Rand's Role in the Evolution of Balloon and Satellite Observation Systems and Related U.S. Space Technology

This report, prepared as part of RAND-sponsored research, was originally intended to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of Project RAND (now Project AIR FORCE), a long-term research effort that began in April 1946 with a study of the utility and feasibility of space satellites. RAND research on space technology continued, for the next two decades, to emphasize the primacy of photoreconnaissance and the communication to earth of remotely sensed data. Without the ability to observe and communicate, other applications of space technology appeared infeasible. As a direct consequence of this continuing focus on the potential of space for reconnaissance and arms control verification, the writing and security clearance of the present report have not been a simple matter either for the authors or the U.S. government. (KR).