Major Internet Sites for Space Flight History
Getting Started and Getting Oriented
The UMBC Library maintains a number of research guides including Historical Studies and Human Context of Science & Technology. After consulting the general catalog, article indexes such as America: History and Life should be searched. Other databases, some providing full text of articles, can be found at the library's Databases page. Dissertation Abstracts (Proquest Digital Dissertations) should be searched, and sometimes provides full text.
Space and aviation news sites, such as Space.com, SpaceRef, and NASA Watch also contain historical overviews and sometimes copies of primary sources. The same is true of those dealing with national security in general, such as Global Security.org, and the Federation of American Scientists. Quest The History of Spaceflight Quarterly is one of the better popular journals devoted to history. The venerable Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (available at UM College Park) is a long-running and high quality source for space history.
The Society for the History of Technology hosts an aviation and space history interest group, The Albatrosses. Its newsletter provides information on research now in progress by numerous scholars. The society's journal, Technology and Culture features articles and book reviews on the history of aviation and space.
Sites with Access to Primary Historical Sources
The US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the primary repository for all official government records. Numerous collections are available from all of the many agencies involved in aviation and space. The Library of Congress contains numerous published sources, research guides, and many collections of relevant personal papers. The websites of the House of Representatives and Senate provide access to voluminous hearings, reports, and other materials related to their federal oversight and budgetary roles.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration History Office--located at NASA Headquarters, this is the primary site for access to official documents of the U.S. civilian space program. The office has published numerous critical histories and other aids, and is the first stop for access to primary sources. Before making an appointment to visit, you must read Research in NASA History and consult with the Professor.
Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum Collections and Research contains an overview of the many materials available at this primary institution housing historical artifacts and numerous collections. Especially important is the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum Oral History on Space, Science and Technology Catalog, which documents a major collection of oral and video history. Before making an appointment to visit you must consult with the Professor.
Numerous military and defense units of the U.S. government have history offices and web sites, providing research guides and access to secondary and primary sources. Start with the US Army Center of Military History's Related Websites for Military Historians.
The American Institute of Physics Center for History of Physics in College Park contains numerous collections of oral history interviews and documents on science from and about space. Before making an appointment to visit you must consult with the Professor.
George Washington University hosts The National Security Archive, which posts thousands of documents declassified under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), many related to civilian and military space policy. The Space Policy Institute and its associated e-journal The Space Review are important sources.
The Azriel Rosenfeld Science Fiction Research Collection at the UMBC Library Special Collections contains more than 6,000 books and 4,000 issues of science fiction periodicals, including "pulps" from the 1940's and 1950's. A number of manuscripts by leading authors are also held, along with an extensive selection of criticism and reference works.
The UMBC Library also holds a microfilm copy (ca 73 reels) of the official records of the Presidential Commission on the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger accident (originals are at the National Archives). For more information on the history of the Space Shuttle and its two major accidents, see The Space Shuttle Challenger (1986) & Columbia (2003) Accidents.
Maryland is home to numerous aviation and space-related museums, many of which make their collections available to researchers. Maryland's aviation history and many available resources are described in Edmund Preston, Barry A. lanman, and John R. Breihan, Maryland Aloft: A Celebration of Aviators, Airfields, and Aerospace (Crownsville: Maryland Historical Trust, 2003). UMBC holds primary sources (oral history interviews and other materials) on which the book is based. Consult Dr. Barry Lanman at the UMBC Martha Ross Center for Oral History for access. The national Centennial of Flight page contains much information on the broad range of associated commemorative and preservation activities. Below is a sampling of local museums of interest:
Historical Electronics Museum (near BWI Airport)
Glenn L. Martin Aviation Musum (Middle River)
A comprehensive collection of links to various other nations' space programs, as well as other related links, is maintained by the University of North Dakota Department of Space Studies.