The U.S. Air Force in Space, 1945 to the Twenty-First Century: Proceedings: 1945 to the 21st Century: Proceedings, Air Force Historical Foundation Symposium

204 Pages·2016·32.62 MB·English

by  R. Cargill Hall

The U.S. Air Force in Space
1945 to the Twenty-first Century
Proceedings
Air Force Historical Foundation Symposium
Andrews AFB, Maryland
September 2 1-22, 1995
Edited by
R. Cargill Hall and Jacob Neufeld
USAF History and Museums Program
United States Air Force
Washington, D.C. 1998
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationD ata
Air Force Historical Foundation. Symposium (1995: Andrews AFB, Md.)
The U.S. Air Force in space: 1945 to the twenty-first century: proceedings,
Air Force Historical Foundation Symposium, Andrews AFB, Maryland,
September 21-22, 1995 / edited by R. Cargill Hall and Jacob Neufeld.
195 p. 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Astronautics, Military-United States-History-Congresses.
2. United States. Air Force-History-Congresses. I. Hall, R. Cargill. 11.
Neufeld, Jacob. 111. Title.
UG1523.A37 1998
358.8'0973-dc21 98-29837
CIP
On September 21 and 22, 1995, the Air Force Historical Foundation con-
vened a historical symposium on the United States Air Force’s experience in the
development of space systems and their military applications. Held at the
Andrews Air Force Base Officers’ Club, Maryland, the symposium was the cul-
mination of nearly a year-long planning effort headed by a committee chaired
by Lt. Gen. Bradley Hosmer, USAF (Ret.). Other committee members included
Donald R. Baucom, BMDO historian; George W. Bradley 111, Air Force Space
Command historian; Col. Louis H. Cummings, USAF (Ret.), the Foundation’s
executive director; R. Cargill Hall and Jacob Neufeld, senior historians at the
Air Force History Support Office; and Maj. John Kreis, USAF (Ret.), a Foun-
dation trustee. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Office of the Air Force
Historian, in association with the Air Force Space Command and the Air Uni-
versity. Dozens of individuals affiliated with these organizations pitched in
graciously and expertly whenever the committee solicited their assistance. We
wish to acknowledge especially Lt. Gen. Patrick P. Caruana, vice commander
of Air Force Space Command, who introduced one of the panels, and Major
Kreis, who introduced another.
Gen. Bryce Poe 11, USAF (Ret.), the Foundation president at the time,
introduced the symposium. He was followed by the then Air Force Chief of
Staff, Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, who gave the keynote address. Secretary of the
Air Force Dr. Sheila E. Widnall and the Vice Chief of Staff, Gen. Thomas S.
Moorman, placed the subject in perspective and peeked into the future. Several
other distinguished civilian and military officials related their experiences and
perspectives, while scholars provided historical context. A perusal of the table
of contents discloses a virtual “Who’s Who” in Air Force space history.
The symposium was arranged in three chronological sessions beginning
with the threshold of space in 1945 to 1961, the year that the Air Force became
executive agent for space research and development. Gen. Bernard A. Schriever,
USAF (Ret.), the service’s leading missiles and space pioneer, provided inval-
uable recollections and observations. Panel two traced the evolution of space
systems from R&D to operational status up to their employment in the Persian
Gulf War. Former Air Force Secretary John L. McLucas and Gen. Donald J.
...
111
WAF in Space
Kutyna riveted the audience’s attention with their personal assessments. Finally,
former Air Force Secretary Edward C. “Pete” Aldridge was among a select
panel of senior leaders who looked at space “today and tomorrow.”
The consensus among the two hundred men and women who attended was
that this was a unique and extremely useful symposium and that its proceedings
deserved to be published and disseminated widely.
R. Cargill Hall
Jacob Neufeld
Editors
Acknowledgments
The editors would like to thank three individuals for their assistance in
preparing this volume for publication. From the Air Force History Support
Office, Dr. George M. Watson proofread and commented on the manuscript and
Dr. Priscilla D. Jones rewrote portions of text. Robert E. Bell, Chief, Air Force
Graphics, designed the cover and the photo essay by Gen. Donald J. Kutyna.
iv
Contents
...
Preface ...................................................
111
Introduction
Opening Remarks ............................................ 3
Gen. Bryce Poe 11, USAF (Ret),P resident,
Air Force Historical Foundation
The Air Force and the Military Space Program ..................... 5
Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, USAF, USAF Chief of Staff
Part I
The Formative Years, 1945-1961
