by Wendel Sloan
Editor’s Note: Dr. Donald Elder III, professor of history, has been appointed to the History Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). In the following interview, he discusses the appointment and the importance of space exploration.
Q. Tell us about your appointment to the International Academy of Astronautics, your responsibilities, and what the IAA does?
I was very pleasantly surprised when I received the e-mail from the International Academy of Astronautics asking me to serve on its History Committee. The organization, established during the early days of the Space Age, brings individuals involved in aerospace activities together to promote programs that foster peaceful and productive uses of outer space.

Membership in the organization has included the most famous individuals associated with the Space Age, from Wernher von Braun to Carl Sagan. As a member of the IAA committee, I will work with colleagues from around the world to help preserve and publicize the history of the Space Age.
Q. What is the history of your involvement with space topics?

When I was in graduate school at the University of California-San Diego, I decided to write my dissertation on how foreign perceptions of the American space program affected our diplomatic relations during President Eisenhower’s administration. During my research, I found that our first telecommunication satellite (known as Echo I) had significantly enhanced the image of the United States, and accordingly much of my dissertation focused on that program.

I sent my work to Bob Jacobs at Univelt Press, and he published it in 1995 as Out From Behind the Eight-Ball: The History of Project Echo. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics awarded my book its annual prize for the best work in the field, and asked me to become a member of its History Committee. A year later, the American Astronautical Society also asked me to become a member of its History Committee.

In 1999, I was asked to become one of the judges for determining the winner of the Eugene M. Emme Prize, an award given annually to the best book on the history of the Space Age. I indirectly owe my next honor to our university’s president, Dr. Steven Gamble. In 2010, a vacancy occurred on the New Mexico Museum of Space History Commission, and Governor Bill Richardson asked Dr. Gamble to recommend someone from this region as a possible successor. Dr. Gamble suggested me, and Governor Richardson sent my name to the New Mexico State Senate for confirmation. Upon their vote, I became a state commissioner, and in 2013 Governor Suzanna Martinez reappointed me to that position.

I think that this body of work over the past 20 years helped earn me the appointment to the IAA History Committee.
Q. How did your interest in space programs evolve?

One of my earliest memories involves the American space program. The Space Age began on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, into outer space. Two months later, the United States attempted to launch its first satellite, and all three television networks decided to televise the momentous event.

I had just entered kindergarten that fall, and on the day of the launch all of the students at my elementary school were ushered into the cafeteria to watch the historic moment. At the designated moment, the rocket’s ignition system fired, and it began to rise off the launching pad. It then hovered for a moment before suddenly exploding into a massive fireball. In that instant, I became fascinated with anything relating to outer space. I retain that same interest to this day.
Q. How do you view the importance of space exploration to the U.S. and world? Do you think countries should work together to explore space, or is it better to do it separately?

I have always believed that we have benefited greatly from space programs. To give just one example, weather forecasting used to be a remarkably imprecise science. This deficiency quite often lead to unpredicted storms wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting populace. In 1960, however, the United States launched TIROS, the world’s first weather observation satellite. Since then, weather forecasting has become much better able to warn areas about inclement weather heading their way.

In addition, satellites revolutionized the telecommunication industry. And while most of the satellites launched have had peaceful applications, some have been placed into orbit by various governments to conduct surveillance. Clearly, the world would operate much differently today in many respects had the Space Age never occurred.

In spite of the impact that satellites have had, most people would undoubtedly think first about manned missions when asked about the subject of outer space. Here the record is much more mixed. Astronauts from a number of nations have helped us learn much about our world and the rest of the universe, but some would argue that robotic missions could have helped gather that same information at a fraction of the cost. I have always felt that humans give a greater flexibility in terms of research than robotic systems do, but I can certainly see the point that we have perhaps paid too high a price for this knowledge.

And I also believe that cooperation offers a much better path forward in outer space than competition (with the obvious exception of surveillance satellites). John Kennedy, the president who put us on the path to the Moon, saw this quite clearly. Even at the height of the Cold War, he suggested that working with the Soviet Union on space programs would yield far greater benefits than would competition.
Q. Are there legitimate concerns about space being used for military advantage by different countries?

While the Space Age began with the launch of a peaceful satellite by the Soviet Union, some at the time saw ways to gain a military edge through space programs. This lead to the launch three years later of the first reconnaissance satellite by the United States. But others felt that outer space offered a “New High Ground” for the military to utilize. These individuals envisioned placing weapons platforms in orbit, where they could either fire weapons directly at an enemy nation or target Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles launched by that nation.

Both the United States and the Soviet Union worked on such projects unsuccessfully throughout the 1950s and 1960s before agreeing to a treaty that banned the deployment of Anti-Ballistic Missile systems in 1972. When he became president, Ronald Reagan felt that the United States should revisit that subject, and in March of 1983 he committed the nation to a program to develop a defensive shield. Named the Strategic Defense Initiative (but better known to the public as Star Wars), this program is known today as the Missile Defense Agency.

Much about this program is classified, as is any work that the United States and other nations are conducting on space-based weapons systems. This obviously does represent a potential for either a first strike or a retaliatory response—a classic doubled-edged sword scenario.
Q. How does space exploration benefit average citizens?

For years, proponents of the manned space program pointed to tangible benefits that came from that effort. These ranged from Velcro to Tang. It turned out that both of these products predated the Space Age, but first came to prominence because of their usage by NASA in its manned spaceflight program.

In a similar fashion, many other benefits of the space program touted at one time or another do not stand up to historical scrutiny. And yet, a recent poll revealed that 71 percent of the American public feels that the manned space program has been “worth it.” It seems that this sentiment stems from the fact that manned spaceflight has served as an inspiration for the nation. The image of astronauts risking their lives to go into a strange and potentially dangerous environment resonates nicely with the admiration we have always held for our nation’s explorers and pioneers.

At the risk of sounding cliché, the words uttered by William Shatner in the opening credits of “Star Trek” about going where no one has ever gone before still ring true for many Americans.
Q. Have you had any publications about the space program?

I have been fortunate enough to have had quite a bit of my work on Space History published. As previously noted, my first book focused on our first telecommunication satellite. I edited or co-edited four volumes in the History of Rocketry and Astronautics series published by the IAA. I have written chapters for books on subjects ranging from Skylab to Project Score. Finally, I have contributed numerous book reviews to journals such as Space Times and The Annals of Iowa.

Q. Other thoughts?

To have my peers around the world recognize my contributions to the field of Space History by asking me to serve on the IAA History Committee is an honor that I still find hard to believe. It is a validation of my research and scholarship efforts on a scale that I could only dream of when I started my career in higher education. I only hope that I can prove worthy of this opportunity to deepen our understanding of an important aspect of our past.