Forum : Vol. 20, No. 02 (Winter : 1997/1998)

University of South Florida University of South Florida

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FORUM : the Magazine of the Florida Humanities Florida Humanities

1-1-1998

Forum : Vol. 20, No. 02 (Winter : 1997/1998) Forum : Vol. 20, No. 02 (Winter : 1997/1998)

Florida Humanities Council.

Bill Nelson

Ben Bova

Andrea Brunais

Gordon Patterson

See next page for additional authors

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Florida Humanities Council.; Nelson, Bill; Bova, Ben; Brunais, Andrea; Patterson, Gordon; Huchingson, James E.; Logsdon, John M.; Nickles, Thomas; Loft, Kurt; Wolfe, Tom; Mailer, Norman; Neuharth, Al; Dyson, Freeman; and Williams, Rosalind, "Forum : Vol. 20, No. 02 (Winter : 1997/1998)" (1998). FORUM : the Magazine of the Florida Humanities. 67. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/forum_magazine/67

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Florida Humanities at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FORUM : the Magazine of the Florida Humanities by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Authors Authors Florida Humanities Council., Bill Nelson, Ben Bova, Andrea Brunais, Gordon Patterson, James E. Huchingson, John M. Logsdon, Thomas Nickles, Kurt Loft, Tom Wolfe, Norman Mailer, Al Neuharth, Freeman Dyson, and Rosalind Williams

This article is available at Scholar Commons: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/forum_magazine/67

I --tc

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FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

TheHeavensNo LongerBelongJustto theGods

flhaveneverbeento a launch.This maybe asun-Floridianashaving never seen an alligator in the wild. I’ve thoughtabout drivingover to the other coast,but I neverseemtoknow about a launch earlyenoughto makeplans. I guess

that I am one,of perhapsmany, who wasn’t paying much attentionto the news about space- until recently, that is. Few of us couldmissthoseheadlines aboutMir, Mars andCassini.

One morning a monthago I hearda loud bangoutsidemy bedroom window. I thoughtmy neighborhad runinto the fencedivid

ing our lawns, buttherewasnothingto beseenoutside.I finally realized that the noise I heardwas the sonic boomsas the shuttlepreparedfor landing some200 miles to the eastof Tampa.Can youseea launch from anywherein Florida?I don’t know. I know I watchedtheChallengerexplosionthroughmy carwindow in Tampa.

After those horrible deaths in 1986,*

.* --.manyof theauthors inthis issueof the

D FORUM write, we turnedourbacksonthe spaceprogram because we could

* not acceptthe failure of ourtechnology.a We may also not have realizedthat inorder to propel people into space,wehad to place them on top of a ton ofexplosives. We understood the risks

NASA Postcard only afterward.Marketplace,an Americanpublic radioeconomic series,recently

reportedthatmoremoneyhasbeen earnedfrom spacefilms notablythe Star Wars movies than from all the productsderived from thetechnologyof our federally-fundedspaceprogram.Spaceis the topicfor this issueof the FORUM,notbecauseof its economicimpact,butbecausewe want to understandhow to define ourselvesnow as apart of a world largerthanwe knew or know, with life formsdifferent from our own, with histories still to be written or found. Theheavensareno longer just a place for thegods.

Ben Bova writes that the "dreamersalwayscomefirst." Thewritersandartists of earlier years evenearlier centurieshaveforetoldwhat sciencewould find and whatsciencewould create.Factswithout humanisticvalues areemptyandso are valueswithout facts. AsEdward Wenk writes in Tradeoffs:Imperatives ofChoice in a High TechWorld, every salient technology raises ethical conditions. Fromahumanitiesperspective,the most importantprinciple in managingour spaceexplorationis the exerciseof moral vision.

Jim Huchingson,anotherof theauthorsfeaturedin this FORUM,and a former NASA employee,is chairing a discussiongroup onspacethat you canfind at our Web siteflahum.org.

- Ann Henderson

FLORIDA

HUMANITIESCOUNCIL

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

B. LESTER ABBERGER III LANI HOLTZMANTallahassee coral Gables

BEUIE B. BARKDULL JOAN KOWALTallahassee West Palm Beach

SAMUEL P. BELL JOHN LORDTallahassee Orlando

LOIS BENSON JEAN W. LUDLOWPensacola Jacksonville

PHYLLIS BLEIWEIS BILL MCBRIDESeaside Tampa

PATRICIA A. BLIZZARD IRMA MCLAURINSt. Petersburg Gainesville

LLOYD W. CHAPIN ELAINE MICELI.VASQtJEZSt. Petersburg Ft. Lauderdale

ABRAHAM 5, RSCHLER SAMUEL E MORRISONFt. Lauderdale Ft. Lauderdale

MICHAEL CANNON GINNY D. MYRICKGainesville Jacksonville

FAUSTO B. GOMEZ AI.ZO REDDICKMiami Orlando

FRANK E. HELSOM SARAH LOUISE ROSEMONDPalm Beach Daytona Beach

STAFF

ANN HENDERSONExecutive Director

SUSAN LOCKWOOD JANINE FARVERAssociate Director AssocIate Director

JOAN BRAGGINTON ANN SCHOENACHERProgram Director Program coordinator

DAVID REDDY MICHELLE VALENTONISResource Center Director Membership coordinator

SHERRY KING LAURIE BERLINFiscal Officer Administrative Assistant

ANN BOOKS REHE RENOAdministrative Consultant Secretary/Receptionist

Forum EditorRICK EDMONDS

Design & ProductionRUSS KRAMER

© i997 FHC

FHC FORUMVol. XX, No. 2, Winter 1997/1998

The magazine ofTHE FLORIDA HUMANITIES COUNCIL

1725 1/2 E. Seventh Avenue,Tampa, florida 33605Phone 813 272-3473

E-mail address: [email protected]

The florida Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization, funded by the NationalEndowment for the Humanities, the stateof Florida, and private contributors. FHC

FORUM is published twice a year and distributed free of charge to the friends of theflorida Humanities Council and interestedfloridians. If you wish to be added to themailing ist, please request so in writing.views expressed by contributors to theFORUM are not necessarily those of the

florida Humanities Council.

FORUMThe Magazine of theFlorida Humanities Council

INSIDE

REALITY AND ROMANCE: AN OVERVIEW4 Theperils of space travelrecalledby astronaut-politician Bill Nelson

8 The dreamersalwayscomefirst By Ben Bova

THE SPACE P00000M AND FLORIDA’S SPACE COAST14 Memoirsofa child of the space programBy AndreaBninais

19 A specialplace,alwaysBy Conlon Patterson

22 Betweenhraven andearth - The Challenger’simpact lingersBy JamesE. Huchingsou

28 Thespace programat 40 shows vibrantnewfocusBy John M. Logsdon

SPACE IN CULTURE AND TUE ARTS34 From outer spaceto cyberspaceBy ThomasNickles

40 Diverging trajectories thecosmic andthe merelyfantasticBy Kurt Loft

43 A gallery ofspacepaintings

46 A samplingof writingson spaceand the SpaceCoast By loin Wolfe,NonnanMaileç Al Neuharth and FreemanDyson

TUE LA ST WORD50 Engineersand humanistscan learnfromeachother

By RosalindWilliams

On The Cover: Chesley Bonestell imagined a "Baby Space Station"in orbit above the East Coast in this 1953 painting.rem the ‘state at Chtsley Borestell, esariasy of Ft. Darart III

PAGE 28

MISSION MUST PERILOUSRisks? "You don’t dwell on that"

Hill Nelson,a six-termCongressman,now Florida’s treasurer and insurancecommissioner,has a triple perspective on thespaceprogram.Hegrew up on the SpaceCoast in the50sand 60s, representedthearea inCongress,and flew in spacehimselfas a Congressman-astronaut 10 days before tIre Challengeraccident.ThoughNelson shrugsoff the periodic rumor thathe

hasbeen a candidateto run NASA,he is a close, and occasionally critical, follower of theprogram.He spokewith FORUMeditor RickEdmondsin mid-October.Some ofthe materialhereis treatedin more detailin Nelson’s 1988 bookMission.

RE: You were not born in Melbournebut moved there at arelatively youngage, right?

BN: Yes, my father’s family hadhomesteadedonwhat is now the KennedySpaceCenter.The deedfor 160acresof land came fromthe government,and I guessitwassignedby PresidentWilson in 1917. 1 wasborn inMiami, but that wasafter the Florida land-boom bubbleburstin ‘26. My fatherwent to Miami andenteredthefirst law classat the University of Miami, and,whenIwasborn, they moved backto Melbourne.

RE: Do you havememoriesof it, when you werea kid, askind of a sandy,barely populatedcountry-typeplace?

BN: Absolutely.AlA, I can well rememberas a dirtroad. I canevenrememberthe EauGallie Causewayasbeing a woodenbridge. I can remembergoing north towhat is now Patrick Air ForceBaseandeverythingwasjust solid palmettos.Therewas no developmenton thebeachat all.

RE: In the late 1950soncewe got to Sputnik,things tookoff pretty fast,right? And aboutthat time is whenyou were inhigh school?

BN: I was inMelbourneHigh School,and it wasquite an exciting placeto be becausethe nation hadbeen

shockedto suddenlyrealizethat the Russianswereaheadof us. Thathada tremendousimpact on useven inhigh school.And in MelbourneHigh Schoolwe werefortunateto havea nationallyrenownededucator,Dr. B.FrankBrown, asprincipal. Hestartedtheideaof anindependentstudyprogramby having me and anotherstudent,Allen Womack,ashis first two guineapigs.Andhebasicallyturnedus loose.Now Allen Womackis anuclearphysicistand I am a politician.

RE: As I remember, the high schoolgot itself writtenupin Life magazine,and there was a lot ofattentionto it nationally.

BN: What Frank reallyknew how to do wasattractfoundationmoney,so hedidn’t eventakea salaryfromthe schoolboard.He took his salaryfrom the foundationmoney,and thereforehe hadsomereal independence.And he knew how to attractattention.For example,hegot anationalAP story whenhe askedme asa graduating seniorto alsobe the graduationspeaker.He did thatbecauseI wasinternationalpresidentof Key ClubInternational,which is the Kiwanis-sponsoredhighschool serviceorganization.That was oneof those littlehuman interestthings. He got a lot of interestall over thecountryjust on that. He had an office for me right acrossthe mainhallway from his office. On my door it saidPresidentof Key Club International.

RE: Was there a senseof national excitementand nationalattentionwith presidentialvisits and paradesdownthe streetthrough thoseyears?

BN: I Rememberin ‘57 it was Sputnikand in ‘58 weput up Explorer. The nationhadgoneto WernhervonBraunwho was in Huntsville,Alabama,and hehadthisrocketcalledthe Redstone.This wasafter the Navy hadtried andtried the oldVanguardrocketandit keptexplodingon thepad.He said giveme sixmonths,and

4 FHC FORUM

in six months,he hadour first satellite,Explorer, in orbit.That was ‘58 andthenwe startedthe mannedprogram.

I graduatedin ‘60 and we put up in sub-orbit, AlanShepardandGus Grissom,but the Russianssurprisedusagain.Without usknowing it theylaunchedGagarin,thefirst humanto orbit. And he orbitedoneorbit, threeweeksbeforewe launchedAlan Shepard.

Yearslaterwhen I was on the floor of Congress,TipO’Neill motionedme overand said "Bffly," - and thisis right after I hadflown in space- he said "Bffly, Iwant to tell you when I wasa young BostonCongressman,I was downat the WhiteHouse withPresidentKennedy.I’d never seenhim sonervous. Hewas justpacingandpacing backandforth like a cat on ahot tin roof and I finally askedsomeof the staff ‘What iswrong with the president?’andtheysaid thatthe countis proceedingon Alan Shepard."And Kennedywassonervousbecausethe entireprestigeof the nation wasonthe line sincethe SovietshadsurprisedusandputupGagarinsuccessfully.And herewe didn’t even havearocketpowerful enoughto get us into full orbit with theMercury spacecraft.

It wasten monthslater that we took the Atlas rocketandput Glennup for threeor four orbits.There is aninterestingreasonwhy we didn’t havethe throwweight.This all cameout of theintercontinentalbalistic missileprogram,andtheSovietsdid nothavethe sophisticationand the miniaturization to createhydrogen warheadsthat werethe size thatwe had.Wehad it down to 1,500pounds.Sowe only had todevelopa rocketthatcouldtransfer intercontinentallyto theSoviet Unionthat 1,500-pound nuclearwarhead.Whereasthey hadto createmuch morepowerful rocketsin order to transfertheirpayload.And sothat paid off for them in that they gotinto space,first, with Sputnik and,second,with Gagarin.

RE: Even though youwere on your way to beinga political person,not a nuclearphysicist,you gota little spaceinyour blood when you weregrowing up there?

BN: Sure,all of usdid. We knew the namesof theastronauts.Even thoughwe mightnothavehadanykind of interactionwith them as kids, clearly in that partof the countrywe werepretty excitedabout it.

RE: Let’s reel aheadin time to whenyou gotto be anastronaut yourself.Am I right in rememberingthat youwereone of threecivilians includingSenatorCam and teacherChrista McAuliffe whocame into theastronaut trainingprogram and then got to fly?

BN: You can’t classify JakeCamandme in the samecategoryascivilians with the teacher.That was a separatedeal.What actuallyhappenedwas, in theearly ‘80sNASA declaredthe spaceshuttleoperational,whichwasreally a misnomer:it wasneveroperational;it wasalwaysexperimental.But theydecidedthey weregoingto fly peopleotherthan the professionalfull-time astronauts.Thefirst onesthey reachedout to werethe scientists orengineersfrom private companies.The bestillustration of that is CharlieWalker from the McDonnellDouglasCorporation whoflew on the spaceshuttlethreetimes. Todaywe still havescientistsfrom universi

WINTER 1997/1998

MISSION MOST PERILOUStieswho are not full-time professional astronautsbutwho are flying many times.

Then NASA decidedthat it wantedto expandthat.They thought of this teacher-in-spaceprogrambut concurrently theydecidedto give the chairmenof the tworespectivespacecommittees,onein theSenateandonein theHouse, the opportunity. They first decidedonCam. It was a Republicanadministration.And oncetheydecidedon Cam, andhe flew, thenthey said wellwhynot fly the chairmanfrom the House whohappensto bea Democrat.And that’s when I had the opportunity. 1conducted12 medical experiments,the primary of whichwas protein crystalgrowth. It wassponsoredby theComprehensiveCancerCenterat theUniversity ofAlabamaat Birmingham.I hadthe option of selectingthe experimentsthat I wantedto do. I did that and thefirst Americanstresstestin space.I ran for forty minuteson a treadmill.So I’ve run half-way aroundtheworld!We werescrubbed thefirst four timesandon the fifthtime, almosta month later, we launched.The fact wasnot loston mein that earlymorningdarknessas all thecrew had alreadyclimbed into the spacecraftand I’m thelast oneto get in - which wasby design- I’m thereonthat launchtowerlooking over that darknessand justfour miles awayis wheremy grandparentshomesteadedbackin 1915.

