Jan. 24 & 25
At the end of World War II, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was at the crossroads. Should this outgrowth of Caltech continue to build rockets for U.S. Army in peace time? The answer came with the coming of the Cold War. Yet by 1956, JPL was already seeking a new role and had set its ambitions on teaming with the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville to launch the first satellite into space. Denied that opportunity in 1956 by the Eisenhower administration, JPL and the Von Braun rocket teams could only watch in frustration as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first satellite, in October 1957. Following Sputnik and with the explosion of the U.S. Vanguard rocket just weeks later, the White House, in desperation, turned to the JPL and Huntsville team, which then successfully launched Explorer 1 into orbit less than 90 days after being given the go-ahead. JPL and the Beginnings of the Space Age charts the transformation of JPL from a provider of ballistic missiles to the moment it set out on the path to become the world's preeminent explorer of the solar system and beyond.
Speaker: |
Blaine Baggett |
Location: |
Thursday, January 24, 2008, 8 p.m. Beckman Auditorium at Caltech Friday, January 25, 2008, 7 p.m. The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College |
Webcast: |
Not available. |
JPL & The Beginnings of the Space Age
Jan. 24 & 25
The premier of a new historical video produced by JPL Office of Communications and Education Division Manager, Blaine Baggett.
Where in the World Will Our Energy Come From?
Feb. 28 & 29
What would it take to get the world to rely on renewable energy sources and get away from the damaging effects of fossil fuels?
Enceladus: The Newest Wrinkle from Saturn's Tiger-Striped Moon
Mar. 20 & 21
The Cassini spacecraft reveals a dynamic world of icy jets and towering plumes on Saturn's Moon Enceladus.
The Importance of Sample Return
Apr. 24 & 25
The Genesis Mission collected solar-wind samples outside of the Earth's Magnetosphere and returned them to Earth for Analysis.
Landing a Backhoe on Mars
May. 15 & 16
The Phoenix Lander will study the history of water and search for complex organic molecules in the ice-rich soil of the martian arctic.
The Heliospheric Magnetic Field, the Solar Wind & the Interstellar Medium
Jun. 19 & 20
The interaction of the heliospheric magnetic field, the solar wind and the interstellar medium are vitally important.
Cassini Mission to Saturn Highlights
Jul. 24 & 25
Near the completion of its four-year primary mission, the Cassini Spacecraft has revealed Saturn and its dynamic moons in unprecedented ways.
Keeping an Eye on Earth's Changing Climate: The Ocean Surface Topography Mission
Aug. 21 & 22
Measuring global sea level changes continually chronicles how Earth's climate fluctuates and changes over time.
The Great Southern California Shake Out
Sep. 25 & 26
California's future includes preparation for a great earthquake that could hit southern California on the southern San Andreas Fault.
New Wheels on Mars: The Mars Science Laboratory
Oct. 16 & 17
NASA's next rover mission to Mars will be twice as long and five times as heavy as the Mars Exploration Rovers.
New Worlds: Exoplanet Discoveries from the Spitzer Space Telescope
Nov. 13 & 14
Infrared Astronomy is responsible for some of the most revealing and interesting views of the Universe to date.
The Mystery of Dark Energy
Dec. 11 & 12
Evidence that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating points to "Dark Energy" as the cause of this rapid expansion.
