Spies and Shuttles: NASA's Secret Relationships with the DoD and CIA

371 Pages·2015·2.17 MB·English

by  James E. David

Spies and Shuttles
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

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NASA’s Secret Relationships with the DoD and CIA
James E. David
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum,
Washington, D.C., in association with
University Press of Florida
Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton
Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota
Copyright 2015 by Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
All photographs courtesy of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
20 19 18 17 16 15 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
David, James E., 1951– author.
Spies and shuttles : NASA’s secret relationships with the DOD and CIA /
James David.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-4999-1 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-8130-5500-8 (ebook)
1. Astronautics—United States —History. 2. Astronautics, Military—Government
policy—United States. 3. United States. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration—History. 4. United States. Department of Defense—History.
5. United States. Central Intelligence Agency—History. 6. National security—United
States. I. Title.
TL789.8.U5D26 2015
327.1273—dc23 2014030770
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State
University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic
University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida
State University, New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University
of Florida, University of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University
of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
For Jeanne and Cristina

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
1 Forging Close Ties in NASA’s Early Years 13
2 NASA, the CIA, and Foreign Intelligence during the Apollo Era 34
3 Expanding Interaction in Old and New Areas 68
4 Restrictions on Remote Sensing from Space 103
5 Concerns over Human Spaceflight Program Experiments and Lunar
and Astronomy Program Technologies 150
6 The Shuttle: NASA’s Radically New Partnership with the National
Security Agencies 188
7 The National Security Agencies Abandon the Shuttle 218
8 NASA’s Applications Satellites and National Security
Requirements 244
Conclusion 277
Notes 283
Bibliography 323
Index 335
Illustrations
Illustrations follow page 134
1. T. Keith Glennan, NASA’s first administrator
2. First-generation Tiros weather satellite
3. James Webb, NASA’s second administrator
4. Lunar Orbiter
5. Robert Seamans, NASA associate administrator from 1960 to 1965
and deputy administrator from 1965 to 1967
6. Landsat 1
7. Test launch of a Poseidon submarine–launched ballistic missile in
the 1970s
8. James Fletcher, NASA administrator from 1971 to 1977 and 1986 to
1989
9. Skylab, America’s first space station
10. SEASAT-A
11. Hans Mark, NASA deputy administrator from 1981 to 1984
12. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-5
13. James Beggs, NASA administrator from 1981 to 1986
14. Polishing the Hubble’s primary mirror
15. X-37
ix