Spies And Shuttles

Author : James E. David
Publisher : University Press of Florida
Page : 395 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2015-01-27
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9780813047652

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Spies and Shuttles by James E. David Pdf

In this real life spy saga, James E. David reveals the extensive and largely hidden interactions between NASA and U.S. defense and intelligence departments. The story begins with the establishment of NASA in 1958 and follows the agency through its growth, not only in scope but also in complexity. In Spies and Shuttles, David digs through newly declassified documents to ultimately reveal how NASA became a strange bedfellow to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He tracks NASA’s early cooperation—supplying cover stories for covert missions, analyzing the Soviet space program, providing weather and other scientific data from its satellites, and monitoring missile tests—that eventually devolved into NASA’s reliance on DoD for political and financial support for the Shuttle. David also examines the restrictions imposed on such activities as photographing the Earth from space and the intrusive review mechanisms to ensure compliance. The ties between NASA and the intelligence community have historically remained unexplored, and David’s riveting book is the first to investigate the twists and turns of this labyrinthine relationship.

Author : Aaron Bateman
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 337 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2024-05-07
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9780262377393

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Weapons in Space by Aaron Bateman Pdf

A new and provocative take on the formerly classified history of accelerating superpower military competition in space in the late Cold War and beyond. In March 1983, President Ronald Reagan shocked the world when he established the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), derisively known as “Star Wars,” a space-based missile defense program that aimed to protect the US from nuclear attack. In Weapons in Space, Aaron Bateman draws from recently declassified American, European, and Soviet documents to give an insightful account of SDI, situating it within a new phase in the militarization of space after the superpower détente fell apart in the 1970s. In doing so, Bateman reveals the largely secret role of military space technologies in late–Cold War US defense strategy and foreign relations. In contrast to existing narratives, Weapons in Space shows how tension over the role of military space technologies in American statecraft was a central source of SDI’s controversy, even more so than questions of technical feasibility. By detailing the participation of Western European countries in SDI research and development, Bateman reframes space militarization in the 1970s and 1980s as an international phenomenon. He further reveals that even though SDI did not come to fruition, it obstructed diplomatic efforts to create new arms control limits in space. Consequently, Weapons in Space carries the legacy of SDI into the post–Cold War era and shows how this controversial program continues to shape the global discourse about instability in space—and the growing anxieties about a twenty-first-century space arms race.

Author : Matthew H. Hersch
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 329 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2023-12-26
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9780262376662

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Dark Star by Matthew H. Hersch Pdf

A captivating history of NASA’s Space Transportation System—the space shuttle—chronicling the inevitable failures of a doomed design. In Dark Star, Matthew Hersch challenges the existing narrative of the most significant human space program of the last 50 years, NASA’s space shuttle. He begins with the origins of the space shuttle: a century-long effort to develop a low-cost, reusable, rocket-powered airplane to militarize and commercialize space travel, which Hersch explains was built the wrong way, at the wrong time, and for all the wrong reasons. Describing the unique circumstances that led to the space shuttle’s creation by President Richard Nixon’s administration in 1972 and its subsequent flights from 1981 through 2011, Hersch illustrates how the space shuttle was doomed from the start. While most historians have accepted the view that the space shuttle’s fatal accidents—including the 1986 Challenger explosion—resulted from deficiencies in NASA’s management culture that lulled engineers into a false confidence in the craft, Dark Star reveals the widespread understanding that the shuttle was predestined for failure as a technology demonstrator. The vehicle was intended only to give the United States the appearance of a viable human spaceflight program until funds became available to eliminate its obvious flaws. Hersch’s work seeks to answer the perilous questions of technological choice that confront every generation, and it is a critical read for anyone interested in how we can create a better world through the things we build.

