Shaping Science: Organizations, Decisions, and Culture on NASA's Teams

355 Pages·2020·4.429 MB·English

by  Janet Vertesi

Shaping Science

Shaping Science
Organizations, Decisions, and
Culture on NASA’s Teams
JANeT VerTeSi
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago and London
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2020 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief
quotations in critical articles and reviews. For more information, contact the
University of Chicago Press, 1427 e. 60th St., Chicago, iL 60637.
Published 2020
Printed in the United States of America
29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 1 2 3 4 5
iSBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 69108- 4 (cloth)
iSBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 69111- 4 (e- book)
DOi: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226691114.001.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Vertesi, Janet, author.
Title: Shaping science : organizations, decisions, and culture on
NASA’s teams / Janet Vertesi.
Description: Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2020. |
includes bibliographical references and index.
identifiers: LCCN 2020014489 | iSBN 9780226691084 (cloth) |
iSBN 9780226691114 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Spacelabs, inc. | United States. National Aeronautics and
Space Administration. | Space robotics—research—Social aspects—
United States. | research teams. | research—Management—Social aspects. |
Knowledge management—Social aspects. | Organizational sociology.
Classification: LCC Q180.55.G77 V47 2020 | DDC 629.430973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020014489
♾ This paper meets the requirements of ANSi/NiSO Z39.48-1 992
(Permanence of Paper).
For Craig

every mission is kind of like a living organism. it has a personality and it has
a style, and that personality and style is sort of gained at the beginning of the
mission, and it never changes; even though the people who migrate through
it change, you change out the people and you still have the same mission
personality.
james, planetary scientist

CONTeNTS
Preface / xi
Introduction / 1
ONe: Orders / 29
1. The Context / 31
2. The integrators / 51
3. The resolutions / 77
4. The Collective / 99
5. The environment / 127
TwO: Outcomes / 149
6. The Science / 151
7. The Spacecraft / 177
8. The Data / 201
9. The Personalities / 221
10. The iterative Loop / 245
Conclusion / 263
Postscript: Methodological Reflections / 271
Acknowledgments / 281
Appendix: Acronym and Technical Dictionary / 283
Notes / 287
References / 301
Index / 321