Secret of Apollo: Systems Management in American and European Space Programs FROM THE PUBLISHER
How does one go about organizing something as complicated as a strategic-missile or space-exploration program? Stephen B. Johnson here explores the answer -- systems management -- in a groundbreaking study that involves Air Force planners, scientists, technical specialists, and, eventually, bureaucrats. Taking a comparative approach, Johnson focuses on the theory, or intellectual history, of "systems engineering" as such, its origins in the air force's Cold War ICBM efforts, and its migration to not only NASA but the European Space Agency. Exploring the history and politics of aerospace development and weapons procurement, Johnson examines how scientists and engineers created the systems management process to coordinate large-scale technology development, and how managers and military officers gained control of that process. "Those funding the race demanded results," Johnson explains. "In response, development organizations created what few expected and what even fewer wanted -- a bureaucracy for innovation. To begin to understand this apparent contradiction in terms, we must first understand the exacting nature of space technologies and the concerns of those who create them."
SYNOPSIS
The Spacelab project, a collaboration between the US and Europe, seemed a perfect example of technology transfer from the former to the latter, but Johnson (space studies, U. of North Dakota) had trouble understanding why the Europeans were interested in what was actually rather mundane Apollo technology. He discovered that what excited them was learning how to manage such a gigantic project. He examines how scientists and engineers created a process to coordinate large-scale technology development, and how managers and military officers modified and gained control of it. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Howard McCurdy
This is a wonderful story and a great book. The issue is of maximum importance today, since NASA and other high-tech operations are replacing systems management with 'faster, better, cheaper' approaches to space flight, with decidedly mixed results. Skillfully interweaving technical details and fascinating personalities, Johnson tells the history of systems management in the U.S. and Europe. It is a very important work.
Booknews
The Spacelab project, a collaboration between the US and Europe, seemed a perfect example of technology transfer from the former to the latter, but Johnson (space studies, U. of North Dakota) had trouble understanding why the Europeans were interested in what was actually rather mundane Apollo technology. He discovered that what excited them was learning how to manage such a gigantic project. He examines how scientists and engineers created a process to coordinate large-scale technology development, and how managers and military officers modified and gained control of it. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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