CHAPTER 8
SHUTTLE PROMOTION

Allaway, Howard. The Space Shuttle at Work. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1979. This public relations publications booklet is a slick and simple discussion of the Shuttle and its potential. Allaway places emphasis on the role of the Shuttle in providing routine access to space.

Becker, Harold S. "Industry Space Shuttle Use: Considerations Besides Ticket Price." Journal of Contemporary Business. 7 (1978): 143-51. A promotional article that emphasizes the positive benefits of the Shuttle for deploying satellites, recovering or repairing items in space, and using the microgravity laboratory, which offered a whole range of new capabilities in space technology. The article concludes that the Shuttle, while an expensive program, has benefits far outweighing its costs.

Bova, Ben. "The Shuttle, Yes." New York Times. January 4, 1982, p. A23. This article discusses the place of the Shuttle in the overall exploration of space and the status of the United States among world powers. It is written by a well-known science fiction writer and futurist.

Collins, Michael. "Orbiter Is First Spacecraft Designed for Shuttle Runs." Smithsonian. 8 (May 1977): 38-47. This is an excellent article on the Shuttle's development and potential written by a former astronaut. Collins concludes that the Shuttle has the potential, however difficult it might be to fulfill, to open space for routine operations.

Faget, Maxime A. and Davis, H.P. "Space Shuttle Applications." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 187 (25 January 1972): 261-82. This paper, written by one of the principal designers of the Shuttle, discusses the performance potential of the Shuttle and the high-energy transportation system deriving from it. The authors show that in addition to its cost effectiveness in earth-orbital missions, the Shuttle promises to be of major significance for future solar system exploration. Eventually, they suggest, the Shuttle will make possible the launching of large interplanetary payloads sent at high velocities to the far reaches of the solar system.

Gregory, William H. "Shuttle Opens Door to New Space Era." Aviation Week & Space Technology. 8 November 1976, pp. 39-43. One of many articles of the period which describe the Shuttle as a revolutionary system providing easy and cheap access to space.

Haggerty, James J. "Space Shuttle, Next Giant Step for Mankind." Aerospace. 14 (December 1976): 2-9. This is a general article on the Shuttle's development with a heavy emphasis on the potential of it to offer routine access to space. Its development is explicitly compared to the lunar landing of 1969.

Irvine, Mat. "Shuttlemania." Scale Models. 9 (July 1978): 330-35. During the latter 1970s the Shuttle program garnered something of the same type of popular interest as had the space program of the 1960s, and it sparked a good response from the model builders. This article describes the craze in that aspect of popular culture.

Lawrence, John. "The Demythification of NASA." NASA Activities. 21 (November/December 1990): 3-5. This article summarizes the main arguments NASA uses to counter its critics. Includes justifications of the Space Shuttle and its performance.

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Space Shuttle. Houston, TX: John Space Center, 1975. This is a booklet describing for the public the potential of the Shuttle for the exploration of space. It emphasizes the benefits to be accrued and mentions the Shuttle contractors, analyzes the economic impact of the program, and describes the mission profile. It was reprinted a year later in a more concise and visually appealing form.

Meredith, Dennis. "It's 1985. Come with Commander Mitty and His Crew on a Routine 'Milk Run' Flight in the Space Shuttle." Science Digest. 87 (January 1980): 52-59. Although flippantly named, this article describes something of the public hopes for the Shuttle in 1980 and its promise of providing routine access to space.

Michaud, Michael A.G. Reaching for the High Frontier: The American Pro-Space Movement, 1972-1984. New York: Praeger, 1986. Michaud presents a cogent history and commentary of the pro-space efforts made by voluntary organizations that arose near the end of the Apollo program. Michaud identifies the key groups, traces their origins and goals, and describes how they had a subtle but critical influence on the space policy of the nation during the formative years of Shuttle development. These groups lobbied with Congress and used publicity to support the space effort, not always with the expected results, however. Their intent was to turn ideas and a diffuse pro-space sentiment into legislation aimed at building support for the Shuttle and creating space stations and trips to Mars. This book represents the first systematic attempt to analyze the space booster efforts of the 1970s, and although a fine contribution, it should not be the final word on the subject.

Michener, James A. "Looking Toward Space." Omni. May 1980, pp. 57-58, 121. This fine article hits home to the heart of the American sense of pioneering and argues that the next great challenge in this arena is space. "A nation that loses its forward thrust is in danger," he comments, "the way to retain it is exploration" (p. 58). It is an eloquent and moving defense of the American space program in all its permutations.

