The Last of the Great Observatories: Spitzer and the Era of Faster, Better, Cheaper at NASA [Hardcover]

George H. Rieke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2006

The Spitzer Space Observatory, originally known as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), is the last of the four “Great Observatories”, which also include the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Developed over twenty years and dubbed the “Infrared Hubble", Spitzer was launched in the summer of 2003 and has since contributed significantly to our understanding of the universe. George Rieke played a key role in Spitzer and now relates the story of how that observatory was built and launched into space. Telling the story of this single mission within the context of NASA space science over two turbulent decades, he describes how, after a tortuous political trail to approval, Spitzer was started at the peak of NASA’s experiment with streamlining and downsizing its mission development process, termed “faster better cheaper.” Up to its official start and even afterward, Spitzer was significant not merely in terms of its scientific value but because it stood at the center of major changes in space science policy and politics. Through interviews with many of the project participants, Rieke reconstructs the political and managerial process by which space missions are conceived, approved, and developed. He reveals that by the time Spitzer had been completed, a number of mission failures had undermined faith in “faster-better-cheaper” and a more conservative approach was imposed. Rieke examines in detail the premises behind “faster better cheaper,” their strengths and weaknesses, and their ultimate impact within the context of NASA’s continuing search for the best way to build future missions. Rieke’s participant’s perspective takes readers inside Congress and NASA to trace the progress of missions prior to the excitement of the launch, revealing the enormously complex and often disheartening political process that needs to be negotiated. He also shares some of the new observations and discoveries made by Spitzer in just its first year of operation. As the only book devoted to the Spitzer mission, The Last of the Great Observatories is a story at the nexus of politics and science, shedding new light on both spheres as it contemplates the future of mankind’s exploration of the universe.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's a rare science book that reads like a thriller, but Rieke's intimate chronicle of the 20-year effort to put an infrared telescope (named after the pioneer of space-based astronomy, Dr. Lyman Spitzer) into orbit around the Earth does just that. Rieke infuses his story of technical struggles and accomplishments with the personalities of the scientists, engineers and NASA managers who got the Spitzer Telescope funded, built and into space. Along the way, the reader receives an education in the politics of space science, the rivalries among private contractors (even within units of the same corporation) and the agonies of the scientists who make the astronomical discoveries happen. Because the academic researchers and the private contractors were integrated into a management system untried for any previous NASA mission, the book also serves as a primer on scientific management. Rieke's excellent skills in organizing the text, describing difficult technical concepts, and the light, witty touch of never taking himself too seriously result in a book that informs while it entertains.
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Review

“As the only book devoted to the Spitzer mission, [this] is a story at the nexus of politics and science, shedding new light on both spheres as it contemplates the future of mankind’s exploration of the universe.”—Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin “Rieke goes beyond telling a good story and tries to glean lessons for future projects from the Spitzer experience.” —Nature

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press (May 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816525226
• ISBN-13: 978-0816525225
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,025,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the belly of the beast, May 25, 2006

By 

Jeffrey F. Bell (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last of the Great Observatories: Spitzer and the Era of Faster, Better, Cheaper at NASA (Paperback)

As a former IR astronomer and author of several space mission proposals, I already knew some of the information in this book. But I still found it to be a fascinating window into the arcane and Byzantine process by which NASA produces complex scientific spacecraft. SIRTF/Spitzer took 20 years from announcement to launch, and it went through more fundamental changes in design and survived more NASA management fads than any spacecraft in history. Somehow Professor Rieke managed not to lose his sense of humor during this torture.

The impression one gets from reading this account is the whole system for selecting and funding NASA missions is fundamentally broken and needs to be totally overhauled. The amount of effort and money wasted on mission concepts that were abandoned is astonishing. Spitzer only worked because IR detector technology improved by a factor of 10,000 during its development cycle (mostly due to military-funded research).

I also was surprised at the number of dumb mistakes made by experienced engineers. The main contractor for the Spitzer instrument package was Ball Aerospace, who have a mixed reputation for competence. Clearly this mission was not one of their high points. Ball's pre-launch testing program seems to have caused more problems than it cured.

A lot of trouble was caused by defective components supplied by sub-contractors (which under the insane rules of the time could not be tested by the prime contractor or NASA). It seems incredible to me that after 40 years of building space probes, it is not possible to obtain basic parts like wiring harnesses and gas valves that aren't riddled with defects. There is no indication that the vendors of these defective parts were sued for damages, denied award fees, or placed on some NASA blacklist.