Author : Roger D. Launius
Publisher : Smithsonian Institution
Page : 402 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2018-10-23
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781588346377

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The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration by Roger D. Launius Pdf

The first in-depth, fully illustrated history of global space discovery and exploration from ancient times to the modern era “The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration examines civilization’s continued desire to explore the next frontier as only the Smithsonian can do it.” —Buzz Aldrin, Gemini 12 and Apollo 11 astronaut and author of No Dream Is Too High Former NASA and Smithsonian space curator and historian Roger D. Launius presents a comprehensive history of our endeavors to understand the universe, honoring millennia of human curiosity, ingenuity, and achievement. This extensive study of international space exploration is packed with over 500 photographs, illustrations, graphics, and cutaways, plus plenty of sidebars on key scientific and technological developments, influential figures, and pioneering spacecraft. Starting with space exploration's origins in the pioneering work undertaken by ancient civilizations and the great discoveries of the Renaissance thinkers, Launius also devotes whole chapters to our space race to the Moon, space planes and orbital stations, and the lure of the red planet Mars. He also offers new insights into well-known moments such as the launch of Sputnik 1 and the Apollo Moon landing and explores the unexpected events and hidden figures of space history. The final chapters cover the technological and mechanical breakthroughs enabling humans to explore far beyond our own planet in recent decades, speculating on the future of space exploration, including space tourism and our possible future as an extraterrestrial species. This is a must-read for space buffs and everyone intrigued by the history and future of scientific discovery. "This oversize offering is a space nerd’s dream come true." —Booklist

Author : Bleddyn E. Bowen
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 354 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2023-01-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780197693582

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Original Sin by Bleddyn E. Bowen Pdf

Space technology was developed to enhance the killing power of the state. The Moon landings and the launch of the Space Shuttle were mere sideshows, drawing public attention away from the real goal: military and economic control of space as a source of power on Earth. Today, as Bleddyn E. Bowen vividly recounts, thousands of satellites work silently in the background to provide essential military, intelligence and economic capabilities. No major power can do without them. Beyond Washington, Moscow and Beijing, truly global technologies have evolved, from the ground floor of the nuclear missile revolution to today's orbital battlefield, shaping the wars to come. World powers including India, Japan and Europe are fully realizing the strategic benefits of commanding Earth's 'cosmic coastline', as a stage for war, development and prestige. Yet, as new contenders spend more and more on outer space, there is scope for cautious optimism about the future of the Space Age-if we can recognize, rather than hide, its original sin.

Author : David Scott Webster
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 198 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2005-06-23
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 059580537X

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Book Three of the Naxos Island Mages by David Scott Webster Pdf

Again, Stephunos is confronted with reality-a reality that six months ago was inconceivable. New Worlds! People from other planets! Stephunos again has a secret. It's not the first secret that the twelve-year-old Stephunos has had to keep. Now that he lives on Naxos, the strange island where intelligent dragons, unicorns, and other mystical creatures have been rediscovered, he no longer has to hide being a mage. Others now know of his apparent friend-the Vampire Razvan. But he and the people of Naxos must hide their new discoveries for not everyone can handle the news and not everyone should know. Old enemies still long for the destruction of Naxos. Enemies that have knowledge of things they shouldn't. Despite his defeats Cosmin still has plans for the violent demise of the nobles of Naxos. He longs to see Duke Belen dead. New allies might give him the chance. Still, life must go on. Despite the sudden addition of life altering facts, Stephunos and his group of friends must learn to deal with new technologies while continuing to live as they always had. Journey along with Stephunos and his friends as they make new friends, face old foes, and make new enemies.

Author : Brian C. Odom,Stephen P. Waring
Publisher : University Press of Florida
Page : 196 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2022-04-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9780813072487

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NASA and the Long Civil Rights Movement by Brian C. Odom,Stephen P. Waring Pdf