RE: This was at a time just a fewweeksbefore theChallengerlaunch. Your spaceflight was delayedseveraltimes,if not for cold weather,at least on a day when it was terribly cold. A couplequestionsabout that. Onewas whetheryour ownsensewas of greatpotentialdangerand that youweresitting on explosives?Or had it happenedso manytimesand goneso smoothly that itwas likeriding on an airplane?

BN: Well, the crew clearly understoodthe risk.However,it is somethingthat you do not allow yourselfto dwell on. Therefore, anyfear that might arise,you juststuff it down. I remember,for example, the actualnightbeforethe day we launchedwe wereall in the saunatrying to get relaxedsowe couldget to bed.Our commanderwasactuallytalking to us aboutwhat we would do ifwe lost our mainengines.If you lose onemain engine,you’re going to haveenoughheight andvelocity to maketheemergency landingacrosswhat they call transatlanticabort. If you loosetwo engines,you’re in the drink. So hewastelling uswhat we would do. Now after Challenger,they havecompletelyredone their configurationandthey canactuallybail out if theycanget the orbiter in acontrolleddescent.There are noejectionseatsso theyhavea telescopicpole after you blow the hatch andasyou jump out it will takeyou out over the wing. Backthenwe didn’t havethat andwe knew that we wereinthe drink.Sohe was going to tell uswhat hewas goingto do in caseany of ussurvive the impact in the watetAlthough all of usknew the reality that if you land afully loadedspacecraft with a cargopayloadbayfull of

satellites,theimpact of the water is going to bring themall coming forward, crushinginto the crew compartment.So we knew therewaslittle chance.But you don’t dwellon that.

Eachof our four scrubs,hadwe launched,wouldhave beenavery bad day. Our first scrub, December19th, therewasa malfunction in a sensorthat said thattherewas a malfunction in a nozzleof oneof the solidrocketboosters,and it automaticallyshut it down.Whateverybodydidn’t realize until after Challengeris thatmorningit was also 42° ascomparedto the 36° thatChallengerlaunchedin.

The secondlaunchattempt,we werestoppedwith 31secondswhenan alert supervisornoticed thatoneof thelocks lineswas too cold andtook it upon himself to stopthe count.Whenthey went in, they found outwhat hadhappened wasthat someonehadoverriddenthe computer. As a result wehad drained18,000poundsof liquidoxygen outof the fuel tank.Had we launched31 secondslater, in thewordsof JohnYoung who was the Daddyastronautat thetime, wewouldn’t havehadenoughfuelto get to orbit.

The third time we had a scrubfor what, I remember,was unacceptableweatherin Africa or Spain,the twotransatlanticabortsites. Wewerescrubbedon that day.Then,whenthey detanked,they found that a temperature probe hadbrokenoff of the ground supportequipment,flowed throughthe liquid oxygenlocks line, thenstuck in a prevalvein front of oneof the main engines.Had we launchedon that particularday,everythingwould have beenfine for the 8-1/2 minutesto orbit. Buton orbit, oneof the threeengineswould nothaveshutoff. And again,to useJohnYoung’s descriptionat thetime, it would haveblown the end of the shuttletosmithereens.That was numberthree.

Numberfour: this time it’s the 10thof Januaryandwe go out to the padat four o’clock in the morningin adriving Florida rainstorm.At nine o’clock in themorning, they call off the launchbecausethe rainstormhadnow turnedinto a Florida lightningstorm.That wasthe

6 FIC FORUM

Congressman Bill Nelson andthe crew of the shuffleColumbia in orbit, January1986: clockwise from upperleft Bob Cenker, Nelson, PilotCharlie Bolden, CommanderHoot Gibson, Pinky Nelson,Franklin Chang-Diaz and SteveHawley. Two weeks later,Challenger would explode ontakeoff killing all aboard.

only time I sawworry on the face ofmy fellow crewmembers,aswe weresifting therewaiting for them tocomegetus, and the lightning is flashingthrough thespacecraftwindows, andwe’re sitting thereon top of allthat liquid hydrogen.

Two dayslater, on thefifth try, January12, welaunchedinto an almostflawlesssix-daymissiontoreturnJanuary18, andthen to haveChallengerblow upjust ten dayslateL

RE: And yourreactions when thathappened?

BN: I hadbeenthroughthe debrief in Houstonandhadgone backto WashingtonbecauseCongresswas insessionandvoting.

I gatheredour congressionalstaff aroundthe TV. sothat I could explainto them what washappeningon thecountdown.And of courseit wasthe far away view, notthe closeupview that we sawlater. So it was not immediately apparent,but it’s interestinghow my minddidnotwant to acceptwhat my eyeswereseeing.And Irememberwhenthestaff suddenlydisappearedandIwasin therealone.I went backin my bathroomand Igot down on my kneesand I said "Why was I spared?"

RE: Thesequelon the Challenger,of course, wasa longinvestigationof whatwentwrong with themachineitself andwith the procedures. Thatwas a blow to the prestigeof thespaceprogramfor years.But to leap ahead,do youfeel that wehavecomeout of that successfully now?This hasbeen a bigyearfor space,all of a sudden, aftersome quietyears.

BN: Yes, we havecomeout of that,and I’m veryproudof NASA andvery proud of the spaceprogram.Thereare technicalreasonsas towhy Challenger blewup, but the real reasonwas the arrogancethat hadset inat NASA and the lack of communication.The communicationwas much moreprevalentfrom the top downthan from the bottomup. Literally, it was that lackofcommunicationthat causedthe destructionofChallenger.

Thereweretwo engineersat Morton Thiokol in Utah

who werebeggingtheir superiorsto havethe countstopped.Thenightbeforeit hadbecomeso frigid at theCape, it hadgotten down to 25° thoughit was 36° atlaunch, becausetheydidn’t launch until11 the nextmorning. The engineers weresayingdon’t launchbecauseof the stiffening of the 0-rings.Yet that wasnevercommunicatedby their superiorsat MortonThiokol. Nor did the managersof the shuttleprograminHuntsville, Alabama,ever specificallyinquire.

Otherpeople wereconcernedandreachedout toothers.For example,NASA called a formerheadof theshuttleprogram,Rocco Fetrone.He was employedbyRockwell at the time. His answercamebacksomethingabout I cannotsay that it is notsafe. Itwas an ambiguousansweror at leastit was transmittedthat way. Thenjust to makemattersworse,the coup degracewas thatthe NASA administrator,Jim Beggs,hadbeenindictedby the US attorneyfor somethingthat had happenedtenyearsearlier. Subsequently,he wascompletelyexonerated. He was still in his office becausehe thoughtit wasgoing to end up being a matter of a months to clearhisname,but it endedup taking two years.So he was stillin his office, but he wasnot administrator.Therewasadeputyadministrator,acting administrator,who neverhada familiarity with the program.JimBeggs issittingtherelooking at all thoseicicles on theTV monitor, andhe’s calling theCapeto try to get them to stopthe count,And they will not takehis call becauseheis no longertheadministrator.

RE: Somepeople weresaying around that time that manyof us might, within a fewdecades,be up there traveling inspace.Howfar away intime do you thinksomeversionof thatis for peoplewho want to do what youwereable to do?

BN: First of all, in our lifetime, I think we will seeaninternationalcrew from planetEarthgo to planetMars.Either beforeor concurrently,we will seea colonyon theMoon and wewill probablyseenot only scientific observation experimentsbut we mayevenget tothe miningof Helium 3 andtransportingit backto Earthfor energyproduction.

Whatyour question suggestsis will the ordinarycitizenbe ableto go up. I don’t seethat anytimesoon.Becausespacelife is inherentlyrisky, andit’s also veryexpensive.As a practicalmatter,therewill bemanymorehumanswho will go. It will notbe availableto thewhole world.

RE: But by thesametoken,you see themomentumofmannedexplorationas deferred,but notdead?

BN: I don’t evenreally see itdeferred.I think it willprogress,and I think it will be concurrentwithunmannedexploration.Becausethereis clearly a reasonfor both, bothwill progress.I also think it will be a page-onestory someday whenwe receivesomekind of communication,somekind of intelligent messagefromsomewherein the universe.Maybenot just like in themovie this summer’sContact.But the universeis sohuge,it is very unlikely therearen’t intelligent beingsout there.U

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J ike all great human when I was a schoolchild, during a class trip to the FelsFor me, the vision of spaceflight beganin the l940s,

endeavors,the huni.an Planetarium. Raised in the narrow streets of SouthPhiladelphia,I knew nothingof astronomyYou could hard

ansion into ly seea star in the scantslice of citysky betweenthe rows ofexphouses.We were usheredinto a strangeround room with

spacebeganwith dreams, the huge, almost-eerieplanetariumprojector in its middle.

‘with a vision of a future in The lights slowly dimmed, then went out altogether.I hadnever experiencedrealdarknessbefore;no streetlamps,no

w’hich humankind has spread night glow of any kind penetratedthe utter black.Then theyturnedon the stars.And I got turned on, too.

its seedamongthe stars. The For the first time in my young life I got a vision of the realworld out therebeyondthe limits of Earth.The courseof my

dreamers al’ways comefirst. life changedat that moment.The starsdrewme to them.

WINTER. 1997/1998 9

sppct FRONT‘crcanero A

I beganto haunt the planetariumon my own, andthe sciencemuseumit was part of: the Franklin Institute.Gradually I began to learn someastronomy. I even found that therewere dreamerswho believedthat oneday humanexplorersmight reachouttowardthe stars.

That’s how I discoveredsciencefiction.

I was not alone in that dream ofspace- or that loveof science fiction.Every man who has walked on theMoon beganhis questby readingsciencefiction as ayoungsteit

In those days- the 1940s- "flying to the Moon" was used as ametaphorfor the impossible."HarryTrumanhasas much chanceof beingre-elected," I heard in 1948, "as wehave of flying to the Moon." Trumanwon the election, and 21 years laterAmericans were putting boot printson thedusty lunar surface.

Sciencefiction helpedto pavetheway.

Very few peopleread sciencefiction in those days.Despitethe shattering surpriseof the atomic bomb andthe fact that rocketswerereachingtheunheard-ofaltitude of 100 miles, science fiction was a genre that commandeda small audience,at best.

But some of its aficionadoswereinfluential. One of them was the filmmaker George Pal, who produced in1950 Destination Moon.The movie wasa runawaysuccess,the Star Wars of itsera.Crowdslined up for blocks to seeits realisticdepictionof whatavoyageto the Moon mightactuallybe like.

Destination Moonowedits success,in large part,to thework of two artistswho were well known in the sciencefiction genre: writer Robert A.Heinlein and painter ChesleyBonestell.

Heinlein, the dean of Americansciencefiction writers, specializedinrealistic fiction about thefuture. Hefollowed the dictum of science fiction’s greatest editor, John W.CampbellJr., who demandedfrom hiswriters storiesthat seemedto be tornfrom the headlinesof the next century

Bonestell was already famousasthe father of astronautical art. Hepainted realistic pictures of otherworlds: the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and

its many moons,in somecasesworldsthat existed only in a writer’s imagination. Yet even in his imaginaryimages he usedthe best availableastronomicalknowledgeand an engineering draftsman’s discipline andprecision.

Destination Moon showed thelarge,movie-goingaudiencethat traveling to the Moon was within therealm of practical possibility. It prepared the public’s mind for the ideathatspacetravel wasno longerfantastic, "Buck Rogers"stuff.

It helpedthe restof the nation -

andthe world - catchup to the placewhere science fiction’ssmall but eliteaudiencealreadywas.

So it hasgonefor mostof this century: sciencefiction tales haveexamined every conceivableaspectof thefuture, from nuclearpowerto cloninghumanbeings, from populationovercrowdingto ecologicaldisastet

In my own work, I have predictedthe space race of the 1960s, cloning,the Strategic DefenseInitiative a.k.a."Star Wars", virtual reality, electronicbook publishing, internationalpeacekeepingforces,the discoveryof ice onthe Moon, and more.

oday, although science fiction’s reading audience hasgrown greatly, it is

still relatively small,especially comparedto

the vast viewing audiencefor so-calledscience-fictionfilms."Sci-fi flicks," like Men in Black or theStar Trek series, however,bear llttlerelation to published science fiction.With rare exceptions, today’s"sci-fi"films and TV shows are based oncomic strip ideas,not the kind of sciencefiction that got us to the Moon.They haveabout as much to do withreal sciencefiction - and realscience- asPopeyedoesto navalhistory

Yet serioussciencefiction certainly remains influential.For severalgenerationsnow, therehasbeen anintricateand intimatefeedbackloop goingbetween scientific researchand sciencefiction. Researchersdiscovernewknowledge, new understandingsofhow the universebehaves.Sciencefiction writers use that knowledge in

new stories. And youngsters areinspired by the stories they read topursuecareersin science,where theybegin to achieve still-newer understandings.

Oneof the top computersoftwarefirms calls itself U.S. Robotics,a nameoriginated in Isaac Asimov’s robottales of the 1940sand ‘50s. The lateCarl Sagandiscoveredhis fascinationwith the searchfor life on Mars when,as a child, he read Edgar RiceBurroughs’ vivid adventuresset onthe redplanet.Theentirecommurtications satellite industryis basedon thewritings of Arthur C. Clarke; the 24-hour geostationaryorbit is known asthe ClarkeOrbit.

Science fiction is concernedwiththe real world, more than any otherbranchof contemporaryllterature. Ifyou think of science fiction asescapism,think of Asimov’s dictum:"Sciencefiction is escape- into reality."

Becauseit deals with scienceandthe technologiesthat spring from scientific research,sciencefiction hasthe

capability of dealing with the mostpowerful driving enginesof modernsociety: scienceandtechnology

Other forms of literature eitherignore science and technology altogether or show an active distrust ofthem.The subjectmatterof sciencefiction is how scientific advancesandtechnological breakthroughschangethe lives of individuals andthe courseof whole societies.

However, not every book in the"SF" sectionsof book stores is trulyscience fiction.In the modemmarketplace of publishing, the term "SF"actually covers an enormously widerange of subject material, from themeticulously-craftedalien worlds ofHal Clementto the galloping barbarian swordsmenof Robert Howard to

- the wizards and gnomes of TerryBrooks. The motley mix included inthe broadestdefinition of the category

ci leadssometo condescendto it. Thosewho don’t know sciencefiction maydismiss the genreas a step cousintoreal literature,ahalf-stepup the pecking order from bodice-bustingromance.

That is why many practitionersofSF preferto usethe term "speculativefiction" ratherthan"science fiction."Ideal with that portion of SF that istruly science fiction.Therefore,a definition is in order:

Chesley Bonestell’spaintingsforetold the future.Both "Assemblyof SpaceShips in Earth Orbit Preparatory When I say "science fiction," Ito Launch to Lunar Orbit 1953, opening spread pages 8 & 9 and "Saturn from Moon, Minias" 1944, mean fiction in which someelementofabove were ahead of their time and quite realistic as predictions of space travel. Bonestell was also involved future science or technology is so inte-in the classic 1950s movie Destination Moon still, below. gral to the tale that the story would

collapseif the scienceor technologyelementwereremovedfrom it.DESTINATION The archetypeof such fiction isMary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Take

A 400N PREPAREDaway the scientific element and the

IVI ... story collapses of its own weight.Thereis no story without the science.