Michener, James A. "Manifest Destiny." Omni. April 1981, pp. 48-50, 102-104. An outstanding reading experience, this article, by the dean of American popular novelists, encapsulates all the most cherished principles for manned space flight. It is human destiny to explore, he notes, and space is the next logical path. He also hangs much hope for this exploration on the Shuttle, commenting that "if the Space Shuttle succeeds, Americans will once again be voyaging in space after a period of six years. If it fails, the exploration of space may close down for several decades" (p. 102).

Mueller, George F. "The Benefits of Space Exploration Related to the Space Shuttle." Interavia. 27 (December 1972): 1335- 36. This article is a very good NASA view of what was envisioned for the Shuttle at the time that it was being developed. Written by the chief of NASA's Office of Manned Space Flight, it emphasizes the boon to scientists of such projects as orbiting observatories and to commercial enterprise because of its ability to use the weightless environment to manufacture new materials. Accordingly, Mueller was seeking to describe to two important, but critical, constituencies that the Shuttle had real value.

Mueller, George F. "Space Shuttle--Beginning a New Era in Space Cooperation." Astronautics & Aeronautics. September 1972, pp. 20-25. This is a useful article, but chiefly for its positive approach of the subject. It highlights the multinational promise of the Shuttle and the ready access to space it will provide humanity.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Space Shuttle: Emphasis for the 1970s. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1972. This booklet for popular audiences describes the Space Shuttle as a vehicle that combines the advantages of airplanes and spacecraft, capable of repeatedly flying to space and back to earth. It could be launched vertically, powered by two solid-rocket boosters, which will be parachuted to earth for retrieval at an altitude of about 40 km. New uses of space flight are anticipated as costs decrease, turn- around times shorten, and operations become simplified. Color illustrations are included, but there are no references.

O'Leary, Michael. "Shuttling, the Ford of the Space Ways." Air Progress. 39 (December 1977): 38-44. A popular and popularizing article, this essay describes the general development of the Shuttle and what it means for the development of civilization by providing routine access to space.

Ragsdale, Al. "Flying the Space Shuttle." Analog. 97 (December 1977): 70-85. More heavily promotional than most, this article reviews the development of the Shuttle and hits hard the potential it has for opening up space to routine operations.

Robertson, Donald F. "The Space Shuttle in Perspective: Making a Good Space Shuttle Better." NASA Activities. 21 (November/December 1990): 6-7. Offers justifications for the Space Shuttle, praising its reliability, cost-efficiency, and technological achievements.

The Space Shuttle Adventure. Los Angeles, CA: Cheerios and Rockwell International, 1985. This is a short, 25-page booklet describing the Shuttle and its mission for young readers. It was put together as a promotional handout to capitalize on the popularity of the Shuttle.

Space Shuttle Program Overview. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, n.d. This short, tri-fold brochure relates in words and a few illustrations the development of the Shuttle. Very informative as well as promotional, it is designed for the public.

"Space Shuttle--Vital to Man's Future." Space World. March 1974, pp. 4-35. This is a very positive description of what the Shuttle is intended to be and what it offers to the world. More useful as a gauge of public interest than in bringing new ideas to the study of the Shuttle.

Steinberg, Florence S. Aboard the Space Shuttle. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1980. Designed for school classes to familiarize them with the Shuttle and its mission. Well-illustrated and written in a catchy style, it is a good example of the public relations material put out by the agency.

Taylor, L.B. "Shuttling into Space." Mechanics Illustrated. 66 (April 1970): 45-47. This is a short, general article on the method of operation of the Shuttle.

Von Braun, Wernher. "Coming . . . Ferries to Space." Popular Science. September 1965, pp. 68ff. This is a speculative article on the potential of space exploration with reusable craft, very similar to what became the Shuttle, for moving people and things between the earth and orbit. Written by the head of the rocket design team that put a man on the moon. It was an enormously successful piece which captured many people's imagination.

Von Braun, Wernher. "Spaceplane That Can Put You in Orbit: Space Shuttle." Popular Science. 197 (July 1970): 37-39. Promotes the Shuttle, emphasizing its strong potential for gaining easy access to space and discussing the possibilities of airliner- type operations.

Welch, Brian. "Musings of an Unabashed Shuttle Apologist." NASA Activities. 21 (November/December 1990): 20-21+. This article depicts the Shuttle as the historical culmination of aerospace triumphs stretching back to the Wright brothers.