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Into the Black: JPL and the American Space Program, 1976-2004 Paperback – November 30, 2011

by Peter J. Westwick (Author)

4.9 5 ratings

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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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

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.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press (November 30, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300184190
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300184198
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9 x 6 x 0.92 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #5,335,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,024 in Astronautics & Space Flight
- #4,717 in Aeronautics & Astronautics (Books)
- #226,281 in American History

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Retired

Great history of the time

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2022

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It’s a great book with a lot of detail but some of it is explained in a way that makes me believe the author lacks some technical depth in certain areas. But I worked at JPL and found the book to be a good record of the time.

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W Boudville

faster, better, cheaper?

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2006

The author shows the ups and downs of JPL's contribution to the US space program over some 30 years. Perhaps the most revealing aspect is the narrow gap between success and failure of most if not all missions. In this time period, perhaps the most spectacular results were given by the 2 Voyager spacecrafts, doing the planetary flybys of the outer solar system. Yet Westwick points out how the first craft almost succumbed very early in its mission, and how the second might also have had the same fate.

Of the manifold what-ifs in the book, the "faster, better, cheaper" idea is the most intriguing. Pushed by Robert Staehle and Ross Jones since the late 80s, it suggested making smaller and cheaper spacecrafts. With few instruments, granted, but also being able to be made and launched with less risk per craft. This idea was strongly promoted, for all of NASA and not just JPL. Also, with the end of the Cold War in 1990, there was an unexpected peace dividend. SDI (Star Wars) declassified some small spacecrafts that they had designed, and made these available to NASA. Which seemed to fit nicely into the faster, better, cheaper credo.

However the actual exploration record after 1990 was mixed. With Clementine doing a successful lunar flyby but then getting lost. The best results were made by the Mars Pathfinder Sojourner. But the book tells of how there was still a strong institutional preference for big missions. In part because of multiyear funding stability, and thus the ability to hold large groups together for extended periods.

The result seems to have been a compromise. With some relatively small projects made under the alternate approach. The reader might wonder how matters could have differed, if JPL had been able to strongly take that road.