THE PUBL’C’ AAI How does this make scienceficI IVII Lion different from otherfields of liter

ature?Is sciencefiction inherentlybet-

FOR THE ‘DEA THAT ter, more worthwhile, than otherI kinds of fiction? Or does its preoccu

pation with science and technology

SPACE TRA"E1 AIAS doom sciencefiction to being inherV L VV ently inferior to other forms?

There are two major differences

klO I OKIGER betweensciencefiction and all otherI N L I N forms of literature.

The first, of course,is the subject

FAKITASTIc " v matter. To the uninitiated, it mightI N I I seemthat focusingon scienceor tech

nology would be terribly limiting for

R R " T FF an author of fiction. Yet just the oppoI

. site is true. Forscienceis an open door

reatneri Ti.j ppC FRONTIER

to the universe,andtechnologycanbethe magic carpet to take uswhereverwe wish. Properly used,scienceandtechnologyarethe great liberatorsthatallow the imagination to roam thelength andbreadthof eternity.

Human beings are explorers bynature. The descendantsof curiousapes,we have somethingin us thatthrills at new vistas, new ideas. Byusingscientific knowledgeto build thebackgroundfor their stories, science-fiction writers cantake usto placesnohuman eye hasyet seen.The excitement of discoverywhat science-fictionaficionadoscall "the senseof wonder,"is both primal andprimary in sciencefiction.

JohnW. CampbellJr., most influentialof science-fictioneditors,fondlycompared science fiction to otherforms of literature in this way: Hewould spreadhis arms wideand hehad long arms and declaim, "This issciencefiction! All the universe,past,presentand future." Then he wouldhold up a thumb and forefingerabouthalf an inch apartand say"This is all other kindsoffiction."

All the other kinds of fictionrestrict themselves to the here andnow, or to the known past.All otherforms of fiction are sethere on Earth,under a sky that is blue and groundthat is solid beneathyour feet. Sciencefiction deals with all of creation, of

THE COMIC STRIP

IDEAS OF

NUMEROUS ‘ALIEN’

FILMS ARE NOTHING

LIKE THE REAL

SCIENCE FICTION.

which our Earthand ourtime is merely a small part. Science fiction canvault far into the future or deep intothe past.In my own work I havewritten stories of interstellar adventureand of time-travelerswho go back tothe ageof the dinosaurs.

Is this meretinsel, nothing morethancheapstageprops to makea dullstory look more interesting? I thinknot. The bestworks of fiction are thosein which the humanheartis testedtoits limits. We write fiction, andread it,to learnabout ourselves.By stretchingthe artist’s canvasfrom one endof theuniverseto the other, by spreadingitthrough all of time itself, sciencefiction allows the artist to test the humanheartin cruciblesof new and toughermake, in fires hotter than anythingplanetEarthcanprovide.

a t the core ofevery goodscience fiction tale is a

story of human emotion,just asin any good story of

any type. In science fiction,though, the charactersmaynotalwayslook human;they

may be tentacled alien creaturesorbuzzing,clanking robots.Yet they willact ashumansdo, if the story is to besuccessful.

The seconddifferencebetweenfiction in general and science fiction isthe latter’s relationship to the realworld aroundus. While pretendingto

amuse uswith storiesof the future,thebest science fiction stories are reallyexaminingfacetsof the world that welive in today I haveoften said that noone actually writes about the future;writers usefuturistic settingsto throwstrongerhighlights on the problemsand opportunitiesof today

The assumptionshereare that: 1scienceandtechnologyare the drivingforces in modern society; and 2becausesciencefiction dealswith science and technology it can - andoften dges - havesomethingimportant to say to its readers.

More than that. In the bestof science fiction stories, the scientific element can be usedas a metaphorthatreachesinto the heartof the humancondition.

In Frank Herbert’s Dune, forexample, thedesertworld of Arrakis iscarefully presentedas a metaphorforthe environmentof Earth.At onelevelof this complex novel, Herbert istelling his readers, subconsciously,subliminally, not only that humanactions can changethe nature of anentire planet, but that these changeswill haveeffectsthat will be bothgoodandbad,simultaneouslyinescapably.

Heinlein touchedon this truth inThe Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. HisphraseTANSTAAFL, "There ain’t nosuch thing as a free lunch," is actuallya slangrestatementof the SecondLawof Thermodynamics.You can’t getsomethingfor nothing; never,no time.The universejust is not built that way,and we humanbeings are part of theuniverse,like it or not.

Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odysseyone of the rare examplesof excellentsciencefiction movie-making, thanksto Stanley Kubrick speaks tohumankind’s relationship with ourtools, and asks whether our increasingly sophisticatedtechnology makesusmore humanor less.

Cyril Kornbluth’s "The MarchingMorons" takesa sociologicalobservation - poor people havemore babiesthan rich people - and extrapolatesthis into aghastlyfuture that is becoming truerwith eachpassingday

I can give a more detailedexplanationof how deeplyscience/technology is usedby referringto one of myown works, TheKinsmanSaga.

AMERTOAN INTERNATIONAL

A creature from Invasionof theSaucerMen 1957, facing page. Bonestell’s vision of the "Exploration of Mars" 1953, above does differ some

wonderful opportunities.Based on known science but

extrapolatinginto the unknown, science fiction has the power to illuminateand excitemen and womenwhowant to createthe future: the scientistsand engineerswho shapeour tomorrows.

That is why Alvin Toffler recommendedsciencefiction as theantidoteto "future shock." Very little that hashappenedin the 20thcenturywas notwritten aboutin science fiction.All themajor thrustsof the century- worldwars, nuclearpower,biomedicalwonders, spaceflight, civil rights, decolonization, the computer revolution,and more - have been examinedingreatdetail in science fiction,decadesbefore they reached generalpublicawareness.

Science fiction,then, is truly theliteratureof change.

Whenthe firsthumanexplorerssetfoot on Mars, when men and womenbuild cities on the Moon, when wesendprobes andeventuallypeopleoutto the stars,we will be following thetrail blazed by sciencefiction stories.And we will find new talesto tell, forthe frontier of human endeavor isalwaysout there,beckoningto thestoryteller andthe scientistalike. U

Ben Bova’s most recent novel isMoonrise, which showshow people willlive and work on the Moon in the nearfuture. A former editor ofOmni magazine, he lives in Naples.

ER 199TJ19I

from the robotic Pathfinder mission of 1997.

The central science/technologyidea in this novel is the possibility ofbuilding satellites that can shootdownballistic missiles. Thetalebeganin thisway:

In the 1960sI was employedat aresearchlaboratory where the firsthigh-power lasers were invented.Ihelpedto arrangea Top Secretbriefingin the Pentagonin early 1966to revealto the Department of Defense thatsuch lasersexisted.It quickly becameapparent that high-power lasers,placed in satellites, could somedayshoot down nuclear-bomb-carryingballistic missiles within minutes oftheir being launched.

I hadbeena publishedscience-fiction author for nearlyten years.I castthis very real technological breakthrough into a novel set in the lastmonthof the year 1999.

Its central figure is an astronautwho realizes thatif the small band ofAmericans andRussians livingon theMoon dare to take control of theirrespectivenations’ anti-missile satellites, they can enforcea lastingpeaceon theworld.

Scienceas metaphor.By creatingafictitious but technically plausibleMoonbase,I wasableto placethe pivotal charactersin isolation,away fromthe world yet in daily communicationwith it. At sucha distancefrom Earth,in the dangerouslyhostile lunar environment, both Americans andRussianssee clearly the necessitytocooperaterather than fight. By postu

lating a technologicalmeansof enforcing peace,I wasableto emphasizethecentral political problem of our age:national governmentsdo not want togive up their right to makewar. Andmore. The novel shows that the toolsfor war can also beused as tools forpeace.The tools are morally neutral.The peopleare not.

The entirestory hingeson the personality of the American astronaut,ChesterA. Kinsman.Like somanyscience-fictionprotagonists,he becomesa Messiah figure, with all that thatentails.

In the mid-1970ssucha story wasscience fiction. Later it becamethestuff of newspaper headlines: theStrategicDefenseInitiative, SDI, "StarWars." And the central issue of thisnew technologyhasbeenpreciselythesameas the central issueof the novel:will this new tool be usedfor peacemaking or war-making?

Yet to this day no novelistoutsidethe science-fictionfield has attempteda serious work on this subject.Norwill they,becausethey do nothavetheinterest,or knowledge, that science-fiction writers have. Only when thetechnologyof SDI is as commonplaceas nuclear weapons or corporatetakeoverswill "straight"writers beginto explorethe subject.If then.

Science fiction writers can bethought of as scouts who ride upaheadinto the future andbring backreportsof what lies there,warningsofdanger or thrilling descriptions of

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14 FHO FORUM

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THE SPACE PROGOOM AND FLOHIDAS SPACE COAST

IWSr

BY ANDREA BRUNAIS

Spacewaseverythingto me- my’first separation‘from my father asa

baby,my first brushwith sexismas

a middle-schoolstudent,my firstexperienceas a teenagerseeinga grownman

cry. Mostly spacewasthe reasonmy entire

life turnedupsidedownin 1963 at the ageof

ninewhenI found‘myself plunkeddown in

a new neighborhoodoff AlA just a mile

from the’ beach. Here the Brunaisship had

landed:a stay-at-homemom,sixkidsandan

engineerfatberwho drovenorth along the

Atlantic Oceaneveryday to testaid prepare

for launchthe engines‘that would hurl rock

ets into space.

My father’.s fascinationwith machinesalongwith his beliefthat sciencecould take youanywhereresultedin makeshiftdevicesdesignedto make lifeeasier. Usually lifeonJybecamemorestrangelyinteresting. We kidswere bornwhendads werebannedfrom the delivery room But Pop wasalwaysoutsidein thehallway, sticking his arm intothe sterileroomwith a microphoneat the precisemomen,tto recordour first cries. WhenI was a young teen,he riggedup a motor to a bicycle; then hetook it apartbecausehis post-inventioncheckingfound that I couldn’t

putt-putt downMarion Streetwithout a license.To further illustrate hisleft-brain orientation:

onceI borrowed’hiscar to go to CocoaBeachandranoutof gason AlA threemiles from the house. Popwassure somethingmustbewrong with the carbecausehe alwayscalculatedhow far he couldgo onthe remainingfuel. Sowhenhe arrivedat’the scene,the first thinghedid was check nder the hood andassessvarious parts,as I sat there,abored16-year-oldwonderingwhat it would take tomakemy fatherbelievethe car was OUT OF GAS. Finally he got hisrecordsfrom the glove compartmentanddid a seriesof calculations.The bottomline: Pop’ssheepishsmile. Only throughmathematicaldemonstrationcould heacceptshat commonsenseandthe gasgauge hadalreadytold me.

Engineers,like astronauts, havethe right stuftThey operateon logic andproof. Maybethat’s thy Ibecamea journalist, a profession witha cardinalrule:"If your mothersaysshelovesyou, checkit out."

Dad loved his work,andsodid all the other men.Therewas justonewomanon their launchteam,a24-year-oldblack womanwho was sucha rarity thatChryslersentoutPR photoscalling her "the First’*Lady of Space,"showingherstandingnextto theSaturnI B/Skylab launchvehicle.To the engineerswho commutedfrom SatelliteBeachor Melbournetothe Cape,it was neyerjust a job. Their missionswerethe stuff of TomSwift, Jules Verneandthe Wrightbrothersall rolled into one. Meanwhilemy motherwould puta damperon things,complainingabouttheFlorida heatandsayingnothing inthe world couldprompther to sit atopa thousandtonsof TNT and letit explode beneathhet That washerdescriptionof a

W11’4TER,1997/1998 15

o.tz 4 t w.onat,to. wokJ2,av ‘oi foS tzoin,.

launch. It was fun,being thedaughterof aspacesci* entistand,maternally,a long line of English teachers.

Wehad madeoneotherstopalong theway fromDetroit to the Space Coast- Huntsville, Ala. Myfatherprecededus there, involvedin preliminaryresearch.Yearslater I learnedhe wasoneof the elite

the civil servicepeople, militarypersonnelandprime contractorexpertsworking for Wernher.vonBraun. Left behind for a time, my mother acquiredless-fondmemoi’ies. Shemowed thelawn* and tended

*to thingsin the Michigan house,fresh fromthe birthof thesisterafter me.

Back in Detroit, Pop hadfervently waited for thecall asheworked on themundanemilitarizing of therocket. Finally, his employer,.ChryslerCorp.,embracedspace.Like the other frontierfamilies inBresrardCounty,weboughta houseanddug in asmuch as you could diginto sand,peoplinga landscapethat belotiged mostlyto crabs,rattlesnakesandarmadillos.All of thiswasbeforeWalt DisneylaunchedMs Orlandoempire,evenbeforeAlNeuharthlaunched the Todaypaper inCocoa, thenewspaperthat wasthe area’sfirst real daily and thepilot for USAToday.

Fora full year I woreshort sleevesto thebus stopwhile the otherkids shiveredin the cold. Thenmyblood thinned,andI wasjusflike the otherFloridakids. Many of ushadCapeconnections.ExceptforPatrick Air ForceBase, theHarrisplant and a fewsmallreal-estate concerns,Brevarddidn’t boastawhole lot of activity. Thebeacheswereblessedlyemptymuch of the time, andour busdriver wasobliging enoughto swing into oneof the parkinglotseachafternoonsothe kidscould checkthe surf. Most

* daysthe wavesweremediocre,but sOmetimestheywere great,and whena hurricaneapproachedtheyfrothedto six feetandhigher.

I’m sorryto* say that,like any worldly wise kid, Isooii grewso blaseabout thespaceshotsthat I wouldratherstay in bedthangetup for liftoffs that interferedwith my sleep. "Get up!" my motherWouldcall, suddenlycaughtup in the magic. *"A missile’sgoing up!" We neverhad todrive elsewherefor aview becauseour backyard wasagreatvantaSepoint.Predawnshotswerea circle of light arcingskywardlike the fattest,mostpurefireworks finale. If ‘Pop hadworkedon themissile, he would be on thesceneattheVAB building. The engineersall slepton top of

16 FFIC FORUM

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work benchesanddesksthroughoutthe night,as themomentdrew near.

He workedon neat-soundingprojects:Redstone,JupiterA through C, the Saturn,the Men-in-SpaceMercuryprogram.

My mqm’slob might haveactuallybeen harder;In thosedays,tearinghappywell-adjustedchildrenwas supposedto be the greatestaccomplishmentof awoman. Womenwho workedand whose childrendidn’t conformwere alwaysblamed becausetheydidn’t stay home. In badtimes womenwho workedwere chastisedbecausethey weretaking work awayfroth men.

But nothingcould havepreparedher for themoveto Florida. Pop’slong hourssometimesextendedinto 24-hourshifts Meanwhile, mymorn nevermisseda weekwithout spendinghoursin the doctor ‘s office ‘becausethere weresix of us, and onewasalwayssick.

