Andrew S. Erickson

Over the past two decades, I have benefitted tremendously from my association with the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) History Committee. With encouragement and insights from generous mentors and colleagues there, I have shared and honed my research by presenting nine papers in IAA History Symposia at seven International Astronautical Congresses around the world.

Thus inspired and supported, I have published a corpus of research concerning China’s maritime and aerospace activities and related defense science, technology, and industry; as well as the history and current status of great power megaprojects, other major programs, and related technology development.

As part of this latter category, as a space historian, I have endeavored to contribute to knowledge and understanding of the U.S.-Soviet space race, the Apollo Lunar Module Program and the Grumman Corporation’s prime contractor role, and key institutions and figures involved; as well as other nations’ development of rockets, satellites, and other space capabilities—chiefly China, but also Japan, India, and Brazil. I am currently writing a new history of the Apollo 13 mission as well as a companion study of astronaut Fred Haise’s career and contributions therein.

As part of my effort to document contributions not yet sufficiently recognized in the mainstream historical record, I have recently been interviewed in the documentary, “Witness on Mount Kobau: The Untold Canadian Story behind Apollo 13.”

Below are links to and excerpts from my research published and presented to date, which I hope in its own modest way can help to advance the historical record in this field. I will continue to update this compilation as I have more to offer. Thanks for your interest!

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Nine paper presentations at seven International Astronautical Congresses:

• “Fred Haise: The Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 13,” presented paper IAC-24,E4,1,4,x83513 in Session 1 – Memoirs & Organisational Histories, E4 – 58^th IAA History of Astronautics Symposium, 75^th International Astronautical Congress, Milan, Italy, 16 October 2024.
• “Lessons from the Lunar Module Program: The Director’s Conclusions” (IAC-19,E4,3,7,x53535), presented in “Session 3, ‘Can You Believe They Put a Man on the Moon?’ The Apollo Program,” E4. 53^rd IAA History of Astronautics Symposium, 70^th International Astronautical Congress, Washington, DC, 24 October 2019.
• “Joseph Gavin and MIT’s Contribution to Aeronautics and Astronautics” (IAC-19,E4,2,5,x53529), presented in “Session 2. History of U.S. Contribution to Astronautics Post WWII,” E4. 53^rd IAA History of Astronautics Symposium, 70th International Astronautical Congress, Washington, DC, 23 October 2019.
• “The Space Race Revisited: The Lunar Landing and its Larger Lessons,” presented at “Can You Believe They Put a Man on The Moon?” panel, 51^st IAA History of Astronautics Symposium, 68^th International Astronautical Congress, Adelaide, Australia, 29 September 2017.
• “Joseph Gavin Jr. and His Contribution to American Aerospace Achievement,” presented at “Memoirs and Organizational Histories” panel, 51^st IAA History of Astronautics Symposium, 68^th International Astronautical Congress, Adelaide, Australia, 25 September 2017.
• “China’s Space Development History: A Comparison of the Rocket and Satellite Sectors,” presented on “Session 3. History of Chinese Contribution to Astronautics,” in Symposium E4. 47^th IAA History of Astronautics Symposium at 64^th International Astronautical Congress, China National Convention Center, Beijing, 26 September 2013.
• “What Explains China’s Comprehensive but Uneven Aerospace Development?” presented, and served as rapporteur, on “Organizational Histories” panel, 43^rd History of Astronautics Symposium, 60^th International Astronautical Congress, Daejeon, South Korea, 12–16 October 2009.
• “Explaining India’s Sustained Progress in Rockets and Satellites,” presented at 41^st History of Astronautics Symposium, “History of Indian Contributions to Rocketry and Astronautics” panel, 58^th International Astronautical Congress, Hyderabad, India, 24–28 September 2007.
• “A Geotechnological Balancer: The Emerging China-EU Space Axis,” presented at “56^th International Astronautical Congress,” International Astronautical Federation, Fukuoka, Japan, 17–21 October 2005.

