This select volume of historical documents is organized chronologically, spanning from 1914 to the present. Divided into eight chapters, it includes a narrative introduction to each historical period.

This collection of historical documents provides insight into the history of the United States in its pursuit of the peaceful uses of outer space, with emphasis on the manned space program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as well as commercial American activities supporting human spaceflight in the early 21st century.

Rocketry and space technology have served varied goals throughout the Space Age: pure research, as well as research applied for national security, national prestige, and commercial profit. There have been varied actors as well, among them individuals supported by philanthropists as well as governments, intergovernmental organizations, international consortiums, and for-profit corporations.

This book focuses on space exploration, and in particular, human space exploration, leading to the questions, "Why have humans gone into outer space in the past?" and "Why will they do so in the future?" These documents help readers to examine the variety of fascinating answers to those questions.