Moneywas prettygood for the engineers,somany adultsdrank,overspentandindulged in looseliving. This being the‘60s, kids wereprotesting,rebellingandpushingthe boundsof freedom. Someadultsgot caughtup in the lifestyle themselves.Drugswereeverywhere.So it wastough for Mother,trying to setsomelimits on freedom,influencebehavior, instill values,mannersandmorals, discourageextravagant spendingand stressthe needfor takingschoolseriously. Motherswerethe oneswho tookalltheflak from the kidsandwereblamedfor all thekids’ problems.

Most of the men,my dreamylaid-backPoplessso thanothers,hadan inflated senseof their importancebecauseof their jobs. They consideredthemselvesabove thebudgetingandcoping the mothershadto do. Still, my mother hadto confineher reachfor the starsto taking night coursesand Writing poetry about it.

‘My fathers mostexciting assignmentwas theSkyLabprogram. Only with deepregretdid he leavethe SpaceCoast,returningto Detroit midway throughthe third andfinal launchof the SkyLab crew to theorbitingSkyLab. ln1973,hewas forcedto embracework on car enginesthat wassurerthanspaceor losepension benefitsbuilt up overa career.

Pop’slaunch teamWould disbandafter the finalflight of the Apollo program,which took yearsofwork building towardthe mid-1970slaunch. It wasthe first spaceflightin which different nationssentupspacecraftto dock in space.In July 1975,a U.S. Apollospacecraftcarrying a crew of three-‘Thomas P.Stafford,Vance D.BrandandDonald K. Slayton-

dockedwith a RussianSoyuzspacecraftwith its crewof two.

ForPop andhis Chryslerteam,this was the endof the story. Years ofhopesand sweat,tearsanddreams,yearsof painstakingpreparation,of building

andtestingparts,of returningto the drawing board,of hopingto hearthe famouscountdownend in theannouncer’sexcited,"It’s a go!" - all of that culminated ina mission thatlastedlust nine days,7 hoursand28 minutes.

A nanosecondwasall it took to reducemy friendMax’s father,anotherspace prbgramer,to abowedheadandwet tears. MaxandI were in herfamilyroom watchingthe Armstrong-Aldrin afternoon walkon themoon.

For us it wasroutine. Hadn’t the newscastersbeenpredictingit for months?And writers fromVerneto RobertA. Heinleinhadbeenhypothesizingthe moonlanding forevet So missionaccomplished,already. But for Max’s father,landing on themoonmeantmankindhadchangedin somefundamental,profound way. It was themiddle of the day. Wedidn’t know whetherthe othermenhadcriedat theirworkplaces.’

I

f you felt bad whenPrincess Dianadied,,mul*tiply that feeling a thousandfoldand you’llknow how spacefamilies of BrevardCountyfelt whenGusGrissom,EdwardWhite II andRogerB. Chaffeedied on the launchpad in a

commandmodule filled with fire and smoke.Yearslaterwhenthe Challengercrew died I wasin Tampawatchingthesky. I waspushing mydaughter aroundour neighborhoodin a stroller andcomposingpoetrywhen I looked up andsaw the wispywhite chaoticclouds of the explosion. Evenbeforeturning on thenews I knew whet must havehappened.

Therewas no questionafter eitherdisasterthatthe questwould go on.

SatelliteHigh School is my almamater. But during middle-school,I attendeda Catholicschoolon themainland. High-tech excitementrippled throughoutthe schoolwhen it wasannouncedthat a missile-trackingprogramwould be designedandexecutedbya selectgroupof the beststudentsin math and science. A couple of suspensefulweekspassedwhile itwas decidedwhether girlswould be allowed. If so, atiny girl namedGail Ricard who everybodyknewwasthe smartestkid in the school and I were to beinvited to join. Ultimately the powersthat be decreedthe projectto beboys-only.Just as spacewassome-

* thing ourfathersdid, missile-trackingwas’somethingour maleclassmatesdid. Two boyswith lowerscoresthanGail’s andmin werelet in. To havethe RightStuff, you first had to bethe Right Sex.

The eyesof the nation wereon BrevardCounty as* public schoolsbecameplaceswherePresidentLyndon

Johnsoncelebratedthe grandnationalambitionJFKhad launched.I remembermostof us teenagersasmyopid, caughtup aswe were,in the identity crisesof adolescenceand trying to keepup with the originalflower children whowereour older brothersandsis

4"

WtNTER 1997/199,8 17

tkscpwrters.‘The VietnamWar wasgoingstrongandeveryone woreblack arm-bandson appointeddays.Too, drugsweresweepingacrosshigh schoolcampuses,hitting SatelliteHighSchool in a big way. Oneday six students’collapsedin variousclassesafteringestingsomethingcalled"reds."National media"picked it up, but my" principal forbademe,the newspapereditor, from writing aboutit.

Footballplayers andcheerleadersformed onegroup.Theirpopular’opposites,‘freaks," wore fringed

* suedeand,challengedauthority. I fitfirmly in the ‘secondcamp,engagingin mildly subversiveactssuchasfounding the EcologyClub. So manystudentsweresonsanddaughtersofengineersthat a memberof either

* group couldbe a nerdor a geekand itwould beno big deal.SatelliteHighSchoolproducedeight NationalMeritScholarsand I attendedcollegewithChryslerpicking up my tuition.‘Thanks, launchteam! ,,‘

I can’t say I would havegone intorocketscienceif I hadn’tbeenbannedfrom the gradeschool missle-tracking,projecton accountof being a girl. Ithought‘thosesocietalmessages wereunimportant.I was so’ determinedtoset my own course,I laughedwhenmy high schoolmath teachersaid if I were ahe’d suggestI go ‘into nuclear physicsbut, as I wasn’t, he didn’t know’ what to say.MaybeI onlythoughtit was funny becauseI hadalready decidedto go’into newspapers.Maybethat slapping’down,in truth, steeredme away from thework of exploring the galaxy.I wasa studentat the University ofSouthFloridawhenthe spaceracelost its luster andChrysler andthe other companiesbegantransferringor laying off, their engineers.

Popwantedto stay till the endof the SkyLabandApollo-Soyuzprogramsbut his bossin Detroitwould nothold the Motor City engineeringpositionopenfor him. It wasjust as well, for by the endofthat yearchrysler froze,all* hiring and that lasted forseveralyears.

Otherengineers’hadput downrooth andstayed.Eventoday you cango to BrevardCoutity’and findex-rocketscientistsrunning reStaurantsand such.My siblings,wereyoungerand thoved backto’Detroit to follow the breadwinner,who, with a sigh,was forcedto direct histalentsaway from testing

CRALLENGER* .‘

ToJwhirling Toteptanz,tile final fling..;

We thrust aheadat warpspeedlest we see

The meanlng"jzi the choreography.

rocketenginesto serveastronautsand toward testing car enginesfor consumers. I stayedin Florida,asdid myolder brother,"whoselife wasalsochangedby our’ southwardmigration. Hehadbecomean avid surfet’- embracingthe beach-bumlifestyle, asmy motherput it - andhe vowed hewould neverleavethe coast. Only putting him inFloridaAir Academythat ‘last yeargothint to graduatefrom highschool, in herestimatidn.

I still believe’inspace exploration,though Iopposethe mannedvariety becauseI think we canuse robotsto learn all we needto,know I ‘know thatfor my father,work on the spaceraceprovided theglory years., Somehowthroughhis’ passionfor missiles,with their flamesan4 vaportrails, ‘he gaveme

* the’desireto seekoutand undertakework that, at itsbest,canalso moveheavenand earth. &.

AndreaBrUnais’iseditorial pageeditor ofTheTallahasseeDemocratand author ofNight of theLitani a story ofromanceand political intrzçueset in

*Lebpnon

SuccessiveSaturnssnraledto the Sun,

Minutemencreatedminuets,

Apollo set the galaxy as one

Celestial stage for bigh tech pirouettes

Prom ten to seven,six the launchis GO

Our tarantismhasno Oure-wewaltz

To frantic fiddles’ tunes,the smoothandslow ‘

Adao is much too sweet,teo false -

The lords of dancecommanda grandjete, 3The vaporshangin white suspendedspring,

As life’s greatmiscuedSun ‘Dance slips áwar,, ‘4

"S

-a

-Andrea’ Brtnls’:,:

-

boy

18 F,HC FORUM

THE SAC[ r011000M AND FLDRID8S SOCE COAST

A Special Place, AlwaysThe edgeof the continenthas long been

on the edgeofhistory as well.

BY CORDON PATTERSON

T he fifty or so miles of coastseparating SebastianInlet and CapeCanaveral is a special place. At

century’sclose, theword "Florida" formany calls to mind a vision of sunnybeaches,a visit to Orlando’s attractions, and, of course, rockets. In thesixteenth century, "Florida" conjuredimagesof a strangeandfantasticland.It wasa placeof mythandfantasy.TheCatholic Ponce de Leon cruised pastMelbourne Beach searching for theFountainof Youth. In 1562, the FrenchProtestantCaptainJeanRibaut notedin his diary his impressionson sighting land near Cape Canaveral. Hisships had reached the point where"the wildernessof the wavesmet thewilderness of the woods." This wasthe edgeof history.

Four centuries later in the l940s,Cape Canaveralwas still a comparatively unsettled place. Cocoa Beachhad a populationof 31 in 1939. Elevenyears later the population hadincreasedto 245. An accident fiftyyears ago in the deserts of NewMexico changedall of this. On May 29,1947 a modified V-2 rocket waslaunched at the White Sands TestRange. The rocket went the wrongway and landed in a cemetery inJuarez, Mexico. President Trumanchargedthe Joint Chiefs of Staff withfinding a safeplaceto launchmissiles.Cape Canaveral’s remoteand geographicalposition led the Joint Chiefsof Staff to choosethe area for futurerocket experiments. Four additionalfactorscontributedto the selection.AnEast Coast site launchesover waterwith the Earth’s rotation. The BananaRiver Naval Station nearMelbourneprovided a potential support base.Moreover, the Bahamas presented

ideal locationsfor the chainof trackingstationsfor missiles.Finally, the Capeallowed easy accessby water, whicheasedtransportationproblems.

There were only a few unpavedroads and tracks on Cape Canaveralwhen the first technicians arrived.There wereplenty of rattlesnakesandmosquitoes.It is difficult to imaginetheprimitivenessof whatthe first missilemen experienced during thatdecade. The firstlaunchfrom theCapetook placeon July 24, 1950.The blockhousefor the mission wasan old shedusedby swimmersto changeinto theirswimsuits. Engineersand techniciansknelt behind sandbagsas the countdown reachedits conclusion.Twenty-nine miles to the southin Melbourne,people stopped in parking lots and

watched a missile called Bumper 8streak off into the heavens.Florida’smissile agehadbegun.

The Soviet launch of Sputnik onOctober4, 1957 startedthe spaceracein earnest. Within a month theRussians had a second Sputnik,weighing 1,100poundsand carrying abarkingdog namedLaika, in orbit. OnDecember6, 1957, a Vanguard rocketcarrying a four-pound, grapefruit-shapedsatelliteblew up on thelaunchpad. The next day the London DailyExpressran the bannerheadline"U.S.Calls it Kaputnik." Sputnik, Edward

i Teller warned, representeda "technological Pearl Harbor." In the thirteenyears since the end of World War II,Americanscienceand technologyhadlost its preeminentposition. Commentators blamed Americaneducation. Thousandsrushedto buy a bookwhich had appearedin 1955 entitledWhyJohnnyCan’t Read- and Vvlzat YouCan Do About It. Harvard’sPresident,NathanPusey,called for a higherpercentageof the nation’s grossnationalproduct to be spenton education.

East central Floridaunderwent arevolution in the late 1950s. Thesleepy,fishing communities stretchingfrom Titusville to MelbournealongtheAtlantic Coast began toreceive aninflux of engineers,scientistsandtechnicians. In 1948 the first missilemanarrived.An army of 75,000technicians,engineersand scientists followedinthe next ten years. 1958 wasa year ofchange.In January,the United Stateslaunched its first satellite into orbit.PresidentEisenhower signedinto lawthe bill creating NASA in July. InAugust, the Defense Department’sAdvanced ResearchProjects Agencycalled for thecreationof a new super-rocketcode-namedSaturn.

The next five years brought

WINTER 1997/1998 19

A Special Mace, Always

tremendouschangesto the Cape. On16 November, 1963, Air Force Onetouched downat Patrick Air ForceBase. James Webb, NASA’s ChiefAdministrator,Kurt Debus,directoroflaunch operationsat the Cape, andGeneral Leighton L. Davis gave thePresident anupdateon theSaturnprogram. This was Kennedy’s third visitto the spacecenter in twenty-onemonths. Six days later the Presidentwas dead. As one of his first acts,Lyndon Johnsonorderedthat NASA’sLaunch Operations Centerand CapeCanaveralAuxiliary Air ForceStationbe renamed the Kennedy SpaceCenter. Johnson also announcedthatCape Canaveralwould henceforthbeknown as Cape Kennedy a namechangerescindedin 1973.

In 1969, Apollo XI fulfilledKennedy’s pledge. America won themoon race. The nation celebrated.Itwas a bitter, sweet moment at theCape,however.Thousandsof technicians and engineerslost their jobs asthe Apollo project wound-down.Aquarter-of-a-centurylater boarded-upbuildings and strip malls serve asremindersof the post-Apollo depression.

In 1984,a dozen or so mileseastof

Florida’s Space Coast

is a point where

life meetsdeath;

good encountersevil;

and the present

glimpsesthe future.

the Cape, a pair of archaeologistsdiscovered the remainsof a seven-thousand-year-old pondcemetery. Threeseasonsof field work supports theconclusion that this area wasone ofthe earliest inhabited partsof Florida.Using technologieswhich were pioneered in the space program, thesearchaeologistsare exploring the distant past.The periodicreturnof theseearly Floridians to the samepond tobury their deadsuggeststhat longbeforethe Spaniards,or the French,orthe missilemen, otherssensed themagical and spiritual quality of this

place.Studentsof comparativereligion

sometimes make the distinctionbetweenthe sacred andthe profane.The sacredrefers to thoseplacesthatstand outside of time. The sacredisfound wherepast,present,and futureintersect in a special, holy place.Temple Mount in Jerusalemis such a

place. Medieval cartographerscelebratedJerusalem’ssacredcharacterbyplacing the holy city at the center oftheir maps.

The voyagesof Columbus openeda revolutionaryage.Therewasmoreatstake than maps. In 1517, Lutherdivided Christendominto two warring camps. Twenty-six years laterCopernicusremoved the Earth fromits place at the centerof the universe.Thus, in the course of fifty yearsEuropeans confrontedthe reality ofhitherto undreamedexotic wilds, arupture within Christianity, and thebeginningsof the scientific age.Today,the voyagesof Shuttle Atlantis andDiscovery carry us forward into thespaceage.

Cape Canaveralis a specialplace.It is oneof thosepointswhere humanbeings have defined themselves.Seven thousand years ago men and

In the 1920s,Cocoa Beachwas just a beach,suitable fora family picnic like the oneshownabove.

