Powering Apollo

James E. Webb of NASA
Erscheinungsjahr 2000
ISBN: 978-0-8018-6205-2
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press

Buch, Englisch, 288 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 471 g

Reihe: New Series in NASA History

From archival evidence and interviews with space agency officials, an in-depth investigation into the relationship between the performance of the American space program and NASA's organizational culture.

When President Kennedy issued his well-known challenge to reach the moon and return safely before the end of the 1960s, the immediate responsibility for undertaking the task fell to 54-year-old NASA director James E. Webb. Eight years later, when the Apollo 11 spacecraft splashed down safely in the Pacific and the screens in NASA's Mission Control at Houston flashed the words "Task Accomplished," it was Webb who deserved much of the credit. In Powering Apollo, W. Henry Lambright explores Webb's leadership role in NASA's spectacular success—success that is rare in ambitious government policies and programs.

A North Carolina native and Congressional staff member, Jim Webb had served in Congress, worked in the Truman administration, and risen to high office in the defense and energy industries by 1961 when Kennedy named him to head the new National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Examining Webb's role as both Washington insider and government program director, Lambright probes the skills and experience that equipped him to handle his enormous responsibilities. He also shows how Webb's performance reflected important changes in twentieth century public life, including the concentration of political power in Washington; expansion of the federal bureaucracy; the rise of big science; and visions of cooperation among government, industry, and higher education.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lambright, W. Henry

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte

Über Autor(innen)

Lambright, W. Henry
W. Henry Lambright is a professor of public administration, international affairs, and political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He is author of Powering Apollo: James E. Webb of NASA and Space Policy in the Twenty-First Century, both published by Johns Hopkins.

W. Henry Lambright is a professor of political science and public administration at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University.