Everybody interested in space mission planning should read this book. You may laugh, you may cry, but you will learn a lot.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What It Really Takes to Do Big Science, June 9, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last of the Great Observatories: Spitzer and the Era of Faster, Better, Cheaper at NASA (Hardcover)

The Hubble is the most famous of the satellite observatories. But it was actually only one of four, the so called 'Great Observatories.' This excellent book tells the story of the last of the four, the Spitzer Space Telescope. The Spitzer operates in the infrared part of the spectrum (Hubble - Visible Light, Chandra - X-Ray, Compton - Gamma Ray).

The idea for the Spitzer began in 1983 with a proposal that NASA spend $2 billion for the project. The key to this book is the twenty years that it took to get it to fly in 2003. Here's the inside story of what it takes to get one project through the NASA system. It makes for excellent reading.

There isn't much in the book about the astronomy that the Spitzer does, and just a few color pictures would help. After all, it is the pictures that have kept the Hubble in the public's eye. But you can fix this by browsing to [...]

Dr. Rieke, a professor at the University of Arizona, was one of the people who worked on the original proposal in 1983 and is still with the project. He also knows how to spin a good tale.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fly on the walls of NASA, June 30, 2007

By 

WiltDurkey (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last of the Great Observatories: Spitzer and the Era of Faster, Better, Cheaper at NASA (Hardcover)

When I was about 3, my parents took me to see "2001" and I was told that, by 2001, we could buy tickets to the Moon. Later on, I was just old enough to understand that the Moon landing was a "big thing". Close to 40 years on, I've watched 2 shuttles blow up, the Hubble near-disaster and loss of spacecraft due to software confusion between imperial and metric units. Most of all, I am appalled by the ongoing waste of money, including Canadian tax money, that is the International Space Station. NASA seems to have lost its touch, despite occasional successes. Why?

As a layman, this is as good a place as any to find out, though the book gives no easy answers and is rather dry reading. The author, a scientist, worked on the project for 20 years till it launched. He is clearly frustrated by project's duration, constant reviews, cost-cutting and changing agendas. Nevertheless, he also recognizes the need for both cost cutting and reviews. Spaceships are unique in that they are extremely complex machines that are produced only once, using essentially skilled artisan techniques rather than mass-production engineering. Worse, once launched, there is little that can be done to correct defects. A wonder they work at all. That gives you some sympathy for the amount of administration, reviews and documentation at NASA. Ideally, every possible contingency needs to be anticipated and accounted for. Unfortunately, that costs lots of money.

Despite suffering from its fads, Mr. Rieke does not dismiss "better, cheaper, faster". What he seems to say is that, up until a certain level of cost, complexity and novelty, a space mission can be carried out with streamlined management and control. Especially if the project is not put under undue time pressure. Past that level of complexity and cost, more formal and thorough management is needed to palliate mission risks. He also highlights interesting misconceptions about where the real mission risks are, statistically. Overall, you are left with the impression that managing spaceflights is not amenable to easy answers. Personally, I think more extra-agency competition would help in avoiding groupthink.

Reading this book, it seems that there are really 2 NASA. One, the unmanned scientific branch, is extremely competitive (in the old sense of the word), quite short of money and almost too careful in funding scientific missions. It fails, often, but also advances scientific knowledge. The other one, which is only glancingly mentioned, but not without veiled contempt, is "big NASA" (my nickname).

"Big NASA" badgers scientific missions into using their pretty shuttles, whether that makes sense or not. "Big NASA" spends $100 billion on the shuttles and the International Space Station, with dubious scientific returns, but takes 20 years to fund a $700 million satellite. "Big NASA" wants to put men on Mars and a station on the Moon, whether they are useful or not.

Quoting p.25 "The space station was starting to eat up a huge part of NASA's budget. An attempt to rally scientists and others to oppose the station in Congress led to a dramatic demonstration of the power of the professional aerospace lobby over the amateurish scientific one - the station was easily victorious." Not dated, but circa 1994 apparently. p.88 - "It appears the $14 million we got extra was really a way for headquarters to hide money they wanted to spend on the space station" (1998).

For those interested in management techniques, the author dissects how the project was managed. It certainly shows that _good_, respectful and technically savvy management is a huge help - something many of my fellow software programmers forget all too easily.

What is a bit left out in all this are the scientific aspects of the Spitzer telescope. That wasn't a big deal for me however, because I was more interested in understanding one view of NASA's problems.