Graduate Program

History

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

Fall 2021

Thesis Director

Edmund F. Wehrle

Thesis Committee Member

Brian Mann

Thesis Committee Member

Camden Burd

Abstract

This work looks at the scientific program of NASA during the Space Race. (1961- 1975) During this period of the Cold War, NASA shifted it role from a political asset of the United States strategy to an agency of scientific discovery. This was not a smooth transition due to political opinions on the wastefulness and role of NASA. Many politicians, citizens and even scientists had doubts about the scientific potential of NASA’s manned missions to the Moon. Despite the power politics, the administrators at NASA were able to break out of the political arena and create a balanced program where science became the driving force. From Apollo 11, where only a tiny science instrument kit was deployed, to Skylab, a space station that showed off NASA’s scientific potential. Unfortunately, NASA was unable to fully slip out of its political chains and was dragged back into the Cold War when it was tasked with meeting up with Russian cosmonauts in orbit. This work argues that due to pressure from outside forces, NASA had to modify, broaden, and sometimes eliminate its scientific agenda depending on the stage and politics of the Cold War.

I show within this work that, as mission planning progressed, NASA administrators and scientists pushed to increase the science with every mission. From Apollo 11, where only a tiny science instrument kit was deployed, to Skylab, a space station that showed off NASA’s scientific potential. Using mission reports and memos from within the agency, NASA pursued the policy of science-based missions, even when outside forces conspired to slow or even stop the agency’s agenda. This work contributes to the discussion of history of science and technology during the Cold War as well as adding to discourse of diplomatic history as seen in the chapter on the Apollo-Soyuz test project.

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