Space Service

Definition and stakes

Floyd C. Gale,  Someone to Watch Over Me

“ However, crewmen couldn't be drugged. They had to be awake to tend the ship. The credo of the Space Service was that you couldn't trust a machine to itself any more than you could trust an extraterrestrial, a non-human. If a man wasn't in charge, ultimately everything would go to pot. That was part of the space tradition, like the primitive axes that hung on the bulkheads, so a man could smash his way to the modern fire-fighting equipment. ”
Source: Gutenberg

by NASA,  The Post-Apollo Space Program: Directions for the Future

“ Building upon the basic science on the ground and in space, and upon the growing capability in the design, construction and launch of satellites, the United States pioneered in the development of space applications - notably communications, meteorology and navigation. Operational systems have been placed into service in each of these areas, and the potential for the future appears bright - not only in these areas but also in new fields such as earth resource surveying and oceanography. ”
Source: Wikisource

John Wood Campbell,  Brass Tacks (1950 <!-- | portal)

“ Certain men in both the Navy and the Air Force are looking forward, rightly enough, to space travel. These men also seem to take it for granted that their own branch of service, viz. the Navy or the Air Force, will be the one to take over the military duties of patrolling the spaceways, or whatever might be required. ”
Source: Wikisource

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