The book is a study of the United States Air Force in space. Chapter 1 focuses on space and missile efforts prior to the launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellites in late 1957; Chapter 2 focuses on the important policy and organizational steps taken after Sputnik which helped the Air Force achieve leadership of the nation's military space activities; Chapter 3 describes Air Force efforts to achieve a dominant role in space through its support of NASA and its attempts to acquire a military manned spaceflight mission and approval for development of space-based weapons; Chapter 4 examines the Air Force's leadership role in the emergence of artificial earth satellites during the 1960s for communications, navigation, meteorology, and surveillance and reconnaissance. Chapter 5 discusses the complex interplay of space policy, organizational, and operational issues that culminated in the formation of the Air Force's Space Command. Chapter 6 describes the efforts of Air Force Space Command in the 1980s to consolidate its control over space systems and move the Air force from an 'operational agenda' for space to the creation of an 'operational mindset' for space. Chapter 7 focuses on the role of space in the Persian Gulf War in early 1991 and the final chapter serves as both a summary of the Air force space story and a point of departure for assessing Air Force space prospects for the new century.


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    Title :

    Beyond Horizons. Half Century of Air Force Space Leadership


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    1997


    Size :

    408 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English