20 FHC FORUM

women showedtheir humanity here.Five hundred years ago the Frenchand Spanishstruggledhere for controlof theNew World. Somebelievedtheyhad discovereda new Eden. Othershungered for gold. They destroyedthosewho blocked their path to glory.In our time, archaeologistsand spacescientistshavecome here.

What defines the uniquenessofthis part of Florida is the sensethathere humans stand at a boundarypoint. The Spaniardsforged the connection between the Old and NewWorlds; our ageis linking thisworld toother worlds.Florida’s SpaceCoastisa point where life meets death;goodencounters evil; and the presentglimpses the future. This is one ofthose special places where humanshave faced "the wildernessof wavesand the wilderness of woods" andsought to discover their humanity atthe edgeof history

COCOA 8LACH . TF1,IaV ii . IanLbouRNr . PA’ P

I

Gordon Patterson is professor ofhumanities at Florida Institute ofTechnologyin Melbourne.He was a member of thePHC board from 1992 to 1996.

Just 35 milescast of Orlando, you’ll find everythingfrom thespaceageattractionsand interactive museumsof the KennedySpaceCenter VisitorComplexto NASAshuttle launchesand threeof Florida’s top ten beaches.

So takeyour nextvacation farther, visit Florida’s Space Coast.For moreinfo, call 1-800-U51-1969.

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One ,maII stcp Prom Orlando. One9t leap frorn Toledo.

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Looking Lor theSeminolein Your FamilyTree?Relatively Speaking’ an information-packed research, resource, and evaluationservice, from the SEMINOLE TRIBE OF FLORIDA can help. Let it be your heritage guide!

This comprehensive service offers in one complete package - booklet, chart, personalizedevaluation, and report - all the information you need to begin and, then, verify yourgenealogical search. Whether you’re just beginning your search or you’ve already collecteddata, you’ll find this service a critical part of verifying your ancestry

Call today, 954.966.6300, ext. 1423, for your free informational flyer. Or, write toRelatively Speaking, Dept. of Anthropology & Genealogy, SEMINOLE TRIBE OF FLORIDA,Rm. 421, 6300 Stirling Road, Hollywood, FL 33024

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TUE SPACE P0060Th ANII FLORIDA’S SPACE COAST

Reassessing the Impact of the Challenger DisasterBY JAMES E. HUCHINGSON

n the morning of January28, 1986, the sky fell

over Florida. With it rainedthe debrisof count

less shardsof the spaceshuttle Challengerinto

the Atlantic alongwith the cabinvesselcarrying

the crew of seven.Shuttlelaunchesareseen over

the state from severalpoints of the compassincluding

Jacksonvilleto the north, Tampato the westand asfar to

the southas Miami. Today, the remainsof the shuttle lie

buried in a decommissionedMinuteman ICBM under

groundlaunchsilo on CapeCanaveral.But the enduring image in the

memoriesof manyFloridiansandmillions worldwide who witnessed theviolent explosionis the spaceplaneandits crew suspendedbetweenHeavenand Earth. Conceivablyevenmomentouseventssuchas theChallengerdisaster may have few lasting consequencesin general for American culture. However, like many cardinaleventsin the collectiveexperienceof apeople, Challengeris a looking glassthrough which American society seesits own image reflecteddarkly. That isa story still being written -

Challenger’s lasting consequenceshaveyet to emerge.

Certainly,manyof the responsestothe tragedywere immediateand dramatic. The shuttle program stooddown for two years while MortonThiokol, makerof the solid fuel boosters and their infamous 0-rings, com

TheChallengerexplosionfacingpageremainsan indelible imageto many Americans.

pleted a costly redesignprogram.Anelite investigative committee,theRodgers Commission, drew conclusions critical of bothNASA andindustry practices.As a result,NASA today,under the leadershipof AdministratorDaniel Goldin, is far leanerand moreimaginativethanat thetimeof the accident. Other consequencesincludedserious delaysof the Galileo Jupiterspacecraft andHubblespacetelescopeprograms.A greaterappreciationof theincredible complexity of the shuttlesystem anda permanentloss of confidencein its overall reliability led to areduction in the launch frequency.When flights resumed, commercialand military customerswere forced tofall back on traditional expendablerockets to place their payloads intoorbit. Manual explorationgaveway torobotic missionslike this year’s MarsPathfinder.

More constructive consequencesinclude the establishmentof the successful ChallengerCentersfor SpaceScienceEducationin 1988 by the fami

lies of the crew.For the mostpart, theshuttleremainstoday more than sixtyflights since the disaster, the workhorse of the maimed space programandthe vehicleuponwhich the UnitedStateswill rely for the constructionandservicing of the multi-billion dollarinternational space station into thenext century.

While the political and industrialconsequencesof the Challengeraccidentare well chronicled,its impact onthe American psycheand, in turn, onthe nation’s commitment to spaceexplorationin the longrun is less clear.Beyond the immediateshock and thesenseof loss Americans experienced,the deeperconsequencesof the eventare difficult to place. Challengerremainssuspendedbetween Heavenand Earth becauseof its unarticulatedhistorical consequences.

Challengercanbestbe interpretedas playing off the collection of beliefsand attitudes we refer to as theAmerican Spirit. The concept itselfmay sound dated given the currentbabble of a pluralistic society with itstribalization of group identities.Still, itremainstrue that this Spirit is exactlywhat has always attracted immigrantsto North Americanshores,andits realization is the common creedthat hasheld them together.Fundamentalelements of the American Spirit includeindividualism, technological progressand moral perfectibility, a sense ofuniquenessor electedness,and theidea of the frontier. How these elements intersectwith the Challengerdisaster offers telling clues about theincident’s short and long term consequences for America’s ambitions inspace.

Challengercan make us rethinkwhat we mean by the figure of thehero. Individualism, when combined

WINTER 1997/1998 23

Between Heaven and Earth: Reassessing the Impact of the Challenger Disaster

with moral perfectibility, equals thehero. By celebrating the exploits oftheir heroes in ballad and legend,Americans elevate them as shiningexamplesof that collective Spirit. Thehero is the common person withuncommonvalor whoseachievementsare magnified larger than life. In turn,the hero serveshistory, an exemplarshapingthe ideals of new generations.In otherwords,the herois the individual transformed by the communitywho in turn transformsthe community.

These days the very idea of theherois in somedifficulty. Oneproblemis systemic:candidatesfor heroicstatus have a hard time of it. Immediateperformanceis valued over character.So, sports or entertainmentfiguresmore than those in other pursuitsaresearchedout for conspicuouscelebration. Ironically constantpublic attention oftenrevealsprivateimperfectionsthat disqualify the candidate as aninspiring moral figure.

Also, the popular image of theastronautis ambiguousat best.Beforethe shuttle program,astronautsweretreatedasclassicheroes.Early mannedspaceprogramswerenamedfor classicfigures- Mercury,Gemini, Apollo. Assymbols,they strongly suggestedthatthe astronautswerespecialwhencomparedwith mereearthlings,a/The rightstuff" is the stuff of classicheroeswhocomported withthe gods, with swiftMercury andwise Apollo. The Apolloastronauts,especially, ascendedintotheheavenin thunderingfiery chariotsto voyage to a lunar landscapeso forbidding that even the poet Homer’sintrepid hero, Ulysses, would neverhave daredventureinto such desolation. In stark contrast to theseOlympian imagesis the currentimageof the internationalcrew of the RussianMir spacestation. Their fate is to betreatedby the mediaasKeystonecops.Time magazine’s revealing captioncalledthem "Mir Mortals."

Fortunately, shuttle astronautshaveescapedthis unflattering caricature. Still, with the adventof the shuttle spaceplaneall theseearly perceptions changed. aaWe Seven" of theMercury astronautsbecamethe dozensof the prosaic aaSpaceTransportationSystem." Actually, morethan 500 indi

vidualshaveflown aboardthe shuttle,some morethan once, of course,butthe total is impressive.With few exceptions Story Musgrave,retired veteranof six flights who now lives inKissimmee,comes to mind, individual exploits are lost in such numbers.SinceNASA yearnsto makethe shuttlethe DC-3 of space, the astronautasherois no longeranappropriateimage.The ideal is that eachshuttle missionshould be indistinguishable from allthe others except for details of crewidentities, payload, and operationsinorbit. The need is not for valor in theface of mortal danger,but for competence in the face ofroutine. And forthis, the image of the anonymous,interchangeable, andhighly skilledworkman- the missionspecialist- ispreferred.Heroic legendsdo not flourish in suchcircumstances.

The new image has yet to takehold fully Tensions remain betweentheastronautasheroandastechnician,just as in the early days of theAmerican frontier when the pioneerwas both a mountain man with hismusketanda settlerwith his broadax.The crew of Challenger is caught inthis blurred double image.As heroesthey were conqueringthe frontiers ofspace,as reflected in the very name"Challenger," but as technicianstheir

prosaic assignmentwas primarily torun errands,in this case tolaunch acommunicationssatellite.

When the hero dies a tragic deathin the midst of performing greatdeedsthe figure somehow combines bothgrievous loss and inspiration. A catastrophic eventmay registerasparticularly tragic when the loss is utterlyundeserved.Admittedly classic tra

I gedy is a literary form in which thecentral characterunintentionally does

Ihimself in becauseof some innatemoral flaw. But today tragedyis morecommonly understood in a widersenseas the destruction of innocentvirtue brought about primarily byexternal causes;someoneother thanthe victim is at fault. The outrageisamplified when the victim is particularly special, and injustice is coupledwith loss to deepen the sorrow. Thetrauma of Challengerwas intensifiedbecauseoneof the sevenwasa civilianteacherChristaMcAuliffe. If the victimdies in the performanceof a voluntaryactandgoesdown with all flags flying,then the personalsacrifice,thoughstilltragic and undeserved,is not fornaught.The victim is also thehero tobe remembered as the model ofuncommon valor, as willing to riskharmanddeathfor the goodcauseandto the benefitof the larger community.

00,wC.0Ui

800,

24 FHC FORUM

The seven membersof Challenger’s crew wereboth victims and heroes.But howwill they primarily beremembered?The questioniscrucial becausethe impact ofthe incident going forward

dependson how it finally is characterized. On theone hand,the facts suggest that the sevenwere victims. Allwere ignorant of the lethal defectsinthe 0-rings. They would never havebeenso foolhardyas to fly voluntarilyin suchhazardousconditions.Also, thecrew memberswere victims becausethe broaderjustification for their vulnerablepredicamentwas the nationalcommitment to conquer and utilizespace.Efforts to articulatea consistentspace policywith clear objectivesandthe high resolvenecessaryto achievethem enjoyedlittle success.

On the otherhand,the Challengerastronauts were heroes and thetragedy is in some larger sense redeemablenot because theydied butbecausethey went. Victims die fornothingbecausetheir sacrificesare notperceived as contributions to somelarger intrinsic and enduringgood.Even public failures are achievementsif they bring to awarenessthe deepervalues andgoals in whoseservice thesacrificesweremadeandthen inspirea

redoubledresolveto accomplishthesegoals. The final judgment of theChallengercrew dependson how thefuture goes. Reciprocally, how thefuture goesdepends,in part, on howthe Challengercrew is remembered.

Understanding how the Challengercrew relatesto our cultural values suggestsa continuingcontext forfuture spacepolicy The developmentof individual and collective moral perfection as thesuresign of progressis acherishedpart of the American Spirit.More importantly, inner perfectionisexpressedin outer material activityThe discipline and loving attention ofskilled workers is incarnatedin the

I product a chair, table, or desk, thewagon or steam engine. The Shakerand Oneida communitiesof the 19thcentury exemplified this combinationof spirit and craftsmanship in theircommunal questfor perfection.

In the 20th century this ideal hasbeenrecastin the figure of the dedicated hero who, seekingan inner perfection, carriesout the rational conquestof naturein his fine machine. Examplescome quickly to mind includingAmelia Earhart andher LockheedVega, and, of course, CharlesLindberghin his Ryan monoplane,TheSpirit of St. Louis. Here the virtuousindividual confronts nature utilizing

the ingenuity and resourcesof anindustrialandengineeringteamwhosemembersare by definition good people. The adventuresof the individualare madepossibleby the competence,dedication,discipline, andresponsibility of this team.The collective moralvirtue of the engineersis mademanifest in the material virtues of themachinethat is then guidedto its destination by the intrepid hero.

A major effectof Challengerwastoexpose how badly this traditionalimage could be corrupted.The primemoversof the shuttle, the solid rocketboosters,are the progeny of militaryweaponsdesignedwith no concernsfor humansafety.They are swordsnotquite hammeredinto plowshares.TheauthorNormanCousinscharacterizedtheir notorious genealogy thisway:"We roam the heavens with theenginesof hell." The Challengercrewtrusted the rockets, and through thattrust they expresseda tacit faith in theuncompromisingvigilanceof the manufacturer and managersto assurethesafety and reliability of a propulsionsystem whoseinfernal inclinationshadbeen only recently harnessed.Thattrust was misplaced. NASA andMorton Thiokol had gotten abovethemselves,distorting the proper balance of means andends. The astronautsweretreatedas meansfor gettingto institutional goals rather than ashuman beings of greater value thanany launch scheduleor engineeringachievement.This compromisein theproper order of values and not themere failure of the material componentswas the primary reasonfor thedisaster. Institutions, like individuals,cango astrayThe privatelymoral person- the engineeror manager- mayunintentionally becomecompromisedin a powerful institutional environment whose own special values andurgenciessubtly preempt a personalsenseof duty. The problem was therefore one of will, not skill. The lack ofmaterialintegrity of the 0-rings wasareflectionof the lack ofmoral integrityin the institution.

Challengerwas a double loss; thelossof the exemplaryfigures, the individualsof the crew, together withourlossof innocencein trusting the institutions responsiblefor their safety.

WINTER 1997/1998 25

Between Heaven and Earth: Reassessing the Impact of the Challenger Disaster

Thesewere relatively immediateconsequences of Challenger forAmericanattitudesaboutspace. Thereremainsa more distant future as thepioneeringambitions of spaceexploration are applied beyond near-earthorbit to true outerspace.

Thereare abundantvisions for thefuture of space flight,but they can becollected into two broadcategories-

the enrichment of life on earth andearthly expansioninto the Solar system. The first is an effort to focus ondevelopingan infrastructure- space-ports, inexpensivelaunchvehicles,andadvancedtechnology- as ameansofstimulating the useof spaceto providetangiblesocial,economic,andenvironmental benefitson earth.Thesebenefits include developing innovativemeans to meet food and energyrequirements, alleviatepollution problems, enhancecommunications,monitor the vital signsof the planet, furtherenhance international cooperation,andgenerallyimprove the prospectsof thetotal communityof life in an emergingglobal age. In his speechannouncingthe Apollo programin 1961, PresidentKennedysaid that "We cando thisandall the other things, too." He meantthat flying to the moon would beexpensive,but its cost would not beborneby reduced fundingto otherprogramsin his"New Frontier."This reassurance is no longer required. Today,activities in spacenearthe earthare nolonger discretionary;they are a necessary part of the technological infrastructureof all nations.For thosewhosubscribeto the utilitarian vision ofenrichment, with its down-to-earthemphasisof ministeringto the needsofpeople,this is a good thing.

