NASA SP-2005-4701 Risk and Exploration - Earth, Sea and the Stars [SEP 2004]

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA Administrator’s Symposium. September 26–29, 2004. Special Publication (SP). 308 p.The NASA History Division is pleased to present the record of a unique meeting on risk and exploration held under the auspices of the NASA Administrator, Sean O’Keefe, at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, from September 26–29, 2004. The meeting was the brainchild of Keith Cowing and astronaut John Grunsfeld, NASA’s chief scientist at the time. Its goals, stated in the letter of invitation published herein, were precipitated by the ongoing dialogue on risk and exploration in the wake of the Columbia Shuttle accident, the Hubble Space Telescope servicing question, and, in a broader sense, by the many NASA programs that inevitably involve a balance between risk and forward-looking exploration. The meeting, extraordinarily broad in scope and participant experience, offers insights on why we explore, how to balance risk and exploration, how different groups defi ne and perceive risk differently, and the importance of exploration to a creative society.