civilian space program. While recognizing that much space activity has taken place under the sponsorship of the Department of Defense and other national security organizations, the U.S. private sector, and in other countries around the world, NASA felt that there would be lasting value in a collection of documentary material primarily focused on the evolution of the U.S. government's civilian space program, most of which has been carried out since 1958 under the Agency's auspices. As a result, the NASA History Office contracted with the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs to prepare such a collection. This is the sixth volume in the documentary history series; two additional ones containing documents and introductory essays related to human space flight, including microgravity research in Earth orbit, will follow. The documents selected for inclusion in this volume are presented in four major sections, each covering a particular aspect of the origins, evolution, and execution of the U.S. space and Earth science program. Section I deals with the scientific study of the Sun. Section II discusses the study of the physical characteristics of space, including both interactions between the Sun and Earth, and other areas of investigation. Section III deals with NASA's fundamental research in life sciences-space biology. Section IV discusses the most recent area of science to which space observations contribute-that intend to advance understanding of the Earth as a planetary system.

One of the most important developments of the twentieth century has been the movement of humanity into space with machines and people. The underpinnings of that movement-why it took the shape it did; which individuals and organizations were involved; what factors drove a particular choice of scientific objectives and technologies to be used; and the political, economic, managerial, and international contexts in which the events of the Space Age unfolded-are all important ingredients of this epoch transition from an Earthbound to a spacefaring people. This desire to understand the development of spaceflight in the United States sparked this documentary history series. The extension of human activity into outer space has been accompanied by a high degree of self-awareness of its historical significance. Few large scale activities have been as extensively chronicled so closely to the time they actually occurred. Many of those who were directly involved were quite conscious that they were making history, and they kept full records of their activities. Because most of the activity in outer space was carried out under government sponsorship, it was accompanied by the documentary record required of public institutions, and there has been a spate of official and privately written histories of most major aspects of space achievement to date. When top leaders considered what course of action to pursue in space, their deliberations and decisions often were carefully put on the record. There is, accordingly, no lack of material for those who aspire to understand the origins and evolution of U.S. space policies and programs. This reality forms the rationale for this series. Precisely because there is so much historical material available on space matters, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided in 1988 that it would be extremely useful to have easily available to scholars and the interested public a selective collection of many of the seminal documents related to the evolution of the U.S. civilian space program. While recognizing that much space activity has taken place under the sponsorship of the Department of Defense and other national security organizations, the U.S. private sector, and in other countries around the world, NASA felt that there would be lasting value in a collection of documentary material primarily focused on the evolution of the U.S. government's civilian space program, most of which has been carried out since 1958 under the Agency's auspices. As a result, the NASA History Division contracted with the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs to prepare such a collection. This is the seventh volume in the documentary history series; one additional volume containing documents and introductory essays related to post-Apollo human spaceflight will follow. The documents selected for inclusion in this volume are presented in two chapters: one covering the Mercury and Gemini projects and another covering Project Apollo.

On January 25, 1984, in his annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, President Ronald Reagan announced that "tonight, I am directing NASA to develop a permanently manned space station and to do it within the decade." A few moments later, he added: "We want our friends to help us meet these challenges and share in their benefits. NASA will invite other countries to participate so we can strengthen peace, build prosperity, and expand freedom for all who share our goals." Just over a year later, during the April-June 1985 period, Canada, Japan, and Europe accepted in principle the U.S. invitation to participate in the space station program. Thus was initiated the most extensive experiment in international technical cooperation ever undertaken. This essay is a history and analysis of the steps leading to the origins of the space station partnership between the United States and its closest allies. It traces the process that led to the decision to invite other countries to participate in the project and their reasons for accepting that invitation. Not covered in this account are the difficult negotiations during the 1984-1988 period that led first to an initial set of agreements that allowed the prospective partners to work together during the early stages of the space station program and then to the final set of agreements creating the original space station partnership. Also, the 1993 invitation to the Russian Federation to join the original partners is not discussed, nor are the subsequent negotiations to revise the 1988 agreements.

