Part 5: Chapter 16, Hooded Falcons: Space Technology and Assured Destruction Summary and Analysis

The decisions made by Kennedy and his advisors in the first few months of the new administration shaped American space policy for years. The result was a rapid buildup of missiles causing the Soviets to be the ones with the missile gap. The military and civilian aspects were blended in that much of the military was controlled by civilians and the civilian part was partially militarized. The last chance to stop the missile race was passed and the Secretary of Defense wanted a coherent national policy to come from the highest level so that missions and cost-effectiveness could be defined for various forms of competing weapons systems.

McNamara revolutionized how defense requests were processed during this period by performing an overall comparison of projects from...