Whatfactors determine the nature and pace of technological development? The literature
on social construction of technology and actor-network theory suggests that assembling
"coalitions" of support and conveying a certain "rhetoric" of technology are important
to moving technology forward They are especially crucial strategies for advocates of
large-scale, government-supported technologies. These strategies are illuminated by
cases of U.S. space satellite development: meteorological satellites, land satellites, and
the Earth Observation System.
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