American Astronautical Society Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Literature Award As NASA prepared for the launch of Apollo 11 in July 1969, many African American leaders protested the billions of dollars used to fund “space joyrides” rather than help tackle poverty, inequality, and discrimination at home. This volume examines such tensions as well as the ways in which NASA’s goal of space exploration aligned with the cause of racial equality. It provides new insights into the complex relationship between the space program and the civil rights movement in the Jim Crow South and abroad.  Essays explore how thousands of jobs created during the space race offered new opportunities for minorities in places like Huntsville, Alabama, while at the same time segregation at NASA’s satellite tracking station in South Africa led to that facility’s closure. Other topics include black skepticism toward NASA’s framing of space exploration as “for the benefit of all mankind,” NASA’s track record in hiring women and minorities, and the efforts of black activists to increase minority access to education that would lead to greater participation in the space program. The volume also addresses how to best find and preserve archival evidence of African American contributions that are missing from narratives of space exploration.  NASA and the Long Civil Rights Movement offers important lessons from history as today’s activists grapple with the distance between social movements like Black Lives Matter and scientific ambitions such as NASA’s mission to Mars.  Contributors: P.J. Blount | Jonathan Coopersmith | Matthew L. Downs | Eric Fenrich | Cathleen Lewis | Cyrus Mody | David S. Molina | Brian C. Odom | Brenda Plummer | Christina K. Roberts | Keith Snedegar | Stephen P. Waring | Margaret A. Weitekamp  Publication of the paperback edition made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Author : Daniel Lomas,Christopher John Murphy
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 158 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2019-02-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9780429664113

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Intelligence and Espionage: Secrets and Spies by Daniel Lomas,Christopher John Murphy Pdf

Intelligence and Espionage: Secrets and Spies provides a global introduction to the role of intelligence – a key, but sometimes controversial, aspect of ensuring national security. Separating fact from fiction, the book draws on past examples to explore the use and misuse of intelligence, examine why failures take place and address important ethical issues over its use. Divided into two parts, the book adopts a thematic approach to the topic, guiding the reader through the collection and analysis of information and its use by policymakers, before looking at intelligence sharing. Lomas and Murphy also explore the important associated activities of counterintelligence and the use of covert action, to influence foreign countries and individuals. Topics covered include human and signals intelligence, the Cuban Missile Crisis, intelligence and Stalin, Trump and the US intelligence community, and the Soviet Bloc. This analysis is supplemented by a comprehensive documents section, containing newly released documents, including material from Edward Snowden’s leaks of classified material. Supported by images, a comprehensive chronology, glossary, and 'who’s who' of key figures, Intelligence and Espionage is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the role of intelligence in policymaking, international relations and diplomacy, warfighting and politics to the present day.

Author : Alan Burton
Publisher : Vernon Press
Page : 555 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2018-01-31
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781622732906

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Looking-Glass Wars: Spies on British Screens since 1960 by Alan Burton Pdf

Looking-Glass Wars: Spies on British Screens since 1960 is a detailed historical and critical overview of espionage in British film and television in the important period since 1960. From that date, the British spy screen was transformed under the influence of the tremendous success of James Bond in the cinema (the spy thriller), and of the new-style spy writing of John le Carré and Len Deighton (the espionage story). In the 1960s, there developed a popular cycle of spy thrillers in the cinema and on television. The new study looks in detail at the cycle which in previous work has been largely neglected in favour of the James Bond films. The study also brings new attention to espionage on British television and popular secret agent series such as Spy Trap, Quiller and The Sandbaggers. It also gives attention to the more ‘realistic’ representation of spying in the film and television adaptations of le Carré and Deighton, and other dramas with a more serious intent. In addition, there is wholly original attention given to ‘nostalgic’ spy fictions on screen, adaptations of classic stories of espionage which were popular in the late 1970s and through the 1980s, and to ‘historical’ spy fiction, dramas which treated ‘real’ cases of espionage and their characters, most notably the notorious Cambridge Spies. Detailed attention is also given to the ‘secret state’ thriller, a cycle of paranoid screen dramas in the 1980s which portrayed the intelligence services in a conspiratorial light, best understood as a reaction to excessive official secrecy and anxieties about an unregulated security service. The study is brought up-to-date with an examination of screen espionage in Britain since the end of the Cold War. The approach is empirical and historical. The study examines the production and reception, literary and historical contexts of the films and dramas. It is the first detailed overview of the British spy screen in its crucial period since the 1960s and provides fresh attention to spy films, series and serials never previously considered.

