NASA's public image through the years is of an organization that has engaged only in civilian and open activities. Although this is true in many cases, there is another side to NASA's history. This book examines for the first time the hidden and frequently classified interactions between NASA and the national security community in spaceflight and related fields from the time of NASA's establishment through the final classified Shuttle mission in 1992. Although the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 mandated that the two groups operate separate and distinct space programs and that NASA ... More

NASA's public image through the years is of an organization that has engaged only in civilian and open activities. Although this is true in many cases, there is another side to NASA's history. This book examines for the first time the hidden and frequently classified interactions between NASA and the national security community in spaceflight and related fields from the time of NASA's establishment through the final classified Shuttle mission in 1992. Although the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 mandated that the two groups operate separate and distinct space programs and that NASA only engage in peaceful, scientific, and open activities, NASA did not and could not always comply. This was due to several factors, including common interests in a wide range of technologies and the practical need of NASA, the CIA, and the DoD to employ each other's hardware, facilities, and expertise to accomplish their missions. As author James E. David points out, NASA was frequently an active contributor to the meeting of national security requirements, received considerable support from the defense and intelligence agencies, and because of national security concerns at times was subject to restrictions on the technologies it could use or the scientific data it could acquire or disseminate. Conflicts occasionally arose over these restrictions, but in almost every case the defense and intelligence agencies prevailed.