To Reach the High Frontier: A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles (review)

Humankind has dreamt about exploring the universe through spaceflight since ancient times. Yet until the development of rocket technology in the mid-twentieth century, no means existed to escape Earth's gravity. Access to space came out of the military development of ballistic missiles. They became the launchers for satellites and astronauts during the Cold War. This collection of essays assesses the development of American rockets and their role in commercial and military space activities since the 1950s. The book explores the broad history of American rocketry while focusing on the vehicles that played the greatest role in providing access to space.

The introduction examines the many problems of providing routine, reliable, and inexpensive space access. Over forty years of development has not produced a launch system that can meet this goal, yet the effect of spaceflight on commercial, military, and political objectives demonstrates the importance of providing routine access. Political forces have driven the development of American launchers primarily as ballistic missiles. The United States continues to rely on the descendants of three missiles as the primary method for reaching Earth orbit. Individual essays evaluate the contributions and legacies of the Atlas, Delta/Thor, and Titan launchers that have been the mainstay of American expendable rockets. Other essays trace the contributions of smaller vehicles such as the Vanguard, Jupiter-C, and Centaur, as well as the use of solid-fuel rockets for strategic missiles and reusable boosters for the space shuttle. The development of the Saturn rocket is examined, as is the long-standing partnership between NASA and the military.

There is little to quarrel with in any of the presentations, with the notable exception of a misleading point made by co-editor Dennis Jenkins in his essay on space shuttle development. In recounting efforts to assess the effects of freezing temperatures on the Challenger disaster, Jenkins asserts that prior to the launch, "[n]o critical issues were identified to NASA or contractor management officials" (p. 400). This assertion completely ignores the attempt made by Thiokol engineers to stop the launch over concerns about the potentially catastrophic effects of frozen O-ring seals in the solid rocket boosters. The failure to unequivocally present this history misleads the reader and obscures the culpability of both NASA and Thiokol management officials who disregarded the engineering data and overrode the objections of responsible engineers.

Overall, this collection brings together analysis of numerous important issues in the history of space access. While no one book could ever comprehensively cover every aspect of American rocketry, this anthology does address a number of major developments significant to spaceflight history. Launch vehicle development is a somewhat neglected aspect of space studies. This work underscores the point that you cannot reach for the stars without first being successfully lifted away from the Earth.