Background
Hacker, Barton Clyde was born on July 17, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Son of Carl and Ida (Genstel) Hacker.
( Unforgettable congressional hearings in 1978 revealed t...)
Unforgettable congressional hearings in 1978 revealed that fallout from American nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s had overexposed hundreds of soldiers and other citizens to radiation. Faith in governmental integrity was shaken, and many people have assumed that such overexposure caused great damage. Yet important questions remain—the most controversial being: did the radiation overexposure in fact cause the cancers and birth defects for which it has been blamed? Elements of Controversy is the result of a decade of exhaustive research in AEC documentary records and the full clinical and epidemiological literature on radiation effects. More concerned with uncovering the historical story than with assigning blame, Barton Hacker concludes that every precaution was taken by the AEC to avoid harming test participants or bystanders. And, he points out, the biomedical literature suggests that these precautions worked. Yet top officials in Washington—for whom the success of nuclear weapons was of overriding importance—had asserted that testing involved no risks at all. Discrepancies between unverifiable government claims and the revelations that some actual risk was present explain the origins and angry persistence of the controversies, Hacker argues. The Department of Energy delayed publication of Hacker's study for five years, and while his controversial book is sure to draw objections from both sides of the radiation-hazard debates, it will provide a much-needed guide to understanding their polemics.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520083237/?tag=2022091-20
(Project Gemini was the United States' second manned space...)
Project Gemini was the United States' second manned space flight program, a bridge between the pioneering achievement of Project Mercury and the yet-to-be realized lunar mission of Project Apollo. This Chronology, a step in preparing the history of Project Gemini, marks the completion of the first phase of the study of the Gemini program and lays the foundation for the narrative history that will follow. What we have done must stand as an independent work in its own right. But at the same time, some of its characteristics- in particular, what it contains and what it omits- can be properly justified only in terms of the larger whole of which it is a part. We have deliberately focused this Chronology very narrowly, excluding much material of undoubted relevance to the background of events, the context of decision, and to other matters that might be characterized as the external environment of Project Gemini. In part this is the inevitable result of a chronological format, which leaves little scope for explaining and interpreting events. Equally important, however, was our decision to reserve for the less restricted confines of a subsequent narrative history our confrontation with the subtle problems of interpretation and causation, of controversy and cooperation, of individual achievements and failures in the Gemini program. Several major features of this text grew directly from this decision. Our orientation throughout has been primarily institutional. Organizations rather than individuals are ordinarily the actors in events as we describe them. The point of view embodied in most of the entries is that of Gemini Program Office (the Manned Spacecraft Center element created to carry through the Gemini program) and of major Gemini contractors. The events that we have been most concerned to elucidate are technological - the engineering and developmental work which transformed the concepts and objectives of the Gemini program from idea to reality. This Chronology is fully documented, with sources for each entry in the text cited immediately after the entry. Our greatest, though not exclusive, reliance has been on primary sources. Of these, perhaps the most widely useful have been the various recurring reports issued by both NASA and contractor organizations. Foremost among these are the Project Gemini Quarterly Status Reports, the Manned Spacecraft Center weekly and monthly activity reports and contractor monthly progress reports. Another extremely useful class of materials comprises nonrecurring reports and documents, such as working papers, technical reports, statements of work, mission reports and analyses, familiarization manuals, and final reports. The third major body of sources consists of the records of various NASA organizations, particularly Gemini Program Office records. These include notes, minutes and abstracts of meetings, official correspondence, telegrams, memorandums, reading files, and the like. The most significant achievements of Gemini involved precision maneuvering in orbit and a major extension of the duration of manned space flights. These included the first rendezvous in orbit of one spacecraft with another and the docking of two spacecraft together. The docking operation allowed the use of a large propulsion system to carry men to greater heights above Earth than had been previously possible, thereby enabling the astronauts to view and photograph Earth over extensive areas.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1493794531/?tag=2022091-20
(This official NASA history document - converted for accur...)
This official NASA history document - converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction - is a comprehensive account of the events of Project Gemini, which paved the way for the successful Apollo moon landing program. From the Introduction: "Project Gemini was the United States' second manned space flight program, a bridge between the pioneering achievement of Project Mercury and the yet-to-be realized lunar mission of Project Apollo. This Chronology, a step in preparing the history of Project Gemini, marks the completion of the first phase of our study of the Gemini program and lays the foundation for the narrative history that will follow. What we have done must stand as an independent work in its own right. But at the same time, some of its characteristics- in particular, what it contains and what it omits- can be properly justified only in terms of the larger whole of which it is a part. We have deliberately focused this Chronology very narrowly, excluding much material of undoubted relevance to the background of events, the context of decision, and to other matters that might be characterized as the external environment of Project Gemini. In part this is the inevitable result of a chronological format, which leaves little scope for explaining and interpreting events. Equally important, however, was our decision to reserve for the less restricted confines of a subsequent narrative history our confrontation with the subtle problems of interpretation and causation, of controversy and cooperation, of individual achievements and failures in the Gemini program. Several major features of this text grew directly from this decision. Our orientation throughout has been primarily institutional. Organizations rather than individuals are ordinarily the actors in events as we describe them. The point of view embodied in most of the entries is that of Gemini Program Office (the Manned Spacecraft Center element created to carry through the Gemini program) and of major Gemini contractors. The events that we have been most concerned to elucidate are technological - the engineering and developmental work which transformed the concepts and objectives of the Gemini program from idea to reality. This Chronology is fully documented, with sources for each entry in the text cited immediately after the entry. Our greatest, though not exclusive, reliance has been on primary sources. Of these, perhaps the most widely useful have been the various recurring reports issued by both NASA and contractor organizations. Foremost among these are the Project Gemini Quarterly Status Reports, the Manned Spacecraft Center weekly and monthly activity reports and contractor monthly progress reports. Another extremely useful class of materials comprises nonrecurring reports and documents, such as working papers, technical reports, statements of work, mission reports and analyses, familiarization manuals, and final reports. The third major body of sources consists of the records of various NASA organizations, particularly Gemini Program Office records. These include notes, minutes and abstracts of meetings, official correspondence, telegrams, memorandums, reading files, and the like." The most significant achievements of Gemini involved precision maneuvering in orbit and a major extension of the duration of manned space flights. These included the first rendezvous in orbit of one spacecraft with another and the docking of two spacecraft together. The docking operation allowed the use of a large propulsion system to carry men to greater heights above Earth than had been previously possible, thereby enabling the astronauts to view and photograph Earth over extensive areas.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006VXNOQM/?tag=2022091-20
(The initiation of the Gemini was timed to take advantage ...)
