Accession Number:

AD1038666

Title:

First in Space: The Army's Role in U.S. Space Efforts, 1938-1958

Descriptive Note:

Technical Report

Corporate Author:

US Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth United States

Personal Author(s):

• Drew,Jerry II V.

Report Date:

2017-06-09

Pagination or Media Count:

120.0

Abstract:

From 1938-1958 the Army, largely through the Ordnance Department, engaged in a continuous effort to develop missile and upper atmospheric research technologies. With contributions of organizations such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency ABMA, the Army launched the first U.S. satellite, Explorer I, atop a Jupiter-C missile in 1958. Although multiple umbrella organizations such as the Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA attempted to consolidate early space and missile efforts, inter-service rivalries coupled with political perceptions of the Cold War to inhibit a joint conception of military space. Despite its demonstrated successes in space and missile technologies, the Army struggled to find its place in the air-atomic world and ultimately lost its early leadership role in these fields.

Descriptors:

• interagency coordination
• spacecraft
• army personnel
• jet propulsion
• artificial satellites
• guided missiles
• nuclear weapons
• united states government
• ballistic missiles
• military research
• military history
• astronautics
• first world war
• second world war

Subject Categories:

• Unmanned Spacecraft
• Military Forces and Organizations

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE