Origins of 21st-Century Space Travel A History of NASA's Decadal Planning Team and the Vision for Space Exploration, 1999-2004 |
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| Author:
| Asner, Glen
Garber, Stephen |
| ISBN: | 978-1-62683-045-5 |
| Publication Date: | Nov 2018 |
| Publisher: | National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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| Book Format: | Hardback |
| List Price: | USD $35.00 |
Book Description:
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As early as April 1999, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin established the Decadal Planning Team (DPT), to provide a forum for future Agency leaders to begin considering goals more ambitious than sending humans on missions to near-Earth destinations and robotic spacecraft to far-off destinations, with no relation between the two. Goldin charged DPT with devising a long-term strategy that would integrate the entire range of the Agency's capabilities, in science and engineering, robotic and...
More DescriptionAs early as April 1999, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin established the Decadal Planning Team (DPT), to provide a forum for future Agency leaders to begin considering goals more ambitious than sending humans on missions to near-Earth destinations and robotic spacecraft to far-off destinations, with no relation between the two. Goldin charged DPT with devising a long-term strategy that would integrate the entire range of the Agency's capabilities, in science and engineering, robotic and human spaceflight, to reach destinations beyond low-Earth orbit.When the Bush administration initiated interagency discussions in 2003 to consider a new spaceflight strategy, NASA was prepared with technical and policy options, as well as a team of individuals who had spent years preparing for the moment. Although elements of the policy that President Bush announced at NASA Headquarters in January 2004, the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE), differed from the plans developed by DPT and its successor, the NASA Exploration Team (NeXT), the benefits of preparation were unmistakable. From the moment President Bush announced the VSE, NASA stood ready to implement it. Key decisions, such as setting a termination date for Shuttle flights and initiating development of technologies for deep space exploration, heralded a paradigm shift, allowing both NASA and the U.S. space community to move beyond the infrastructure, technologies, and institutional arrangements that had sustained low-Earth orbit operations for more than two decades. This book provides a detailed historical account of the plans, debates, and decisions that opened the way for a new generation of spaceflight at the start of the 21st Century.