One of the most important developments of the twentieth century has been the movement of humanity into space with machines and people. The underpinnings of that movement- why it took the shape it did; which individuals and organizations were involved; what factors drove a particular choice of scientific objectives and technologies to be used; and the political, economic, managerial, and international contexts in which the events of the space age unfolded-are all important ingredients of this epoch transition from an Earthbound to a spacefaring people. This desire to understand the development of spaceflight in the U.S. sparked this documentary history. The extension of human activity into outer space has been accompanied by a high degree of self-awareness of its historical significance. Few large-scale activities have been as extensively chronicled so closely to the time they actually occurred. Many of those who were directly involved were quite conscious that they were making history, and they kept full records of their activities. Because most of the activity in outer space was carried out under government sponsorship, it was accompanied by the documentary record required of public institutions, and there has been a spate of official and privately written histories of most major aspects of space achievement to date. When top leaders considered what course of action to pursue in space, their deliberations and decisions often were carefully put on the record. There is no lack of material for those who aspire to understand the origins and early evolution of U.S. space policies and programs. This reality forms the rationale for this compilation. Precisely because there is so much historical material available on space matters, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration decided in 1988 that it would be extremely useful to have easily available to scholars and the interested public a selective collection of many of the seminal documents related to the evolution of the U.S. civilian space program up to that time. While recognizing that much space activity has taken place under the sponsorship of the Department of Defense and other national security organizations, the U.S. private sector, and in other countries around the world, NASA felt that there would be lasting value in a collection of documentary material primarily focused on the evolution of the U.S. government's civilian space program, most of which has been carried out since 1958 under the agency's auspices. As a result, the NASA History Office contracted with the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs to prepare such a collection. This volume and two additional ones detailing programmatic developments and relations with other organizations that will follow are the result. Copies of more than 2,000 documents in their original form collected during this project, as well as a data base that provides a guide to their contents, have been deposited in the NASA Historical Reference Collection. Another complete set of project materials is located at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. The documents selected for this volume are presented in four major sections, each covering a particular aspect of the evolution of U.S. space policies and programs. Those sections address: the antecedents to the U.S. space program; the origins of U.S. space policy in the Eisenhower era; the evolution of U.S. space policies and plans; and the organization of the civilian space effort. A second volume contains documents arranged in four sections addressing specific relations with other organizations: the NASA/industry/university nexus; civil-military space cooperation; international space cooperation; and NASA, commercialization in space, and communications satellites. A third volume describes programmatic developments: human spaceflight; space science; Earth observation programs; and space transportation.

One of the most important developments of the twentieth century has been the movement of humanity into space with machines and people. The underpinnings of that movement- why it took the shape it did; which individuals and organizations were involved; what factors drove a particular choice of scientific objectives and technologies to be used; and the political, economic, managerial, and international contexts in which the events of the space age unfolded-are all important ingredients of this epoch transition from an Earthbound to a spacefaring people. This desire to understand the development of spaceflight in the U.S. sparked this documentary history. The extension of human activity into outer space has been accompanied by a high degree of self-awareness of its historical significance. Few large-scale activities have been as extensively chronicled so closely to the time they actually occurred. Many of those who were directly involved were quite conscious that they were making history, and they kept full records of their activities. Because most of the activity in outer space was carried out under government sponsorship, it was accompanied by the documentary record required of public institutions, and there has been a spate of official and privately written histories of most major aspects of space achievement to date. When top leaders considered what course of action to pursue in space, their deliberations and decisions often were carefully put on the record. There is no lack of material for those who aspire to understand the origins and early evolution of U.S. space policies and programs. This reality forms the rationale for this compilation. Precisely because there is so much historical material available on space matters, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration decided in 1988 that it would be extremely useful to have easily available to scholars and the interested public a selective collection of many of the seminal documents related to the evolution of the U.S. civilian space program up to that time. While recognizing that much space activity has taken place under the sponsorship of the Department of Defense and other national security organizations, the U.S. private sector, and in other countries around the world, NASA felt that there would be lasting value in a collection of documentary material primarily focused on the evolution of the U.S. government's civilian space program, most of which has been carried out since 1958 under the agency's auspices. As a result, the NASA History Office contracted with the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs to prepare such a collection. This volume and two additional ones detailing programmatic developments and relations with other organizations that will follow are the result. Copies of more than 2,000 documents in their original form collected during this project, as well as a data base that provides a guide to their contents, have been deposited in the NASA Historical Reference Collection. Another complete set of project materials is located at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. The documents selected for inclusion in this volume are presented in three chapters, each covering a particular aspect of the evolution of U.S. space exploration. These chapters address (1) the relations between the civilian space program of the United States and the space activities of other countries, (2) the relations between the US. civilian space pro- gram and the space efforts of national security organizations and the military, and (3) NASA's relations with industry and academic institutions. Volume I of this series covered the antecedents to the U.S. space program, the origins and evolution of U.S. space policy, and NASA as an organizational institution. Future volumes will address space science activities, space application programs, human spaceflight, and space transportation activities.

