The Origins and Flagship Project of NASA’s International Program: The Ariel Case Study

Abstract

The complexity of satellite systems and challenges of operating in the near-Earth space environment necessitated that innovation take place as a collective learning process among many institutions in many countries. Between 1945 and 1958, scientist administrators functioned as important mediators of scientific practice and national interest, coordinating resources in the Upper Atmosphere Rocket Research Panel, the International Geophysical Year, and finally the organizational innovation of NASA. NASA’s first international satellite project enlisted talent from a number of UK institutions that over the years had already proven valuable partners in space science and upper atmospheric research. Thus, NASA provided a bureaucratic and funding mechanism to continue such collaboration, avoiding undue duplication of effort, but also setting an example of carefully meted inclusivity in space science (Angelina Long Callahan).