Author : Don Keirle
Publisher : AuthorHouse
Page : 269 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2015-07-23
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9781504987493

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Space Adventure by Don Keirle Pdf

An original story (August 2009) by David Donald Keirle. The author acknowledges that his ideas have been influenced by what he has read over the years and thanks all those who have gone before.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 744 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Fiction genres
ISBN : IND:30000053713784

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What Do I Read Next? by Anonim Pdf

Author : Piers Bizony
Publisher : Zenith Press
Page : 176 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2014-10-15
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781627885478

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New Space Frontiers by Piers Bizony Pdf

Take a journey into the New Space Frontier! It is easy to imagine that the space shuttle's retirement has edged the Space Age toward closure, at least in terms of human flight beyond the bounds of earth. In fact, there are more people-carrying ships being constructed now than at any time since Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space half a century ago. Some are already servicing the International Space Station - which, incidentally, has ensured a permanent human presence in space for the last two decades, and is set to continue and expand for decades yet to come. What's more, NASA is no longer the only big player in the space game. Commercial, non-governmental space exploration is becoming a reality rather than just a pipe dream. What orbital adventures await us in the next five decades? Will humans ever again head into deep space, as the Apollo astronauts once did? NASA's new hardware is aimed toward asteroid missions, and ultimately, Mars, but there is a significant chance that a government funded space agency will not be the only - or even the first - organization to send humans across the solar system. Get ready to experience the excitement of adventure with New Space Frontier. Through gorgeous photography and engaging writing, noted space and science author Piers Bizony speculates beyond just today's hardware and explores what might be possible for the next generation.

Author : Matthew O Duncan
Publisher : Lulu.com
Page : 286 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2019-04-02
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780359457748

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Lt. Reilly and the Black Bird Offensive by Matthew O Duncan Pdf

Sci-fi / Military Sci-fi - Fans of old school sci-fi will enjoy this book. It is full of action, space battles, star-ship and fighter combat, mysteries, conspiracies, and even little romantic complications. Told in the first person, Lt. Jack Reilly takes the reader along with him as he uncovers a plot to pull the Alliance into a new war and his life becomes even more complicated. Set about 300 years in the future, Earth is part of an Alliance of worlds and has recently concluded a 20-year, bloody and costly war against the Serkin. Reilly thought his career in the fleet was over after being injured and discharge shortly before the end of the war. But he now finds himself back in the fleet as an investigator tasked with cleaning up the corruption from within. What he discovers will send him and Major Mitchell on a chase for the truth and back into the crossfire.

Author : David Owen
Publisher : Firefly Books
Page : 134 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 1552977757

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Final Frontier by David Owen Pdf

A young reader's guide to space exploration. Final Frontier is an illustrated guide to the past, present and future of space exploration. The book covers the early history of space flight: from the first unmanned missions, to the early manned flights and finally to the Apollo moon missions. Space program successes and failures are covered including the disasters that befell Apollo 1 and the shuttles Challenger and Columbia. The book explains how deep space is explored today with such sophisticated telescopes and space probes as: Hubble Space Telescope Manned space stations Unmanned probes such as Voyager and Pioneer Space stations such as Mir and Apollo-Soyuz. The proposed International Space Station is described as well as the unique challenges people will encounter in space such as living in a zero-gravity environment. The future of space exploration is discussed including the possibility of alien life on other solar systems. Proposed projects such as an automated lunar mining operation and a scientific base on Mars are also covered. Readers will enjoy Final Frontier for its colorful, abundant illustrations and easy-to-follow text.

Author : Michael McCloskey
Publisher : Michael McCloskey
Page : 123 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2011-03-15
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780615457239

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Industrious by Michael McCloskey Pdf

The People's Republic of China dominates half the globe, balanced only by the combined power of the decaying Western world. As main players in a new age of expansion, the Chinese reach outward to establish many stations throughout the solar system.Sun Xinmei is a bold and devious young graduate of Tsinghua University in Beijing who becomes intimately embroiled in the system wide slave trade as an agent of the Ministry of State Security.Li Feng is a brave young man destined to serve as an officer in the Divine Space Force of the PRC. As such he's trained to lead robotic weapons as much as the men who follow them into battle.Promised to each other, Xinmei and Feng hope to lead successful careers and someday cross paths again to share prosperous lives.Though space itself proves to be a harsh frontier, they discover that the greatest obstacles to their plans are the inhabitants of the space stations that dot the solar system.