Astronomy During the Cold War: The Case of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (1955-1975)

American Institute Of Physics, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

The proposed research will focus on the history of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) between 1955 and 1980. A fundamental goal of the research is to examine the extent to which the SAO's activities and institutional development were products of Cold War interests and pressures. The research will be done at several different and interrelated levels of analysis including: Individual careers; Scientific research; Institutional; and Public involvement . The proposed research expands on and continues previous studies done by the PIs and is part of their broader research program. They expect to demonstrate the degree to which the newly recreated SAO was the embodiment of a Cold War scientific institution, designed by a small group of scientists with intimate knowledge of how Washington worked, how the military services operated, and how national security needs could be both translated seamlessly into and made synonymous with, scientific research agendas. This research will take advantage of a diverse array of available historical evidence. This includes material from the personal records of astronomers as well as materials located in federal and private archives. The PIs will also conduct targeted oral histories with selected individuals; these interviews along with documentary evidence the PIs collect will be donated to the Center for History of Physics and to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Archives to serve as a resource for other scholars. Previous studies have paid extensive attention to the relations between science, technology, and the state during the Cold War. Overviews of this research, however, have called for future studies to integrate material from studies done at different levels of analysis for a single institution. The research proposed here responds to these recommendations by studying several facets of SAO history. This work will highlight the experiences of the astronomy community by centering the study on one particular scientific institution and will contribute to new historiographical approaches to thinking about science and technology in the Cold War. The work proposed here will be disseminated to a larger audience in several ways. PIs will prepare articles and at least one book based on their research. Their work will be presented at conferences and public talks. The PIs intend to use examples from the proposed research in his teaching activities and the Co-PI will incorporate results in museum presentations and exhibits which reach all segments of the national population.