Expansionism,the alternate visionof the future of mannedspace ifight,remains epic. Its proponentsforeseeunlimited human explorationin thesolar system and beyond intothegalaxy. The rallying cry of this grandstrategy could be the motto of theNational Space Society, "Ad Astra,""To the Stars."Echoingthe doctrineofterritorial progress in 19th-centuryAmerica - ManifestDestiny- cosmicexpansionismreadily incorporatesthefour-phaseprogram for the colonization of spacedevisedby the charismatic German rocket scientist Wernhervon Braun. Von Braun’s plan, made

popular forty years ago in animatedDisney television specials, was toadvance througha seriesof steppingstones in space. First, achieve earthorbit, then constructa massivespacestationfor the assemblyof spaceshipsfor ifights to the moon andMars. VonBraun’s plans were breath-taking,butthey weresoonsupplementedby evengrander imaginative schemesof othervisionaries.Onesuchproject, requiringmillennia to accomplish,would "terraform" Mars by enveloping it in anearth-like atmosphereto provide rainfor the developmentof plantsand theeventual greeningof the Red Planet.Another involves the constructionofhuge orbiting cities somewherebetween the earth and the moon aslushhabitatsfor millions of inhabitantsto benourishedby abundantmaterialsfrom the moon, captured asteroids,anddeadcomet cores.

ore ambitious than thepyramids,thesemassiveundertakings wouldrequire powerful rhetoricand a mythology be carried through. The romantic ideology of cos

mic expansionism includesthe biblicalnotion of electednessas it wasadaptedto the American Spirit. If frontierAmerica was chosen to conquer thePromisedLand from sea to sea asa"Light to the Nations," contemporaryAmerica is destinedto carry forth thistradition into the infinite frontier ofspace. Inexorable evolutionary advance,a universaland quasi-scientificversion of this same sentiment,requires the fulfillment of this "extraterrestrial imperative" or "centrifugalinstinct." As restless sojourners,thehumanspecies hasno choice but "Toboldly go with true Star Trekbravado. In otherwords, destinationdictatesdestiny.

Millennial elementsenter as well.Millennialism, anotherconceptexpropriatedfrom the Bibleandabsorbedbythe AmericanSpirit, is bothoptimisticand apocalyptic.The millennium canusherin a new ageof greatpeaceandprosperityOr it can mark the onsetofworldwide cataclysmic destructionand decline, an ominous "End ofDays." Encouragedby the convenientnumerology of the year 2000, advo

catesof cosmicexpansionismturn boththemesto their advantage.On the onehand they celebrate the wonders ofspaceexploration and the unimaginablerichesthat await humanpioneers.On the other they warn against thedegenerationof life on earthby pointing out the signs of the times - environmental degradation, populationexplosion,famine,wars, plagues- theHorsemenof the Apocalypsewho willsoon ride swiftly upon planet Earth.Given theseprophetic disasters,isn’tthe only saneact to leavethe earthin anew exodus to the heavensand toMars?

Despite the valorization of spaceexploration in thesevisions, its futureremainsvulnerable.It is by no meanscertain that theseambitiousplans willbe embracedby Americans.As cosmictime goes,humansare mereneonateswhen it comes to space travel,andChallengertook place recently,only amomentago. It remainsimmediateinthe memories of its contemporaries,including most peoplenow living.Theireventualassessmentof the eventwill have something to say aboutAmericancommitmentto space.Like amaster weaverwho adjustshis overalldesign to incorporate mistakes, eachgeneration weaves the fabric of itsfuture to incorporatethe tragediesofthe recentpast.Creativerememberingstrengthensthis fabric.

We in the current generationareweaversof a complex historical mosaic. All important events, triumphantand tragic,are integratedin thedesign.As part of that design,Challengeris aprofound reminder of the fallibility ofall human enterpriseand an expres

Ision of courage and worthy vision.Weaving the incident into the fabric ofa common history is redemptiveandhealing.But healing,the generationofnew wholeness,takes time. Until thehealingis completedthe full impact ofthe disaster remains at issue, andChallengerand its crew remain suspendedbetweenHeavenand Earth. t

JamesE. Huchingsonis associateprofessor ofphilosophyand religious studiesat Florida International University inMiami and a formerNASAemployee.

26 FHC FORUM

Join us!/ 998 p01b C0t

Thejuiciest culturalweekend of the year.

Presentedby the Florida HumanitiesCouncil

To many travelers, Polk County is an endless sea of citrus groves on theway to an "attraction." But to those who take the time to drive its back

roads and explore its hidden corners, Polk County is Florida’s heartland,not only one of the most fertile agricultural areas in the world but also anarea rich in Florida history and culture.

Polk County is the site of the next Florida Gathering, a weekend sponsored by the Florida Humanities Council FHC designed to explore the history, heritage, and environment of Florida. Scheduled for March 27-29,

1998, this annual event bringstogether Floridians from throughout the state for a weekend-in-residence in a region that, whileoff-the-beaten-track, is wellworth the detour.

From cracker cow huntersdon’t call them cowboys to thelargest concentration of FrankLloyd Wright architecture in theworld, the Florida Gathering inPolk County offers a wide rangeof cultural adventures. Historians, folkiorists, architects,

archaeologists, and environmentalists will be our guides.Participants at the 1998 Gathering will be able to select from a variety

of activities and programs. You can dig for fossils with a paleontologist,learn the history of the Negro baseball league and meet some of its former players, visit the Kissimmee Cow Camp with Rorida Cowmen authorJoe Akerman, or tour Bok Gardens with the gardens’ director of horticulture and a leading landscape architect. There will also be boating, hiking,entertainment, food, and Floridians from all over the state.

"The Florida Gathering is a time for those of us who love Florida, newcomers and old timers, to celebrate its legends and landscapes," said FHCExecutive Director Ann Henderson. "It’s an opportunity to visit an area wedon’t know with those who are eager to share their homes and knowledge.This weekend will introduce you to ideas, people, and places you wouldnever meet on your own."

1998Florida GatheringPmgnmHighlights

fiesta Southern Colege andthe Frfl Lloyd WrIfl Legacy

I n 1945, America’smost famousarchitect, Frank LloydWright, was askedto

transforma citrusgrove in themiddle ofFlorida into a collegecampus. The resultwas Florida SouthernCollegeinLakeland, thelargestone-sitecollectionof Wright architecturein the world.

Participantsat rhe 1998FloridaGatheringwill havethe opportunitytotour the campuswith Edgar Tafel,anapprenticeto Wright from 1932-1941andauthorof two books on Wright; JimRogers,anart professorat FloridaSouthern,who has conductedextensiveresearchon Wright’s architectural planforthat college; GeneLeedy, an architectofthe Sarasotaschool;and Marsye Dale,who helpedto build the buildings as astu

dent.Florida Southern

professorJim Rogersrecently traveledtothe Frank LloydWright Archives inArizonato conductresearchinto Wright’sarchitecturalplan forFloridaSouthern. Hehas prepared aslideshowwhich he willpresentasa part of

on Invitation Page P6-4

SpecialPosterreprintoffer!The official posterofthe 1998 FloridaGathering byFlorida artist LarryMoore reproducedon the twofollowing pageswill be available to attendeesduring the Gatheringweekend

/998/9/b Coalt41

Your invitation to a true Floridaexperience

The heart ofFlorida’s citrus industry is PolkCounty. "Citrus - From Grovesto Archives"isoneof the Gathering’sfeaturedprograms.

Highlights continued

The juiciest culturalpresented by the Florida Humanities Coun

weekend of the yearcii Harch 21-29, 1998 0 Polk County

H/ 998 /914 C0i

1998 florida GatheringProgramHighlights

Highlights continued from Invitation Page FG-1

this program.‘Wright’s plan for Florida Southernis

clearly tied to his understandingof theflorida landscape,"concludesRogers. "Ithink his plan and its individualbuildingshavesomethingto teachus aboutthenatureof this land."

The programwill culminatewith apanel discussionamongthe Wrightexpertson "Wright’s LegacyToday."

Don’t Cal Them Bays - They’retim florida Cowmen

I f you think cattlerustling, hangings,

and family feudswereconfinedto theAmericanWest inthe late 1800s, thenyou haven’theardofthe FloridaCowmendon’t call themboys. Somewouldarguethat the Floridaversionof this

American archetypewasrougher, tougher,meaner,and leanerthananything they grew in Texasor Montana.

TheLake KissimmeeCowCampwillbe the setting for anexplorationinto theflorida cattle industry that will takeus

Jim BobTinsley right, thesecondinducteeinto theNationalCowboySongandPoetryHall of Fame, willperformstories andsongsofFlorida cowmenundertheGatheringtent on Saturdaynight Tinsley is theauthorof manyworks includingabookon thelegendaryFlorida cow hunterBone Mizellabove,by FredericRemingtonanda bookon cowboy music.

1998 Florida Gathering Program Activities* Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture at Florida Southern college* Nature Tour of the Kissimmee Waterway* cracker cow Hunters at the Kissimmee Cow Camp* History of Gardening at Bok Tower* Digging for Fossils in Bone valley* Florida’s Little Galapagos --The Lake Wales Ridge* Folk Art from Polk county* Boating the Kissimmee Waterway* Zora Neale Hurston’s Dust Tracks on a Road-- Book Discussion* Over the Branch --African American History Recovered* Planting for Butterf lies at the Audubon Sanctuary* Citrus -- From Groves to Archives* Baseball --The Florida Experience* Cracker Storytelling* History Tour of Polk County* Beekeepers, Bees, and Honey in the Groves

America andfinally migrated downtoFlorida, wherethey foundabundantfoodsuppliesand warmweathet

Join David Webb, a paleontologistfrom the Universityof Florida, as he leadsa fossil huntto Bone Valley, an areaknownfor its depositsof bones and fossilized remainsof prehistoricanimals.

HUMANITIES

PCW Sud

Polk County folk artist RubyWilliams sellsherpaintingsat her fruit stand on Highway60, andin galleries fromFlorida to New York Sheandotherlocal artists will discusstheir work ata program onfolk art.

from 1521, whenthe Spanishintroducedcattle into the state,to Florida’s present-day statusas the fourthlargestcattle producing state inthe country.

This programat the Florida Gatheringwill be led by Florida historian and authorof Florida CowmenJoe Akerman. Withthe help 0f a colorful assortmentofFlorida cowmen,Akermanwill not onlygive you a straight shotof history, but willalso spintall talesaboutBone Mizell andother legendaryfiguresof the Florida frontier.

tar Fouls In Bone Valey

F lorida’s geologicalhistoryis exposedfor all to seein the phosphatemines

of Polk County. As the oceanflooded theFlorida peninsula10 million yearsagolargedeposits ofphosphatewere leftbehindalong with the fossilizedremainsof prehistoricanimals.

TheFlorida peninsulawasoncehometo someof the greatmammalsof the prehistoric age. Wooly mammothsandmastodonsfleeing the cold andglaciers ofthe Ice Age crossedEurope andtheBeringStrait Land Bridge in North

Dr. David Webbholdsa 12,000-year-old mammothbone recoveredfrom a Florida riverAnttnn,

To registerfor the Florida Gathering,tear out thepostcardmailerand returnit

to the Council. You will receivea brochureanda registrationform. Or, visit the Fl-IC Websire at flahum.orgfor completeregistrationinformation.TheFloridaGatheringis an annualprogramof theFlorida HumanitiesCouncil. The Polk CountyGatheringis sponsoredin partby the CentralFloridaConventionand Visitors Bureauand NationsBank.

FLORIDA

COUNCIL

Pleasesendme more

Yes!Name

information about theFlorida Gathering in PolkCounty,March 27-29,1998

Address

city

Stats, zJp

TheFlorida HumanitiesCouncil1725 1/2 E. SeventhAvenue

Tampa,Florida 33605

PLACESTAMPHERE

T&pCore themintofspirit!Ninth Annual

Zora NealellllrstollFestival of the Arts and Unillanities

January 29 - February 1, 1998

‘Theme: ‘Ye4qion IMTyt& aiul Cosmologyin an African‘l4orliview"

Puhlic Forum SessionsThursday, January 29 - Saturday, January 31

in historic Eatonville

- featuring-

Dr. Margaret Walker Alexander - In ConversationPioneeringscholarAuthor of Jubilee -- original Roots-genrestudy

Thursday, January 29,7:00 p.m.

Dr. Kofi-Asare Opokn - Opening Plenary SessionVisiting Professor, DepartmentofReligion, LaSalleUniversity

Friday, January30, 10:00 am.

For complete festival program:HurstonFestival ‘98227 E. KennedyBlvd.Eatonville, FL 32751

407 647-3307e-mail: [email protected]

11/97 The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. P.E.C.

[‘! z%

I"

1

-

A brilliant first chapterclimaxedwith manwalkingon theMoon.Theprogram thenfalteredbut seemstohavefoundits wayagain at century’send.

BY JOHN M. LOGSDON

ost of us have our mid-life crisessometimein our forties, aswe beginto facethe reality that, at leaststatistically, our lives are indeedat amidpoint. As the U.S. space program

completesits fortieth year if its starting point ismeasuredby either the U.S. reaction to the Sputnik1 launch in October 1957 or the failed first U.S.launch attempt in December1957, it has alreadypassedthrougha wrenching identitycrisis, seekinga new rationaleafter the end of the Cold War andthe spaceracewith the Soviet Union.

This canhardlybe describedas a mid-life crisis,however. Even thoughthe past fourdecadeshaveseenremarkable achievements, mostof what willhappenin spaceliesahead.Activities in spacehavebecomeso totally integratedinto modernlife thatwe forget weare just at the start of spacedevelopment; what will take place in Earth orbit andbeyond in the next century,or indeedthe next millenium, still may seemthe stuff of science fiction.

If the last forty yearshastaught usanything,itis how rapidly sciencefiction canbecomefact. Fewwriting in 1897 exceptindividuals like JulesVernewould have predictedthat twelve Americanswouldhavewalked on the surfaceof the moonafter leaving from Florida, thatthe world would belinked byinstantaneouscommunicationsvia satellite,or thata roverwould beexaminingrocks on the surfaceofMars while other automated spaceshipswereexploring Jupiterandtraveling to Saturn. What hashappenedoverthe last forty yearshaslaid thefoundation for the future, not exhaustedthe potentialof

THE srac PHOGHAM AND FLOHIDAS SPAC[ COAST

Scenes from the space program are American icons afterall these years, some tinged with nostalgia.

Cu,C2

WINTER 1997/1998 29

THE SPACE PROGRAM AT A /,n"":;u’" -? ChIC!!

space for excitement, creativity, andimmensebenefitsto humanity.

Romance and Reality

In the very early morning of July16, 1969, I stood in the crowd ofreporters and onlookers at theKennedy SpaceCenter as three menclad in white space suits - NeilArmstrong,Buzz Aldrin, andMichaelCollins - passeda few yardsaway.on their way to the moon! It was ?siiI were present when Columbus tat

Magellanhad set sail on their voyagesof discovery,but with the privilege ofself-awarenessabout thehistorical significance of the event I was witnessing. The Apollo journeysto the moonwereremarkablyromantic episodesinthe history of human exploration.When Vice President Spiro Agnewlaterthat day told reportersat LaunchComplex 39 that he believedthe nextdestination for human explorers wasMars, and that the United Stateswould leadthe way in the not too distant future, I hopedin my heartthathewasright.

