Ronald Reagan and the Space Frontier

Reagan's belief in space as humanity's final frontier and his commitment to global leadership led to a decade of U.S. activities in space, including the space shuttle, Challenger accident, and a permanently crewed space station. Logsdon's book provides the first comprehensive account of Reagan's civilian and commercial space policies.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 419 pages
\n Publication date: 10 December 2018
\n Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG
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When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, limits on NASA funding and the lack of direction under the Nixon and Carter administrations had left the U.S. space program at a crossroads. In contrast to his predecessors, Reagan saw outer space as humanity’s final frontier and as an opportunity for global leadership. His optimism and belief in American exceptionalism guided a decade of U.S. activities in space, including bringing the space shuttle into operation, dealing with the 1986 Challenger accident and its aftermath, committing to a permanently crewed space station, encouraging private sector space efforts, and fostering international space partnerships with both U.S. allies and with the Soviet Union. Drawing from a trove of declassified primary source materials and oral history interviews, John M. Logsdon provides the first comprehensive account of Reagan’s civilian and commercial space policies during his eight years in the White House. Even as a fiscal conservative who was hesitant to increase NASA’s budget, Reagan’s enthusiasm for the space program made him perhaps the most pro-space president in American history.

\n Weight: 978g\n
Dimension: 150 x 239 x 25 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9783319989617\n
Edition number: 1st ed. 2019\n