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Author Dienesch, Robert M., author.

Title Eyeing the Red Storm : Eisenhower and the First Attempt to Build a Spy Satellite / Robert M. Dienesch.

Publication Info. Lincoln, Nebraska : University of Nebraska Press, [2016]

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Farmington, Main Library - Adult Department  358.88 DIE    Check Shelf
Description xvi, 279 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-270) and index.
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.
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.
Subject Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969.
Space surveillance -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Artificial satellites -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Astronautics, Military -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Military surveillance -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Cold War -- History.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969. (OCoLC)fst00037714
Artificial satellites. (OCoLC)fst00817346
Astronautics, Military. (OCoLC)fst00819604
Military surveillance. (OCoLC)fst01021508
Space surveillance. (OCoLC)fst01127934
United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
Cold War (1945-1989) (OCoLC)fst01754978
Chronological Term 1900-1999
Genre/Form History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
History.
Added Title Eisenhower and the first attempt to build a spy satellite
ISBN 9780803255722 (cloth ; alk. paper)
0803255721 (cloth ; alk. paper)
9780803286757 (epub)
9780803286764 (mobi)
9780803286771 (pdf)
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