Knowing the specificsof what hadbrought usto the first mission to themoon, however, made me recognizethat Agnew’s vision that certainlyseemsan odd phrasewas unlikely tobecomereality. I had just completedwhat was publishedsoonafter as thebook The Decision to Go to the Moon:Apollo and the National Interest MITPress,1970. I knew that the Apollo 11mission wasnot a romantic voyageofexploration,but rather the calculatedanswer to questions posed byPresident JohnF. Kennedy in April

1961, in the aftermath of the firsthumanspaceflight by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarinand the failed Bayof Pigs attempt to topple the Castroregimein Cuba. Kennedy askedin amemorandum"Do we havea chanceof beatingthe Soviets... By a rockettogo to the moon andbackwith a man?Is there any other space programwhich promises dramatic results inwhich we could win?" The responsefrom NASA Chief James WebbandDefense SecretaryRobert McNamaracame back a few weeks later: "It ismen, not merely machines,in spacethat capturesthe imagination of theworld Dramatic achievementsinspacethereforesymbolizethe organizing capacityof a nation. . . Our attainmentsare amajor elementin the competition between the Soviet systemand our own. The non-military, noncommercial, non-scientific but ‘civilian’ projectssuch as lunar and planetaryexplorationare,in this sense,partof the battle alongthe fluid front of theCold War."

It is not much of an oversimplifi- cation to suggestthat thesephrases

formed the rationale that drove U.S.space efforts not only during theApollo program but for almost twodecadesafter. That reasoninghad lostmost of its potency by the time ofApollo, however, and certainly wasnot strong enough to underpin theambitious post-Apollo programleading to early Mars missionsproposedby Vice President Agnew andtheNASA leadershiplater in 1969. Still,Cold War, competitiveconsiderationscontinued. Our rivalry with theSovietssupportedthe 1972 decisionto

develop the space shuttle, the 1984commitment to develop a spacestation on an international basis, andfueledNASA’s desireto keephumanspaceflight centerstage. But NASAduring the 1970sand 1980s progressively becamean organizationlivingoff past glories rather than currentaccomplishments.

The results were predictable.After the Challenger accident and,later, the end of the Cold War, itbecame clear that NASA was nolongerseenby mostAmericansas thebestway to "symbolizethe organizingcapacityof a nation." When a studycommission co-chaired by formerastronautSally Ride recommendednew strategic directions for the program in 1987, President RonaldReagandeclined personally receivingthe report. PresidentGeorgeBush, onthe twentieth anniversaryof the firstmoon landing, suggestedthat theUnited States restart human exploration beyond Earthorbit, but therewas virtually no public or politicalenthusiasm. The civilian space program of the United Statesseemedtohave reacheda deadend, with somequestioningwhether NASA was still

- even needed. In August 1990 Timemagazine characterizedNASA as"under siege, itsreputationtarnished,its programs in disarray, its futureclouded."

New Realities, New Potentials

But reelaheadto 1997,andno onewould think of the U.S. spaceprogramor of NASA being on the sidelinesforthetransition to the twenty-firstcentury. Comparedto the situation in thiscountryjust a fewyearsagoor in otherspace-faring countriesnow, both governmentand commercialspace effortsin the United Statesare in goodshape,with well-conceived plans for thefuture. In contrast,spaceprogramsinRussia,Japan, andEuropeare fraughtwith greatuncertainties. While thosecountries try to resolve their uncertainties, the United Statesis virtuallyalone in moving forward in space,thereby solidifyingits leadershipposition. This leadershipcomesnot fromproclamations,but from performance.

Current NASA projects are all

A rover explored the surface of Mars after the Pathfinder landed this summer, it exemplifiesNASA’s shift away from manned missions.

30 EHC FORUM

working and producing excitingresults;the summer’sPathfindermission to the surfaceof Mars is just themost recent visible example. Thereforms initiated five years ago byNASA Chief Dan Goldin havetakenhold; a clearstrategyfor spacesciencecenteredon the "Origins" themehasfound widespreadsupport.Mission toPlanet Earth is likely to emergefromits current biennial review in strongercondition, and severalprograms todevelop and demonstrate newtechnologies are underway. Even theInternationalSpaceStation,at leastforthe time being, is moving forwardwith Russiaa major partner; the continuing Shuttle-Mir problems of thissummerand fall havenotcausedacollapsein that partnership. Suchcooperation would have been inconceivable onlya few years ago. Critics ofNASA may providedetailedcounter-argumentsto thesebroadstatements,but overall prospectsof the spaceagency are far better now than theywere on the thirtieth anniversaryofthe program.

The picture is even rosier in thenon-governmentsector. U.S. industryhasa wide leadin all currentcommercial market sectors other than spacelaunch. Even there,with SeaLaunch,new versionsof the Delta and Atlas,and a commercial version of theEvolved ExpendableLaunch Vehiclepotentially enteringthat market, thecurrent Europeanlead is fragile, particularly given the problems withAriane5. Effortsto developa reusablelaunch vehicleseembackon track, andeventhe redoubtable shuttlemay reenter the space launch marketunderprivatized management. One recentreportsuggeststhat the U.S-dominated commercialspacesectorwill experience57 percentgrowth by 2000,andanotherforecaststhat U.S. firms willbeprime contractors foralmost75 percent of the various typesof information transfersatellites to be placed inlow- and medium-orbit during thenext decade.

The Basis tot U.S. Leadership

TheUnited Statesthusfinds itself,less than a decadeafter its flagshipmanned-explorationprogramseemed

My inclination has been to favorthe second possibility. There is anaversionto centralizeddecision-making in the U.S. political system; aspolitical scientist Richard Neustadtobservedalmostfour decadesago, theU.S. governmentis composedof "separate institutionssharing power." Tohave those institutions the WhiteHouse, the Executive Office of thePresident,the executive departments

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to haverun out of steam,in a positionto act as the only spacesuperpowerinthe earlyyearsof the next century andperhaps beyond.Is it reasonabletoaskwhether this strongU.S. standingis the result of successfullypursuing acoherent nationalstrategy?Or is it theoutcomeof aseriesof strategicallydisconnectedpublic and private sectordecisionsandactions,eachbolsteringa facetof the currentU.S. position?

We’rejrvxci to hdroixccefrur‘ww vokefiKflctiOK.

My Brother Michael

THE SPACE PROGRAM AT Achievement & Potential

and agencies,and the two housesofCongressagreebothon a set ofstrategic goals for the spacesector and onthe policies and practices to achievethosegoalswould seemto require thekind of strongconsensusthat rarely isevidentin U.S. politics. Coordinatinggovernmentstrategiesand decisionswith thosemadeby the private sectorso that theyare mutually supportivewould add anotherlayerof complexity. Not surprisinglythen,it is difficultto look backand identify a statementof national strategythat has guidedthe country to its current position inspace.

I believe that the United Statesisin its currentlystrongposition becauseit hasadaptedits spaceprogrammorerapidly to the changingeconomicandpolitical climate after the end of theCold War than have Russia, Europeand Japan.Adaptedis the key wordhere. The United Stateshas muchmore flexible political and economicsystemsthan other industrial countries,and thosesystemscanaccommodatechangeas it occurs,without thenecessityfor centralizeddecisions. Itfollows that presentU.S. spaceleadership is more the result of the strengthof the United States system designoverall than of some "grand design"for U.S. spacehegemony. Within theflexible U.S. framework, those inchargeof the spacesectorhavemadea

number of well-conceived but separate decisions. The cumulative resultis to put the country far aheadin spacecapabilitiesandaccomplishments.

This is not the only possibleexplanation for U.S. leadership,however.Last August, I shared thisconclusionand the reasoningbehind it with oneof my French colleagues,Dr. XavierPasco,a specialiston U.S. space policy.He let me know via e-mail I wouldhave preferred a discussion in aFrench cafe that he disagreedwithsome key points in my analysis.Grantedthe disagreementcomesfroma persongrounded ina culture comfortable with comprehensivestrategiesand centralizeddecisions,it is certainly still worth considering.

While recognizingthat recentU.S.space activity has benefitted from anumber of separatemovesand gooddecisions,madeby "the right peoplein the right placeat theright moment,"Pasco suggestedthat the directiontaken by U.S. space policyties to anoverall U.S. strategyof being aneffective superpowerin the new international context. TheFrenchscholarseesin the United Statesgovernmenttodaya global vision, reflectedin suchstate-merits as the Clinton administration1995 national security strategyof"engagementand enlargement," ofhow the United Statesshould pursueits interestsby exertingand reinforc

ing its powerin the world.Space leadership,Pasco suggest

ed, is at least implicitly a part of thatvision. He thinks that movessuch assupporting increasedU.S. competitivenessin the spacelaunch sectororfacilitating recent mergersamongleading firms carmotbe disassociatedfrom broader considerations ofenhancing U.S. power in the world.Rather, Pascosuggested,recent spacedecisions"all headin the samestrategic direction,"evenif thereis no singlespacestrategyper se. The "U.S. general policy reference canvas,and theglobal consensusaroundit inside theU.S. societytoday" are sofruitful fromour perspectivethat space decisionsare "intimately, even unconsciously"influenced at all levels of choice.While theremay be noU.S. spacestrategy, there is a U.S. global economicand political strategy,with spaceoneof its elements.

What About the Future?

What if Pascois basically right,and the current U.S. leadershipposition in spaceis indeedthe result of ashared strategic outlook, aimed atagreed-upongoals? It then becomesimportant to ask whether there is asimilar shared understandingwithrespectto how best in the future thenation will use its leadershipin spaceto advance broader interests. Arespace capabilities appropriately andeffectively linkedto U.S. political, economic, environmental, and securitypolicy objectivesbeyondthis country’sborders? What differencewould continuing spacehegemonymake to theoverall U.S. position in the world? Asthe United Statesfinds itself aloneasthe only spacesuperpower,suchquestions mustbe addressedif thiscountryis to receivethe full benefitsof thatstatus.

The space program’s currenthealthy condition thusbodeswell forthe United Statesin the earlyyearsofthe next century. Certainly othercountriesand non-U.S. firms active inspace will once again challengeU.S.leadershipin one or the other areaofspace effort as well as seekingincreasedpartnershipwith this country. The United States oughtto be

NASA’s projects still on the drawing board include an International Space Station, in cooperation with Russia, as seen In an artist’s rendering, above.

7

32 FHC FORUM

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able to withstand most of thesechallenges, if it can continue the recentintelligent managementof both publicand private sector space activities.Space leadership is for the UnitedStatesto lose.

Such a loss is not inconceivable.After all, pursuing the rationale forspaceset forth in 1961 hadby the timeof Apollo 11 madethe United Statestheclear leader in space. Then twodecadesof poor quality decisionsandproblem-denying managementputthat leadershipat risk. It could happenagain, but only if tomorrow’s leaderssquanderthe potentialcreatedover thepast few years. I hope that does nothappen.*

John M. Logsdon is Director of theSpace Policy Institute of GeorgeWashingtonUniversity’s Elliott School ofInternational Affairs in Washington,DC.Hehaswritten and lecturedextensivelyonpolicy aspectsof thespaceprogram including the book The Decision to Go to theMoon: Project Apollo and TheNational Interest.

SPACE

IN CULTURE

& THE ARTS

BY THOMAS

FROM OUTERSPACE TOCYBERSPACE

NICKLES

FASCINATING AS SPACE TRAVEL REMAINS,

V

Nicolaus Copernicus published his revolutionarymodel of the universe inthe mid-l6th century. Manandearthwere not the center of the universe; they

rotate around the Sun. Indeed, asNewton later demonstrated,our system is merely an insignificant littlepiece of an infinite universethat hasno meaningfulcenter. Astronomy, inthis instance,transformedhumanself-conception. Humanity was not thefocus of creation- and yet,as Pascalobserved,from our humble vantagepointwe could fathom the heavens.

How Copernicuspublished hisfinding - drawing on Gutenberg’smoveable-typeprinting press- mayhave beenthe biggerrevolution, however. At first, printed texts werepassivelyadmiredlike themedievalmanuscriptsthey succeeded.But printingand the associated technologiesofreading, writing and thinking soon

became practical tools that transformed individual lives and majorsocial institutions. One could onlygaze at the stars,but most everyonecould do thingswith printed words.

Late in the 20th centurywe haveexperienced our own revolution inour conception of the cosmosEinsteinean relativity, black holes,etc. with dramaticbreakthroughsinspacetechnology. Therehasalso beena revolution in print and informationtechnology,the telephone,radio, television, and now digital computers.From the present vantage point, itseemsthat,onceagain, the lessflashy"information" revolution may turnout to be morepervasiveand significant thanthe amazingachievementsin space- and for the samereasonsas before.

Cyberspace- the world-wide"space" of computer representationsand communications- is becomingmoreimportantto usthanouterspace

although,again, eachtechnology willdependon the other. The spaceprogram has dazzledthe last half of the20th century, but its very successbeganto make its missions seemroutine. Now that the Cold War is overand we are cooperatingin spacewiththe Russians,the spaceprogram nolonger has the national urgencyitoncehad. The next 50 yearswill surely belong to the computerand information technologies.Revealingly,theSeptember 1995 issue of ScientificAmerican, devoted to "Key Technologies for the 21stCentury," has onearticle on spacecraftandan entiresection on information technologies.

It is easyto understandthe initialblossomingof public fascinationwiththe spaceprogram. Reaching themoon seemedlike a giant evolutionary step. Our distant ancestorshadcomeout of the seasonto land. A fewhundred million years later, wehumanshadlearnedto leavethe earth

34 FHC FORUM

THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION CAN TRACE ITS

ROOTS BACK TO GUTENBERG’S PRINTING PRESS.

IN THE 20TH CENTURY, THE

TELEViSION

TELEPHONE RADIO

CHANGED THE WAY WE LIVE.

COMPUTERS BRING MORE PROFOUND CHANGE TO MORE PEOPLE.

to soar into the spacepreviouslyreservedfor the birds. And now, afteronly a few breathlessdecades, wewere freeing ourselvesfrom our biosphere andascendinginto the heavens, once the sacred domain of thegods,then the inspirationof Romanticpoets and of science fiction writers.We wereno longerphysicallytrappedwithin the closeduniverseof the sub-lunarworld.

There was, as well, a more mundanesignificanceto spaceexplorationfor Americans. Today, at thefortiethanniversaryof Sputnik, werecall theCold War importanceof the militaryspace program and the symbolicmeaning of the civilian programwhich grew out of it. Getting to themoon first reestablishedthe U.S. asthe proud,progressive,world technological leaderand brought the nationtogether just as President Kennedyhad intended. The 1960s was thedecadein which nationalTV cameof

age. Early spaceshots, especiallythelunar landings, wereunifying national experiencesexceededonly by thedrama of Kennedy’s assassination,Our regainedsenseof security after"one giant leap for mankind" dulledus to PresidentEisenhower’swarningabout "the military-industrial andscientific complex," evenwhile trouble on that front was brewing in VietNam.

