Emergence of the Orbital Age: American Spaceflight Following the Columbia Accident

Abstract

American human spaceflight long remained the domain of the government and major contractors. The 2003 Columbia accident challenged traditional thoughts and assumptions about the space program, leading to the first commercial cargo program, a planned retirement of the Space Shuttle, and a need to create a new crew vehicle without an expanded budget. The Obama administration used the reality of the 2008 recession and the Columbia accident to bet on commercial providers to return Americans to space.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 16, 2023
Accession Number
AD1207040

Entities

People

  • Landon M. Clouse

Organizations

  • United States Naval Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accident Investigations
  • Agreements
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Astronautics
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Earth Orbits
  • Earth Sciences
  • Economic Analysis
  • Engineering
  • Governments
  • Intellectual Property
  • Law
  • Low Earth Orbits
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Political Systems
  • Public Policy
  • Space Flight
  • Space Stations
  • Space Transportation
  • Spacecraft
  • United States
  • United States Naval Academy

Readers

  • Coastal and Marine Engineering/Sediment Transport/Hydraulic Engineering
  • Economics
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space