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 spacecraft—Voyager, Magellan, Galileo, the Mars rovers, and others—have 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(s): Peter J. Westwick
Edition: 1St Edition
Publisher: Yale University Press
Year: 2006
Language: English
Commentary: Some images not part of e-book
Pages: 413
Contents......Page 10
Preface......Page 12
Acknowledgments......Page 17
List of Abbreviations......Page 21
ONE The Inheritance......Page 22
Part I. Acclaim and Agitation: The Murray Years, 1976–1982......Page 36
TWO Planetary Exploration Triumphant......Page 38
THREE Planetary Exploration in Extremis......Page 63
FOUR External Relations and the Internal Environment......Page 80
FIVE Diversification......Page 99
SIX Return to the Military......Page 114
SEVEN Space Technology......Page 129
Part II. Restoration: The Allen Years, 1982–1991......Page 144
EIGHT The Rise and Decline of Defense Programs......Page 146
NINE The Dividends of Defense Programs......Page 163
TEN Space and Earth Science......Page 176
ELEVEN JPL under Allen......Page 186
TWELVE Recovery of Flight Projects......Page 196
THIRTEEN Voyager Redux, Galileo, and Magellan......Page 207
Part III. Beyond the Cold War: The Stone Years, 1991–2001......Page 226
FOURTEEN Faster, Better, Cheaper......Page 228
FIFTEEN Reengineering JPL......Page 249
SIXTEEN The Tilting Triangle and Commercialization......Page 263
SEVENTEEN A Break in the Storm......Page 277
EIGHTEEN Annus Miserabilis......Page 297
NINETEEN Epilogue, 2001–2004......Page 308
TWENTY Conclusion......Page 319
Notes......Page 336
Index......Page 404