The initiation of the Gemini was timed to take advantage of knowledge gained in the first series of manned space flights - Project Mercury. This volume documents the events involving the Project Gemini
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M9R35Y/?tag=2022091-20
( A detailed, yet highly readable book, On the Shoulders ...)
A detailed, yet highly readable book, On the Shoulders of Titans should be the starting point for all who are interested in the basic history of the Gemini Program. NASA’s second human spaceflight program, Gemini laid the groundwork for the more ambitious Apollo program which put astronauts on the Moon. This informative and entertaining book had long been out of print and is now available in softcover format. Recommended for students, scholars, journalists, hobbyists, and all who are interested in human spaceflight history.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0160671574/?tag=2022091-20
(Gemini was the intermediate manned space flight program b...)
Gemini was the intermediate manned space flight program between America's first steps into space with Mercury and the amazing and unprecedented accomplishments achieved during the manned lunar expeditions of Apollo. Because of its position between these two other efforts, Gemini is probably less remembered. Still, it more than had its place in man's progress into this new frontier. Gemini accomplishments were manyfold. They included many firsts: first astronaut-controlled maneuvering in space; first rendezvous in space of one spacecraft with another; first docking of one spacecraft with a propulsive stage and use of that stage to transfer man to high altitude; first traverse of man into the Earth's radiation belts; first extended manned flights of a week or more in duration; first extended stays of man outside his spacecraft; first controlled reentry and precision landing; and many more. These achievements were significant in ways one cannot truly evaluate even today, but two things stand out: (1) it was the time when America caught up and surpassed the Soviet Union in manned space flight, and (2) these demonstrations of capability were an absolute prerequisite to the phenomenal Apollo accomplishments then yet to come. Project Gemini is now little remembered, having vanished into that special limbo reserved for the successful intermediate steps in a fast-moving technological advance. Conceived and approved in 1961, the second major project in the American manned space flight program carried men into orbit in 1965 and 1966. Gemini thus kept Americans in space between the path-breaking but limited Earth-orbital missions of Project Mercury and the far more ambitious Project Apollo, which climaxed in 1969 when two men first set foot on the Moon. This book is a detailed history of the failures and victories of the Gemini program.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/149377591X/?tag=2022091-20
(This history of Project Gemini,the intermediate manned sp...)
This history of Project Gemini,the intermediate manned space flight program that existed between projects Mercury and Apollo is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. From the project's beginning to end, this book also includes drawings and black and white photos of Gemini and color photos it took while in flight.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YBBNYM/?tag=2022091-20
Hacker, Barton Clyde was born on July 17, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Son of Carl and Ida (Genstel) Hacker.
1 son, Richard Mark. Bachelor of Arts Liberal Arts, University of Chicago, 1955, Bachelor of Arts History, 1960, Master of Arts in History, 1962, Doctor of Philosophy in History, 1968. Lecturer University of Chicago, 1965-1966;senior historian Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, 1966-1969. Assistant professor Iowa State University, Ames, 1970-1975.
Research associate Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 1975-1977.
Radiation dosimetry historian REECo, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1978-1986. Vis.asst. professor Oregon State University, Corvallis, 1986.
Consultant in field
Lectr.U. Chicago, 1965—1966. Senior historian Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, 1965—1969. Assistant professor Iowa State University, Ames, 1970—1975.
Research associate Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1975—1977. Radiation dosimetry historian REECo, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1978—1986. Visiting assistant professor Oregon State University, Corvallis, 1986—1991.
Laboratory historian Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, 1992—1998. Curator Armed Forces history Smithsonian Museum American History, Washington, since 1998. Consultant in field; chairman program com.ICOHTEC, 2002—2003.
With United States Army, 1956-1959.
(This official NASA history document - converted for accur...)
(Gemini was the intermediate manned space flight program b...)
(Project Gemini was the United States' second manned space...)
( Unforgettable congressional hearings in 1978 revealed t...)
(This history of Project Gemini,the intermediate manned sp...)
( A detailed, yet highly readable book, On the Shoulders ...)
(The initiation of the Gemini was timed to take advantage ...)
Co-founder, secretary Houston branch National Organization of Women, 1968. Precinct chairman Democratic Party, Cambridge, Iowa, 1972. Member of United States Commission on Military History, Society for Military History, History of Science Society, Columbia History of Science Group (chairman program committee 1997-1999, president 1998—2000), Military Technology Interest Group (founder, chairman since 1985), World History Association, Society for History of Technology (chairman editorial committee 1993-1994, chairman Dexter prize committee 1998-1999, chairman Robinson prize committee 1981-1982, member advisory council 1983-1988, Leonardo da Vinci medal 2003), Organization American Historians (life), American History Association (life).
Married Sally Lynn Swank, June 10, 1966. 1 child Richard Mark.