Eyeing the red storm : eisenhower and the first attempt to build a spy satellite / Robert M. Dienesch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dienesch, Robert M., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Space surveillance--United States--History--20th century.

Space surveillance.

Artificial satellites--United States--History--20th century.

Artificial satellites.

Astronautics, Military--United States--History--20th century.

Astronautics, Military.

Military surveillance--United States--History--20th century.

Military surveillance.

Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969.

Eisenhower, Dwight D.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (296 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Lincoln, Nebraska : University of Nebraska Press, 2016.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In 1954 the U.S. Air Force launched an ambitious program known as WS-117L to develop the world's first reconnaissance satellite. The goal was to take photographic images from space and relay them back to Earth via radio. Because of technical issues and bureaucratic resistance, however, WS-117L was seriously behind schedule by the time Sputnik orbited Earth in 1957 and was eventually cancelled. The air force began concentrating instead on new programs that eventually launched the first successful U.S. spy satellites. Eyeing the Red Storm examines the birth of space-based reconnaissance not from the perspective of CORONA (the first photo reconnaissance satellite to fly) but rather from that of the WS-117L. Robert M. Dienesch's revised assessment places WS-117L within the larger context of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency, focusing on the dynamic between military and civilian leadership. Dienesch demonstrates how WS-117L promised Eisenhower not merely military intelligence but also the capacity to manage national security against the Soviet threat. As a fiscal conservative, Eisenhower believed a strong economy was the key to surviving the Cold War and saw satellite reconnaissance as a means to understand the Soviet military challenge more clearly and thus keep American defense spending under control. Although WS-117L never flew, it provided the foundation for all subsequent satellites, breaking theoretical barriers and helping to overcome major technical hurdles, which ensured the success of America's first working reconnaissance satellites and their photographic missions during the Cold War.

Contents:

Introduction: WS-117l: filling in the gap

List of abbreviations

Eisenhower's delicate balance

Truman and Eisenhower on the Cold War (1945-55)

Eisenhower and defense: three challenges, three responses (1953-56)

Eisenhower and satellite reconnaissance: three projects (1954-58)

WS-117l

Origins: rand and satellite reconnaissance (1945-54)

WS-117l: two stages (1954-57)

Satellite photography, film return, and the birth of Corona (1957-58)

Sentry/Samos, MiDAS, and the dissolution of WS-117l (1958-60)

Epilogue: ws-117l in perspective

Appendix: Historiography of Eisenhower and space reconnaissance.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780803286771

0803286775

9780803286757

0803286759

OCLC:

939553647