Into the Black: JPL and the American Space Program, 1976-2004

"Westwick's analysis explains why the Jet Propulsion Lab behaved as it did, what forces shaped it, and what impact it had on its external environment." —Alex Roland, Duke University

In the decades since the mid-1970s, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has led the quest to explore the farthest reaches of the solar system. JPL spacecraft—Voyager, Magellan, Galileo, the Mars rovers, and others—have brought the planets into close view. JPL satellites and instruments also she...