50th Anniversary of Space!

Today is the 50th anniversary of space! The Russians launched Sputnik on October 4th, 1957 and started the Space Race. My first paper as an "International Science and Technology Policy" student was due today - for my Space Policy Class. We were asked to discuss the lessons learned from the history of the space program and use those to comment on how the new Vision for Space Exploration will do based on this information.

Here's the intro to my paper:

The Vision for Space Exploration announced in 2004 has the potential to re-focus NASA’s efforts and return its attention to exploration. However, almost 50 years of U.S. civilian space history have taught us that successful implementation of NASA public policy is not assured. Drawing on the lessons learned from this history, I intend to show that the Vision has a number of good elements, such as its concrete milestones and plan for sustainability. However, it is still in danger of failing due to a lack of well articulated and widely accepted rationale, which could lead to an overly complex and inefficient implementation of the policy.

In this paper, I will briefly discuss the lessons learned from each of the major steps in the space program – beginning with the developments in satellite, the creation of NASA, the Apollo Program, the decision to build the shuttle, the decision to build the station, and the comments of the current NASA administrator. I will then discuss how these are relevant to the Vision for Space Exploration presented in 2004.

If you're interested in reading the whole thing, I posted it on my website: http://mariel.john.googlepages.com/spacepolicypaper1

Let me know what you think! And enjoy the 50th anniversary of space!