Military Space Activities: Recollections and Observations ........... 11
Gen. Bernard A. Schriever, USAF (Ret)
Civil-Military Relations in America’s Early Space Program .......... 19
R. Cargill Hall
The Air Force and Military Space Missions:
The Critical Years, 1957-1 96 1 .............................. 33
David N. Spires
Balancing Technology and Reliability in the Early Space Program ..... 47
Lt. Gen. John G. Albert, USAF (Ret)
The Formative Years: Technology and America’s Cold War Strategy,
An Overview ............................................ 53
Donald R. Baucom
Part I1
Mission Development and Exploitation Since 1961
The Evolution of Military Space Systems ........................ 61
Maj. Gen. David D. Bradburn, USAF (Ret)
Manned Versus Unmanned Space Systems ....................... 67
Adam L. Gruen
The U.S. Space Program Since 196 1 : A Personal Assessment .........7 7
John L. McLucas
Indispensable: Space Systems in the Persian Gulf War .............. 103
Gen. Donald J. Kutyna, USAF (Ret)
Mission Development and Exploitation: An Overview .............. 129
Jacob Neufeld
V
USAF in Space
Part 111
Military Space Today and Tomorrow
The Air Force Develops an Operational Organization for Space ....... 135
Brig . Gen. Earl S . Van hwegen. USAF (Ret)
The Air Force Civil-Industrial Partnership ........................ 145
Edward C. “Pete”A ldridge
Near Term Issues for the Air Force in Space ...................... 151
Maj . Gen. Robert S . Dickman. USAF
Long Term Prospects for the Air Force in Space ................... 159
Lt . Gen. Jay W. Kelley. USAF
The Air Force in Space Today and Tomorrow: An Overview ......... 163
George W. Bradley. III
The Air Force in Space. its Past and Future ....................... 169
Gen. Thomas S . Moorman. Jr., USAF
Space Power and the United States Air Force ..................... 177
Sheila E . Widnall
Notes ..................................................... 181
Abbreviations & Acronyms ................................... 187
Index ..................................................... 191
Photographs
BrycePoeII ................................................ 2
Ronald R . Fogleman .......................................... 4
Bernard A . Schriever ........................................ 10
Henry H . Arnold and Theodore von KArmAn ...................... 12
VannevarBush ............................................. 14
Model of Sputnik I .......................................... 16
Bernard A . Schriever and missiles he helped develop ............... 17
R . Cargill Hall .............................................. 18
Louis N . Ridenour ...... ................. .... 21
Project Orbiter Team, Marc ........................ 24
Donald A . Quarles and James R . Killian ......................... 27
Merton E . Davies and Amrom Katz ............................. 28
Richard M . Bissell, Jr ......................................... 29
David N . Spires .................. ......................... 32
Trevor Gardner .................. ........................ 35
Atlas launch and Titan launch .................................. 37
Neil McElroy ................... ........................ 41
vi
Contents
JohnG.Albert .............................................. 46
DonaldR.Baucom .......................................... 52
DavidD.Bradburn .......................................... 60
AdamL.Gruen ............................................. 66
Artist’s depiction of the Dyna-Soar in orbit ....................... 71
Artist’s depiction of a Gemini B/MOL launch on a Titan IIIC ........ 72
The shuttle Enterprise on its approach to Edwards AFB. California .... 73
JohnL.McLucas ............................................ 76
Testing a captured V-2 rocket at Holloman AFB, New Mexico ....... 80
Lift off of Apollo 11 ......................................... 84
Launch of an Atlas IIA carrying a commercial broadcasting satellite ... 90
Test of an ASAT missile carried aloft on an F-15 .................. 96
DSP satellite deployed from the shuttle during the STS-44 mission .... 99
DonaldJ.Kutyna .......................................... 102
Space Systems in the Persian Gulf War (photo essay) ............ 103-26
JacobNeufeld ............................................. 128
Earl S . Van Inwegen I11 ..................................... 134
Edward C . Aldridge, Jr ...................................... 144
RobertS.Dickman ......................................... 150
JayW.Kelley ............................................. 158
George W . Bradley I11 ...................................... 164
Thomas S . Moorman, Jr ...................................... 168
Artist’s depiction of GPS constellation .......................... 173
SheilaE.Widnal1 .......................................... 176
vii

Introduction