The U.S. Air Force in Space 1945 to the Twenty-first Century: Recollections of General Schriever, Balancing Technology and Reliability, Cold War, Space Power, Persian Gulf War, Manned versus Unmanned

Professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction, this Air Force publication reviews the role of the USAF in space from the end of World War II to the present, based on a historical symposium on the Air Force's experience in the development of space systems and their military applications.

The symposium was arranged in three chronological sessions beginning with the threshold of space in 1945 to 1961, the year that the Air Force became executive agent for space research and development. Gen. Bernard A. Schriever, USAF (Ret.), the service's leading missiles and space pioneer, provided invaluable recollections and observations. Panel two traced the evolution of space systems from R&D to operational status up to their employment in the Persian Gulf War. Former Air Force Secretary John L. McLucas and Gen. Donald J. Kutyna riveted the audience's attention with their personal assessments. Finally, former Air Force Secretary Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge was among a select panel of senior leaders who looked at space "today and tomorrow." The consensus among the two hundred men and women who attended was that this was a unique and extremely useful symposium and that its proceedings deserved to be published and disseminated widely.

Introduction * Opening Remarks * Gen. Bryce Poe II, USAF (Ret) * President, Air Force Historical Foundation * The Air Force and the Military Space Program * Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, USAF * USAF Chief of Staff * Part I * The Formative Years, 1945-1961 * Military Space Activities: Recollections and Observations * Gen. Bernard A. Schriever, USAF (Ret) * Civil-Military Relations in America's Early Space Program * R. Cargill Hall * The Air Force and Military Space Missions: The Critical Years, 1957-1961 * David N. Spires * Balancing Technology and Reliability in the Early Space Program * Lt. Gen. John G. Albert, USAF (Ret) * The Formative Years: Technology and America's Cold War Strategy: An Overview * Donald R. Baucom * Part II * Mission Development and Exploitation Since 1961 * The Evolution of Military Space Systems * Maj. Gen. David D. Bradburn, USAF (Ret) * Manned Versus Unmanned Space Systems * Adam L. Gruen * The U.S. Space Program Since 1961: A Personal Assessment * John L. McLucas * Indispensable: Space Systems in the Persian Gulf War * Gen. Donald J. Kutyna, USAF (Ret) * Mission Development and Exploitation: An Overview * Jacob Neufeld * Part III * Military Space Today and Tomorrow * The Air Force Develops an Operational Organization for Space * Brig. Gen. Earl S. Van Inwegen, USAF (Ret) * The Air Force Civil-Industrial Partnership * Edward C. "Pete " Aldridge * Near Term Issues for the Air Force in Space * Maj. Gen. Robert S. Dickman, USAF * Long Term Prospects for the Air Force in Space * Lt. Gen. Jay W. Kelley, USAF * The Air Force in Space Today and Tomorrow: An Overview * George W. Bradley, III * The Air Force in Space, its Past and Future * Gen. Thomas S. Moorman, Jr., USAF * Space Power and the United States Air Force * Sheila E. Widnall * Notes * Abbreviations & Acronyms