Most-relevant Publications (including four articles in Acta Astronautica, one in Space Policy, and two in Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia; as well as six chapters and one edited volume in American Astronautical Society History Series):

• “China’s New Liaowang-1 Space Support Ship: Defensive and Offensive Capabilities from Sea to Satellites,” 19FortyFive, 8 May 2025.
• “Joseph Gavin and MIT’s Contribution to Aeronautics and Astronautics,” 289–98; and “Lessons from the Lunar Module Program: The Director’s Conclusions,” 529–62; in Otfried Liepack, ed., Proceedings of the Fifty-Third History Symposium of the International Academy of Astronautics, American Astronautical Society (AAS) History Series, 52 (San Diego, CA: Univelt, 2022).
• “Joseph G. Gavin, Jr. and MIT’s Contribution to Aerospace in the Apollo Era and Beyond,” Acta Astronautica 181 (April 2021): 167–89
• “Lessons from the Lunar Module Program: The Director’s Conclusions,” Acta Astronautica 177 (December 2020): 514–36.
• “Joseph G. Gavin, Jr. and His Contributions to American Aerospace Achievement,” 65–84; and “The Space Race Revisited: The Lunar Landing and its Larger Lessons,” 289–342; in Michael L. Ciancone, ed., Proceedings of the Fifty-first History Symposium of the International Academy of Astronautics, American Astronautical Society (AAS) History Series, 50 (San Diego, CA: Univelt, 2020).
• “Revisiting the U.S.-Soviet Space Race: Comparing Two Systems in Their Competition to Land a Man on the Moon,” Acta Astronautica 148 (July 2018): 376–84.
• Editor, History of Rocketry and Astronautics: Proceedings of the 47th History Symposium of the International Academy of Astronautics, American Astronautical Society (AAS) History Series, 45 (San Diego, CA: Univelt, 2015). Author, “Preface,” ix; and “Six Decades of Chinese Space History: A Comparative History of Rocket and Satellite Development,” 205–64.
• “China’s Space Development History: A Comparison of the Rocket and Satellite Sectors,” Acta Astronautica 103 (October/November 2014): 142–67.
• “A Potent Vector: Assessing Chinese Cruise Missile Developments,” with Dennis M. Gormley and Jingdong Yuan, Joint Force Quarterly 75.4 (October 2014): 98–105.
• A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier: Assessing China’s Cruise Missile Ambitions, with Dennis M. Gormley and Jingdong Yuan (Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 2014).
• Chinese Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Development: Drivers, Trajectories, and Strategic Implications (Washington, DC: Jamestown Foundation/Brookings Institution Press, 2013).
• “India’s Steady Progress in Rockets and Satellites,” in Anthony M. Springer, ed., Proceedings of the Forty-First History Symposium of the International Academy of Astronautics, American Astronautical Society (AAS) History Series, 38 (San Diego, CA: Univelt, 2012), 359–94.
• “Microsatellites: A Bellwether of Chinese Aerospace Progress?” in Lisa Parks and James Schwoch, eds., Down to Earth: Satellite Technologies, Industries, and Cultures (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2012), 254–79.
• “Spaceplane Development Becomes a New Dimension of Emerging U.S.-China Space Competition,” with Gabriel B. Collins, China SignPost (洞察中国) 62 (16 August 2012).
• “Shenlong ‘Divine Dragon’ Takes Flight: Is China Developing its First Spaceplane?” with Gabriel B. Collins, China SignPost (洞察中国) 58 (4 May 2012).
• “China’s Navigation in Space: What New Approaches will China’s Space Tracking Take?” with Amy Chang, U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 138.4 (April 2012): 42–47.
• Coeditor, Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2011). Author of “Beijing’s Aerospace Revolution: Short-Range Opportunities, Long-Range Challenges,” 3–18. Coauthor, with Jingdong Yuan, of “Antiaccess and China’s Air-Launched Cruise Missiles,” 275–86; and, with David D. Yang, of “Chinese Analysts Assess the Potential for Antiship Ballistic Missiles,” 328–42.
• “Satellites Support Growing PLA Maritime Monitoring and Targeting Capabilities,” Jamestown China Brief 11.3 (10 February 2011): 13–19.
• “China,” 1004–08, and “Japan,” 1021–25; with Joan Johnson-Freese; in Stephen B. Johnson, ed., Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia (Washington, DC: NASA/ABC-CLIO, 2010).
• “Eyes in the Sky,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 136.4 (April 2010): 36–41.
• “Using the Land to Control the Sea? Chinese Analysts Consider the Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile,” with David D. Yang, Naval War College Review 62.4 (Fall 2009): 53–86.
• “National Security Challenges and Competition: Defense and Space R&D in the Chinese Strategic Context,” with Kathleen Walsh, Technology in Society: An International Journal, Special Issue “Science and Technology in China, India, and the United States: Assessments and Comparisons,” 30.3-4 (August-November 2008): 349–61.
• “The Emerging China-EU Space Partnership: A Geotechnological Balancer,” with Joan Johnson-Freese, Space Policy: An International Journal 22.1 (Spring 2006): 12–22.