SPACE & AMERN IMAGINATIONExamining popular images that have helped motivate the most ambitious civil space program in the world, Howard E. McCurdy argues that the spacefaring dream tapped into several of America's most deeply rooted cultural ideals: the limitless frontier, the heroic explorer, the romance of aviation, and progress through technology. He also shows how space advocates, playing on the public's Cold War fears, convinced politicians that control of space meant control of the earth. Their campaign helps to explain why President Kennedy approved the expensive Project Apollo, leading to the space program's most visible success, the 1969 moon landing. Forty years after the launch of the first orbiting satellites, U.S. achievements in space have fallen far short of the hopeful visions encouraged by Chesley Bonestell's paintings in Collier's magazine and television shows such as Star Trek. In Space and the American Imagination, McCurdy contends that the gap between expectations and reality led to waning public support for the space program and argues that such gaps typically arise when public policy debates are obliged to entertain as well as inform. |
Contents
Making Space Flight Seem Real | 29 |
3 The Cold War | 53 |
The Aura of Competence | 83 |
Copyright | |
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advocates of space Aeronautics American Apollo asteroids astronauts astronomer atomic aviation Books boosters British Interplanetary Society Carl Sagan century chap Chesley Bonestell civilization Clarke Cold War Collier's Conquest of Space cost created culture Disney dream Earth Eisenhower engineers expeditions extraterrestrial facility future Gallup George Pal Goddard Hermann Oberth images imagination James John Johnson Kennedy landing launch lunar magazine Mars Martian military million missiles mission Moon NASA administrator NASA History Office NASA officials NASA's National nuclear Oberth October orbit pilots pioneers planet planetary popular President probe produced Project Project Apollo promote Report Robert rocket ship satellite science fiction scientific scientists solar system Soviet space advocates space exploration space flight Space Science space shuttle space station space technology space travel spacecraft spacefaring spaceship Star story surface television transportation U.S. space program United University Press voyage Wernher von Braun Willy Ley writers York