This volume is the third in a series that had its origins almost a decade ago.   The individuals involved in initiating the series and producing the first two volumes have been acknowledged in those volumes [Volume I--Organizing for Space (1995); Volume II--External Relationships (1996)]; those acknowledgments will not be repeated here. An exception must be made for NASA Chief Historian Roger D. Launius, who has become not only a strong supporter of this series but also an essential collaborator in its implementation.