Space: The Vigil

Even the delays and disappointments illuminated the extraordinary American commitment to space. Space was frontpage news every day of the week, and the news was of failure and frustration. But the public reaction was a far cry from the humiliation and bafflement Americans felt four years ago, when their first feeble efforts to match Sputnik I were fizzling. There were no demands for anybody's head, there were few doubts that what ever had gone wrong one week would be fixed another week—soon. The Adminis tration had asked Congress to raise space...