One of the most important developments of the twentieth century has been the movement of humanity into space with machines and people. The underpinnings of that movement-why it took the shape it did; which individuals and organizations were involved; what factors drove a particular choice of scientific objectives and technologies to be used; and the political, economic, managerial, and international contexts in which the events of the space age unfolded-are all important ingredients of this epoch transition from an Earthbound to a spacefaring people. This desire to understand the development of spaceflight in the United States sparked this documentary history series. The extension of human activity into outer space has been accompanied by a high degree of self-awareness of its historical significance. Few large-scale activities have been as extensively chronicled so closely to the time they actually occurred. Many of those who were directly involved were quite conscious that they were making history, and they kept full records of their activities. Because most of the activity in outer space was carried out under government sponsorship, it was accompanied by the documentary record required of public institutions, and there has been a spate of official and privately written histories of most major aspects of space achievement to date. When top leaders considered what course of action to pursue in space, their deliberations and decisions often were carefully put on the record. There is, accordingly, no lack of material for those who aspire to understand the origins and evolution of U.S. space policies and programs. This reality forms the rationale for this series. Precisely because there is so much historical material available on space matters, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided in 1988 that it would be extremely useful to have a selective collection of many of the seminal documents related to the evolution of the U.S. civilian space program that was easily available to scholars and the interested public. While recognizing that much space activity has taken place under the sponsorship of the Department of Defense and other national security organizations, the U.S. private sector, and other countries around the world, NASA felt that there would be lasting value in a collection of documentary material primarily focused on the evolution of the U.S. government's civilian space program, most of which has been carried out under the agency's auspices since 1958. As a result, the NASA History Office contracted with the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs to prepare such a collection. This is the third volume in the documentary history series; three additional ones detailing programmatic developments with respect to space transportation, space science, and human spaceflight will follow. The documents selected for inclusion in this volume are presented in three major chapters, each covering a particular aspect of the utilization of space capabilities and the unique characteristics of the space environment. These chapters address: (1) communicating via satellite; (2) observing the Earth from space for practical purposes (Earth science will be covered in a later volume); and (3) the various ways in which space activities have had economic impacts. Volume I in this series covered the antecedents to the U.S. space program, as well as the origins and evolution of U.S. space policy and of NASA as an organizational institution. Volume II addressed the relationship between the civilian space program of the United States and the space activities of other countries, the relationship between the U.S. civilian and national security space and military efforts, and NASA's relationship with industry and academic institutions. As mentioned above, future volumes will cover space transportation, space science, and human spaceflight.

One of the most important developments of the twentieth century has been the movement of humanity into space with machines and people. The underpinnings of that movement-why it took the shape it did; which individuals and organizations were involved; what factors drove a particular choice of scientific objectives and technologies to be used; and the political, economic, managerial, and international contexts in which the events of the space age unfolded-are all important ingredients of this epoch transition from an Earthbound to a spacefaring people. This desire to understand the development of spaceflight in the United States sparked this documentary history series. The extension of human activity into outer space has been accompanied by a high degree of self-awareness of its historical significance. Few large-scale activities have been as extensively chronicled so closely to the time they actually occurred. Many of those who were directly involved were quite conscious that they were making history, and they kept full records of their activities. Because most of the activity in outer space was carried out under government sponsorship, it was accompanied by the documentary record required of public institutions, and there has been a spate of official and privately written histories of most major aspects of space achievement to date. When top leaders considered what course of action to pursue in space, their deliberations and decisions often were carefully put on the record. There is, accordingly, no lack of material for those who aspire to understand the origins and evolution of U.S. space policies and programs. This reality forms the rationale for this series. Precisely because there is so much historical material available on space matters, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided in 1988 that it would be extremely useful to have a selective collection of many of the seminal documents related to the evolution of the U.S. civilian space program that was easily available to scholars and the interested public. While recognizing that much space activity has taken place under the sponsorship of the Department of Defense and other national security organizations, within the U.S. private sector, and in other countries around the world, NASA felt that there would be lasting value in a collection of documentary material primarily focused on the evolution of the U.S. government's civil space program, most of which has been carried out since 1958 under the agency's auspices. As a result, the NASA History Office contracted with the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs to prepare such a collection. This is the fourth volume in the documentary history series; two additional ones detailing programmatic developments with respect to space science and human spaceflight will follow. The documents selected for inclusion in this volume are presented in four major chapters, each covering a particular aspect of access to space and the manner in which it has developed over time. These chapters focus on the evolution toward the giant Saturn V rocket, the development of the Space Shuttle, space transportation commercialization, and future space transportation possibilities. Volume I in this series covered the antecedents to the U.S. space program, as well as the origins and evolution of U.S. space policy and of NASA as an institution. Volume II addressed the relations between the U.S. civil space program and the space activities of other countries, between the U.S. civil program and national security space and military efforts, and between NASA and industry and academic institutions. Volume III provided documents on satellite communications, remote sensing, and the economic of space applications. As mentioned above, the remaining two volumes of the series will cover space science and human spaceflight.

