This history commemorates the 40th anniversary of The RAND Corporation, 1948-1988. RAND research studies aided in development of concepts, system requirements, and development programs for space satellites operational in the 1960s. RAND research in 1946-1954 emphasized reconnaissance missions for balloons and electro-optical (TV) reconnaissance satellites with data relay. Thereafter, RAND proposed use of recoverable, film-storage satellite payloads with simple guidance systems so that reconnaissance satellites could aid in arms control verification when intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) were deployed. In the 1950s, RAND space technology studies dealt with scientific exploration of the moon and solar system, satellites for weather forecasting and for mapping, missile launch detection, and technology applications for the civil space program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Innovative studies of balloon reconnaissance platforms, ICBMs, uses of panoramic cameras for remote observation of earth, and use of infrared satellites for missile launch warning resulted from researcher-initiated studies.

Throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, the subject of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) has evoked strong opinions and emotions. For some, the belief in or study of UFOs (known as ufology) has taken on the dimensions of a religious quest. Others remain nonbelievers or at least skeptical of the existence of alien beings and elusive vehicles which never quite seem to manifest themselves. Regardless of one’s conviction, nowhere has the debate about UFOs been more spirited than over the events that unfolded near the small New Mexico city of Roswell in the summer of 1947. Numerous witnesses, including former military personnel and respectable members of the local community, have come forward with tales of humanoid beings, alien technologies, and government cover-ups that have caused even the most skeptical observers to pause and take notice. In July 1994, at the request of the Government Accounting Office, the U.S. Air Force completed a thousand-page report to explain the events that transpired in and near Roswell in the summer of 1947. That report sought to bring all the facts to light, declassify all the documents, and present the definitive truth to the public. The Roswell Report: Case Closed is the follow up to that report and contains additional materials and analysis intended to reach a complete, open, and final explanation of the events that occurred in the Southwest many years ago. While this explanation may not be as titillating as tales of unearthly craft and creatures, it is a fascinating story nonetheless.