Journals for Space Professionals

Editor’s Note: PIREP is aviation shorthand for pilot report. It’s a means for one pilot to pass on current, potentially useful information to other pilots. In the same fashion, we use this department to let readers know about items of interest.

SPACE WAS THE final frontier-later, the ultimate high ground. Today we squeeze space in between air and cyberspace in the Air Force's responsibility-a fact certainly reflected in Air and Space Power Journal. But two other journals provide space professionals with current and historical perspectives solely on that middle domain without becoming overly technical or focusing on the engineering or science of spaceflight. So, although it is always difficult to find time to read many of the recommended books on professional reading lists devoted to space, a 50- or 60-page journal is an easy read on a long temporary-duty flight.

First published in 2004, High Frontier, a quarterly publication from Headquarters Air Force Space Command, was really the brainchild of former Space Command leader Gen Lance W. Lord. Acting on a mandate from the Rumsfeld Space Commission, the command inaugurated a development program for space professionals that, among other things, has begun a certification plan for space professionals working in the space operations, missile operations, and acquisition fields. However, the "journal is designed to generate intellectual debate through thought provoking articles and essays on the strategic, operational and tactical aspects of space and missile power in the twenty-first century."¹ Themes have run from "Space and the Joint Fight" to "Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing" to the future of the intercontinental ballistic missile and strategic deterrence. Topics discussed have included development of space professionals, the total force and space, and specific mission areas in space operations. High Frontier always features a senior-leader perspective and often one from industry leaders as well as war fighters other than Airmen. The journal considers the joint view important because it seeks to reach space professionals in the military-both Airmen and warriors from sister services. Most issues also include book reviews intended to spark commentary and foster intellectual discussions. Advised by some of the leading intellectuals in the space business, High Frontier offers readers a free subscription to its electronic version.

Making its appearance in 1992, the quarterly journal Quest: The History of Spaceflight

Every issue includes an oral-history interview, often taken from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) archives of conversations with former astronauts and engineers, and other interviews with key figures from the military or commercial sides of space. One issue featured an oral history with the first director of the weather satellite program as well as an article on the program's development inside the National Reconnaissance Office.³ Recently, Quest has offered themed issues as well, such as the one commemorating the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik. That issue's feature article, by Roger D. Launius, former chief of the NASA history office and dean of space historians, received accolades from the Society for History in the Federal Government for its look at the way historians have interpreted the impact of Sputnik on American society. The Sputnik issue also included a look by well-known Soviet space-history expert Asif Siddiqi from the Soviet side of the launch. Another recent article showed all of the different design options for the Dyna-Soar X-20 program. James R. Hansen, Neil Armstrong's biographer (First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong [Simon & Schuster, 2005]), contributed a piece on Armstrong's role in the Challenger accident-investigation board, a piece that Hansen had removed from the biography. Each issue offers several book reviews and lists of recent publications on space history. Although a not-for-profit publication, Quest does charge $30 per year for a subscription.

So, while space professionals can continue to develop by reading Air and Space Power Journal, it certainly doesn't hurt to branch out a bit and explore some other perspectives from time to time. High Frontier and Quest: The History of Spaceflight are two good options for doing so.

1. Gen Lance W. Lord, "Welcome to High Frontier!" High Frontier 1, no. 1 (Summer 2004): 3, http://www.afspc .af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070622-055.pdf.

3. See David C. Arnold, "An Interview with Thomas Haig," and Cargill Hall, "A History of the Military Polar Orbiting Meteorological Satellite Program," Quest: The History of Spaceflight 9, no. 2 (December 2001): 53-61.

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University

PIREP

Journals for Space Professionals

So Much to Read, So Little Time