One of the most important developments of the twentieth century has been the movement of humanity into space with machines and people. The underpinnings of that movement-why it took the shape it did; which individuals and organizations were involved; what factors drove a particular choice of scientific objectives and technologies to be used; and the political, economic, managerial, and international contexts in which the events of the space age unfolded-are all important ingredients of this epoch transition from an Earthbound to a spacefaring people. This desire to understand the development of spaceflight in the U.S. sparked this documentary history series. The extension of human activity into outer space has been accompanied by a high degree of self-awareness of its historical significance. Few large-scale activities have been as extensively chronicled so closely to the time they actually occurred. Many of those who were directly involved were quite conscious that they were making history, and they kept full records of their activities. Because most of the activity in outer space was carried out under government sponsorship, it was accompanied by the documentary record required of public institutions, and there has been a spate of official and privately written histories of most major aspects of space achievement to date. There is no lack of material for those who aspire to understand the origins and evolution of U.S. space policies and programs. This reality forms the rationale for this series. Precisely because there is so much historical material available on space matters, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration decided in 1988 that it would be extremely useful to have available to scholars and the interested public a selective collection of many of the seminal documents related to the evolution of the U.S. civilian space program. While recognizing that much space activity has taken place under the sponsorship of the Department of Defense and other national security organizations, within the U.S. private sector, and in other countries around the world, NASA felt that there would be lasting value in a collection of documentary material primarily focused on the evolution of the U.S. government's civilian space program, most of which has been carried out since 1958 under the Agency's auspices. As a result, the NASA History Office contracted with the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs to prepare such a collection. This is the fifth volume in the documentary history series; three additional ones detailing programmatic developments with respect to aspects of space science not covered in the current volume, and to human spaceflight, will follow. The documents in this volume are presented in three major sections, each covering a particular aspect of the origins, evolution, and execution of the U.S. space science program. Chapter 1 deals with the origins, evolution, and organization of the space science program. Chapter 2 deals with solar system exploration. Chapter 3 deals with NASA's astronomy and astrophysics efforts. Vol. I covered the antecedents to the U. S. space program, as well as the origins and evolution of U.S. space policy and of NASA as an institution. Vol. II dealt with the relations between the civilian space program of the U.S. and the space activities of other countries, the relationship between the U. S. civilian and national security space and military efforts, and NASA's relations with industry and academic institutions. Vol. III provided documents on satellite communications, remote sensing, and the economics of space applications. Vol. IV covered various forms of space transportation. Future volumes will cover solar and space physics, earth science, and life and microgravity science, and human spaceflight.

There have been many detailed historical studies of the process of deciding on and executing the Apollo lunar landing during the 1960's and early 1970's. From the announcement of President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1061, of his decision to land an American on the Moon by the end of the decade, through the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969, on to the last of six successful Moon landings with Apollo 17 in December 1972, NASA carried out Project Apollo with enthusiasm and aplomb. The NASA History Office has chosen to publish this monograph containing the recollections of key participants in the management process. The collective oral history here was recorded in 1989 at the Johnson Space Center. It includes the recollection of key participants in Apollo's administration, addressing issues such as communication between field centers, the prioritization of technological goals, and the delegation of responsibility.

From virtually the beginning of the twentieth century, those interested in the human exploration of space have viewed as central to that endeavor the building of an Earth-orbital space station that would serve as the jumping-off point to the Moon and the planets, Always, space exploration supporters believed, a permanently occupied space station was necessary outpost in the new frontier of space. The more technically minded recognized that once humans had achieved Earth orbit about 250 miles above the surface-the presumed location of any space station- the vast majority of the atmosphere and the gravity well would have been conquered, and then human being were about halfway to anywhere they might want to go.

