Achieving Mastery of Space Operations by Transforming Space Logistics

Logistics Spectrum, Jan-Mar 2005 by Snead, James Michael

By the end of the 1950s the essence of Von Braun's spacefaring vision was captured in the American space program. Recently, Dr. Roger Launius, previously the chief historian of NASA (1990-2002) and currently the Chair of the Division of Space History of the Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum, looked back at these early years. It was viewed as an "integrated space exploration scenario centered on human movement beyond this planet and involving these basic ingredients accomplished in essentially this order:

1) Earth orbital satellites to learn about the requirements for space technology that must operate in a hostile environment.

2) Earth orbital flights by humans to determine whether or not it was really possible for humanity to explore and settle other places.

3) Develop a reusable spacecraft for travel to and from Earth orbit, thereby extending the principles of atmospheric flight into space and making routine space operations.

4) Build a permanently inhabited space station as a place both to observe the Earth and from which to launch future expeditions to the Moon and planets.

5) Undertake human exploration of the Moon with the intention of creating Moon bases and eventually permanent colonies.

6) Undertake human expeditions to Mars and eventually colonize the planet."2

Acting to fulfill this vision, the United States undertook a wide variety of technology development programs. In addition to the well known X-15, lesser known programs included the X-20 DynaSoar partially reusable Earth-to-orbit spaceplane, the first "aerospaceplane" program, several nuclear thermal rockets for to- and in-space propulsion and Project Orion, an interesting concept for nuclear-powered interplanetary space propulsion. And all of this within a dozen years of breaking the believed to be impenetrable sound barrier!

Being unfamiliar with this initial phase of the American space program, many today believe that the human space program started with President Kennedy's famous 1961 address to Congress establishing the goal of landing humans on the Moon by the end of the decade. What actually happened, as Dr. Launius' article indicates, is that President Kennedy eliminated steps 3 and 4 of the integrated space exploration scenario to accelerate step 5. This change effectively eliminated building a useful and sustainable space logistics infrastructure. Referring to comments Dr. Hans Mark, director of the NASA Ames Research Center during the 1960s, made in 1987, Dr. Launius noted, "Mark suggested that the result of Apollo was essentially a technological dead end for the space program. It did not, in his view, foster an orderly development of spaceflight capabilities beyond the lunar missions."3

These remarks are not meant to disparage the remarkable accomplishments of the lunar landing program. The American space program has always, and still is, part of a broader landscape of national and international political activities. What this brief recap of the early years of the American space program is meant to highlight is the fact that the SLTC 's vision is essentially a return to the original American vision of human spacefaring operations of the 1950s - a vision that emphasizes building permanent to-space and inspace logistics capabilities.