The documents selected for inclusion in this volume are presented in three chapters, each covering a particular aspect of the evolution of U.S. space exploration. These chapters address (1) the relations between the civilian space program of the United States and the space activities of other countries, (2) the relations between the U.S. civilian space program and the space efforts of national security organizations and the military, and (3) NASA's relations with industry and academic institutions.

The documents selected for inclusion in this volume are presented in three major sections, each covering a particular aspect of the origins, evolution, and execution of the US space science program. Chapter 1 deals with the origins, evolution, and organization of the space science program. Chapter 2 deals with the solar system exploration. Chapter 3 deals with NASA's astronomy and astrophysics efforts. Each chapter in the present volume is introduced by an overview essay. In the main, these essays are intended to introduce and complement the documents in the chapter and to place them in a chronological and substantive context. Each essay contains references to the documents in the chapter it introduces, and may also contain references to documents in other chapters of the collection

First published in 1998 as volume 8 in the NASA "Monograph in Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and illustrations.

First published in 1999 as volume 14 in the NASA "Monograph in Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and illustrations.

First published in 1999 as volume 14 in the NASA "Monograph in Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and illustrations.

The extension of human activity into outer space has been accompanied by a high degree of self-awareness of its historical significance. Few large-scale activities have been as extensively chronicled so closely to the time they actually occurred. Many of those who were directly involved were quite conscious that they were making history, and they kept full records of their activities. Because most of the activity in outer space was carried out under government sponsorship, it was accompanied by the documentary record required of public institutions, and there has been a spate of official and privately written histories of most major aspects of space achievement to date. When top leaders considered what course of action to pursue in space, their deliberations and decisions often were carefully put on the record. There is, accordingly, no lack of material for those who aspire to understand the origins and evolution of U.S. space policies and programs. The documents selected for inclusion in this volume are presented in two chapters: one covering the Mercury and Gemini projects and another chapter covering Project Apollo. Each section in the present volume is introduced by an overview essay. In the main, these essays are intended to introduce and complement the documents in the section and to place them in a chronological and substantive context. Each essay contains references to the documents in the section it introduces, and also contains references to documents in other volumes in this series. NASA-SP-2008-4407. NASA History Series. This is an 800+ page volume.

First published in 1998 as volume 8 in the NASA "Monograph in Aerospace History" series. This study contains photographs and illustrations.

From virtually the beginning of the twentieth century, those interested in the human exploration of space have viewed as central to that endeavor the building of an Earth-orbital space station that would serve as the jumping-off point to the Moon and the planets. Always, space exploration supporters believed, a permanently occupied space station was a necessary outpost in the new frontier of space. The more technically minded recognized that once humans had achieved Earth orbit about 250 miles above the surface---the presumed location of any space station---the vast majority of the atmosphere and the gravity well would have been conquered, and then human beings were about halfway to anywhere they might want to go. Space station advocates also recognized that the scientific and technological challenge of building an Earth-orbital space station was daunting and that pooling the resources of many of the spacefaring nations of the world would maximize the probabilities of success. Thus, when the space station project was born in the in the mid-1980s, it almost immediately became an international program. This monograph describes the process of conceptualizing the international partnership and crafting its contours.

The documents selected for inclusion in this volume are presented in three chapters, each covering a particular aspect of the evolution of U.S. space exploration. These chapters address (1) the relations between the civilian space program of the United States and the space activities of other countries, (2) the relations between the U.S. civilian space program and the space efforts of national security organizations and the military, and (3) NASA's relations with industry and academic institutions. NASA History Series. SP 4407

When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, limits on NASA funding and the lack of direction under the Nixon and Carter administrations had left the U.S. space program at a crossroads. In contrast to his predecessors, Reagan saw outer space as humanity's final frontier and as an opportunity for global leadership. His optimism and belief in American exceptionalism guided a decade of U.S. activities in space, including bringing the space shuttle into operation, dealing with the 1986 Challenger accident and its aftermath, committing to a permanently crewed space station, encouraging private sector space efforts, and fostering international space partnerships with both U.S. allies and with the Soviet Union. Drawing from a trove of declassified primary source materials and oral history interviews, John M. Logsdon provides the first comprehensive account of Reagan's civilian and commercial space policies during his eight years in the White House. Even as a fiscal conservative who was hesitant to increase NASA's budget, Reagan's enthusiasm for the space program made him perhaps the most pro-space president in American history.