The almost concurrentdevelopment of the computerwas much lessvisibleanddramaticas anationalphenomenon. When John Bardeenandassociates discoveredthe transistorin1948,no onehadthe slightestideathatwithin 50 yearsmicroprocessorchipsthe sizeof your thumbnail wouldcontain millions of transistorsand operateat breathtakingspeeds.The spaceprogram’s imperative to miniaturizehelpedget this ball rolling. Intel didnot produceits first computermicroprocessor until1971. At that time the

digital computeritself was,except fora few crude,vacuum-tube prototypes,only a mathematicalidea. In the mid1950s, Herbert Simon and AllenNewell realized that the computercould be ageneral symbolprocessor,auniversal information processor,notmerely a calculating and sortingmachine. Yet there were no worldwide headlines when their LogicTheorist became the first computerprogramto prove a mathematicaltheorem and, in that limited sense, thefirst machineto thinlc.

Until the late 1970s, the ideaof acomputerwasthe ideaof amainframeinstallationthat, together withits tapedrives, memory stores,card and tapereaders,and printers, filled a largehall. Computerscould be found onlyin computercenters,the "central intelligence agencies" of government,researchuniversities,and major corporationslike IBM and the aerospacecompanies.Computers,like thespace

WFNTER 1991/1998 35

program, stood for Big Government,Big Science,and Big Industry.

Computersand robotsbegancapturing the public imagination eventhenbecausethey are potentiallyintelligent. It seemedthat computerscientists had discoveredthe secret ofhumanintelligence, so that, by knowing computers, wecometo know ourselves. On this view, computercodeisthe genetic codeof humanreason,ofmental life. Somelabs are now pushing beyondartificial intelligenceor Alprogramsto work on the problem ofembodiedintelligence - artificial lifeor AL.

We havecreatedcomputersin ourown image, but not everyoneagreesthat it is good. Present-daycomputersvastly outperform human beings atsome intellectual tasks, so, in thissense,we alreadyhave createdsomething superiorto ourselves.What is tokeepfuture computersfrom assertingtheir autonomy,from enteringinto alife-and-death strugglewith us forrecognition, as does the HAL 9000computerin the movie 2001: A SpaceOdyssey? Actually, the struggle isalready occurring,in ritualized fashion, in the form of chess matches

betweencomputersand humans.Thechess championof the world is something like the mental heavyweightchampion. It wasbig newsearlier thisyear bigger news than the dramaaboard the Mir spacestation, whenIBM’s Deep Blue defeated reigningchampion,Carry Kasparov.

Media hype aside, however, Alsuggests a false, even dangerous,accountof human nature. If computers are theartificial realization ofhuman expertise - human intelligencein a bottle - thenwhy do computers and robots do badly nearlyeverythingthat we humanbeings doeasily and well, and vice versa?Computers are terrible at any taskrequiring common senseor holistic,fluid performanceor expertjudgmentin ambiguouscontexts.In this respect,Al has failed to live up to the earlyhype. Wecannotbuild a robot that cancarryon a realconversationor that cango to Burger King without making afool of itself. On theother side,everything computersdo really well is difficult for us- including the logical reasoning and mathematicalcalculationsupposedlydefinitive of humanrationality. One of the lessonsthat user-

friendly computerprogrammers havelearnedis to require the userto makeno more logical decisionsthannecessary.

their booksMind OverMachine and WhatComputers Still Can’tDo, critics Hubert and

I Stuart Dreyfus, aphilosopherand an engineer,say thereason computer performance hasoften disappointedis that the computer as we now understandit implements a mistaken conception ofhuman intelligence and expertise.Rule-based solutionsof well-definedproblemsare characteristicof early tomoderate stagesof human competence,anddigital computersare stuckthere. Expert human behavior transcendsthe rules stage. Humanperformanceis not "computational"in theseterms. Thus to replaceexperthumanjudgment by computersin business,science, and educationis to dumbthings down.The rush to computerizeeverythingandto valueonly what canpass through a computer is a hugemistake.

In Machines Who Think, Pamela

EARLY COMPUTERS

SCIENCE AND BIG INDUSTRY. TODAY1 THE SIZE OF YOUR THUMBNAIL

ALLOW COMPUTERS TO VASTLY OUTPERFORM HUMAN BEINGS AT SOME INTELLECTUAL TASKS.

McCorduck, an enthusiast for Al,wrote that Al is "the scientific apotheosis of a venerablecultural tradition."The Dreyfuses agree but draw theoppositeconclusion: that tradition iswrong. AT amountsto a testof the traditional, Westernunderstandingofhuman beings as rational animals,where‘rational’ meansa universalcalculative ability basedon logical rules.Thusthe failure of Al refutesthe tradition. It turns outthey say thatwe arenot who wethoughtwe were.

Whateverthe outcomeof this controversy, the computerdoesresonatewith other American culture ideals,even more naturally than does thespace program. As a young nationwith a limited and culturally diversepast, we tend to define ourselvesinterms of the future - a technologicalfuture. The spaceprogram fits thisparticularbill nicely. But we are alsoado-it-yourselfpeople,a nation of individual tinkerers, makers, and doers,not just spectators. We would ratherbe participants than mere observers.You and I can only watch the spaceshots from Cape Canaveral,but wecan all do things with computers.Indeed, most of us must do so, for

FROM OUTERSPACE -> TOCYBERSPACE

computershave becomestandardinthe workplaceas well as common inthe home.

Over the last 25 years,computershave beenliberatedfrom the controlofBig Government andBig Scienceandnow belongto the people. They havebeen personalizedand miniaturizedsothat eachof uscanhave,on asmalldesk at home or office - or in ourpocket- morecomputerpowerthanArgonne NationalLaboratory did in1970. The spaceprogramcannotcompetewith this. "Got a rocket, in mypocket," runs the line from WestSideStory, but this was only the romantickind that can"fly me to the moon andlet meplay amongthestars,"asanothersonglyric put it, Space rocketrywillsurely remain the domain of the military, wealthynations,and a few largecompanies including satellite communicationsfirms. At bestwe might

anticipatea few very wealthyindividuals, decadeshence,as pleasuretravelersin space.

Falling prices mean that we cannearly all afford a computet Computers and associatedcommunications devices are, in effect, beingdemocratizedby the huge consumerindustrythat hasgrown up in theprivate sector. There are far more business opportunities there than in thespace industry. Spacemust annuallybegfor tax dollars as computerscarrythe longmid-90sboom. Computerstiein with the American mania for efficiency, perhaps to a fault. And ayounger generation is all the more

i wired into a music andvideo culturewith its Nintendogames.

Partof the computerboom todayis to seehow many capabilitieswe canstuff inside one pocket device. Andwe are putting computer chips ineverything. We like "smart" do-it-themselvestools that perform routinetasksautomatically.Feedingall of thisis that American invention - massmarketing. Computer marketingstrategies strikinglyresemble olderautomobile marketing. In TheAutomobile Age,JamesFUnk explains

PBL1JE

IODERN *.

ARGONNE TER 1997/1998 37

RISE OF THE COMPUTER: FROM READING LIPS TO REDEFINING CITIZENSHIP

U n a crucial scene from 2007: A Space Odyssey, HAL, the neuroticcomputer, reads the astronauts’ lips. Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 movie,

gave computers a key supporting role in this imagined future based onan Arthur C. Clarke novel. The meticulous filmmaker went to pains toconstruct realistic appliances, space station lounges, and even cryogenic chambers for a near-future in which space travel has becomecommonplace and manned missions "to Jupiter and beyond" possible.

By the mid -‘SOs, roles have been reversed. The computer dominates;space is secondary. The much-celebrated musical Rentis a tale of

Bohemian life in the age of AIDS. But it features one protagonist whodc-programs virtual reality at MIT, a villain seeking to develop EastVillage tenements into high-rent digital, interactive studios, and a performance artists song protesting "a desert called Cyberland."Astrophysicist and author Freeman Dyson see page 46 has dreamedall his life of space travel and space colonization. This fall, his daughter,computer industry analyst Esther Dyson, published Release 2.0, "adesign for living in thecyberspace."*

digital age," defining new "rights and rules of

how GeneralMotors solved the market saturation problem back in the1920swith plannedobsolescence,multiple models that redefine theAmerican dream, etc. Their slick,glossycopy drawson thesamecultural sources- love of power, speed,theromanceof the openroad in this casethe "information super highway",individual freedom, futurism, andsocialstatuskeepingup with the DowJoneses.The romanceof the automobile, and, more briefly, of the spaceprogram,eachin turn the technological leaderof its day,hasgivenwayto astrangeromance with the computer,the currenttechnologyleader. Today’skids are more likely to belong to acomputerculture than a car culture.The Internet with its zillions of Websites and chatroomson every subjectunderthe sun,licit andillicit, providesan outlet for both the restlessnessandthe need for voluntary associationsthat Tocqueville’s Democracy in America already recognizedin the l830s.

Computers providean updatednew frontier in which multidimensionalspacesandvirtual worlds maybe created and explored, seeminglywithout limit, without the usual eco

FROM OUTERSPACE TOCYBERSPACE

nomic, environmental, andgovernmental constraints. The rapid expansion of cyberspaceis tantamountto aninformation-ageBig Bang. To changethe metaphor,the informationsuperhighwayis sowide that it cantake youalmost anywhere you want to go,without the needfor anoff-road vehicle. This canbe a solo trip of individual explorationand reflectionor play,ora way to connectwith any of a hugevariety of subculturesnow flourishing. Diversity is the word.

So far the phenomenonof theInternet has run counter to GeorgeOrwell’s fears,in 1984, that masscommunications wouldbe seizedby BigBrother to surveil and controlus, inthenameof nationalsecurity,morality,andour own protection. But it is earlyin the gameand nationalgovernmentsare even now claiming sovereigntyover the newly createdcyberspaces.

New issues of intellectual propertyand cyber free speechare emerging.Sophisticatedcommercial Web sitesare alreadyequippedto constructprofiles of the customers who stop atthem. The Global PositioningSystemis of great value for many kinds oftravel and for precisely locatingthings, but it could also be used totrack us everywhere. In the movie,Thelma and Louise, the protagonistsfound even the lonely roads of theAmerican West too confining. Theironly escapefrom pursuing authoritieswas to turn their car into an ultra off-road vehicle, an ill-equipped spaceship,andto driveoff into three-dimensional space,where, like Daedalusofthe Greek myth, with his homemadewings, they fell to their deaths.

Where will the information-technology revolution take us? "Themediumis the message,"proclaimedthe late, Canadiancommunicationstheorist, Marshall McLuhan. Theprinting pressdid far more thanofferanother venuefor the sameold messages. And our daily experienceshows how television alters the content of everythingfrom newsand politics to sports to advertising. Author

38 FHC FORUM

David Bolter in Writing Spacedetailsthe manner in which the computeralready transformsthe place, thespace,of writing, reading,and thinking, and promotes a quite differentconcept of the text. The traditionalbook is a "monument" in which thetext is absolutelyfixed andunchangeableby its readers. It is linear in that abook is naturally read straightthrough, from front to back.Computer text, by contrast, is easilyalteredand lendsitself to hypertextualnonlinearity. What this meansis thatthe readercan"click" on key words orphrasesin order to pursue links toother bodies of text relevant to thefirst, including graphicsand multimedia displays. Thesetexts are inter-linked with others,in turn, so that thework as a whole is a complex web oftextual sites thatcanbe fruitfully readalong any number of distinct paths,dependingon thereader’s interestandknowledge.

In effect, thereaderconstructsherown text as she reads, and shemayevenbe permitted to add text of herown. There are no definite startingorending points. Indeed,we canvisualize the entire Internet as one, huge,distributed text, a potentially infinitespacewith no center. Accordingly,hypertexts do not obey the old standardsof unity and closure. They mayoffer many different voices and perspectives, and they need claim nointernal consistency. Themove tohypertext is fundamentalto so-calledpostmodernculture.

Bolter predictsthat computertechnologywill dramaticallyalterold ideasof a literaryandphilosophicalcanonofgreat, timeless,closed works. It willchangethe spaceor network of placesor topics that define our culture. Andit will blur the very distinctionbetween high and low culture.Computer writing decenters cultureandis incompatiblewith any notionofa central authority - a NationalAcademywith its official, mastercultural accountingsystem - that preservesand protects a fixed culturalheritageand defineswhat is good andbad, progressive or regressive.Accordingly, Bolter shunswhat I liketo call "the museumtheoryof culture"advocatedby humanistssuch as AllanBloom The Closing of the AmericanMind and formerEducationsecretary

William BennettTo Reclaima Legacy.Admittedly, it is much tooearly to

sayhow momentousthecomputerrevolution will be. Acomputerprovidesaslower, more labored,and less enjoyable"read" thana book does. In somewayscurrentcomputertext isa regression to the disadvantagesof theancientpapyrusscroll. But what couldGutenberg’s generation have saidabout theeventualimpact of the printing press? Contrary to advertising

PfiCHECO’S

hype, intellectual and cultural revolutions are thestuff of retrospective,historical judgment. Nonetheless,ourveryknowledgeof the print revolutionand of the Greek alphabeticrevolutionbeforethat doessuggest thatthanks tothe computerwe may be at thethreshold of anew era of culture.

ThomasNickles is a professorof philosophy at The University of Nevada,Reno. He has written extensivelyon thehistoryof scienceand its cultural impact.

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Merely FantasticBY KURT LOFT

Thena 23-inchaluminumballsettledinto orbit aroundtheEarth 40 yearsago, it thrust

scienceinto an expansivenew era. Italso rocked the pedestalof our culture, transforming howwe seeourselvesin relation to a very big placeoutside.

Sputnik’s little beepswere truly a voice heard‘round the world andthe echoof a fast-approachingtechnologicalage. Thefirst artificial satellite wasaRussiantriumph that delivered a blow to Cold WarAmerica, launching the nation on a roller-coasterraceto reachthe moon - and erasethe embarrassment.

Four decadeslater, America is cosmically connectedto space,spending$14 billion a year on itsNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration.Thebenefits for the cost, however, are less clear,andtoday a budget-crunching, risk-warysociety nolonger canafford the adventureof the ‘50s and‘60s.

Criticshavenotedthe spacebudgetaboutequalsthat of the National Institutesof Health NIH andisn’t likely to generatea cure for AIDS or cancer.NASA canboast,however,anddoes,that the spaceprogram has led to dozens of spinoff products:everythingfrom scratch-resistantlensesto self-righting life rafts to smoother-spinninggolf balls.

But a space sub-culturethrives, feedingon acelestialmix of myth, promise and fantasy. In popculture, space is empowering and has taken thenation’s consciousnessfarther into the cosmos thanNASA could everdream.

Although the realitiesof spaceexplorationsincethe late 1950s arestarkly removedfrom its imagina

The Cosmicand the

40 FF0 FORUM

tive counterpartin literatureandfilm, thesedistinctions often bleedtogether.Sciencefiction hasalwaysbeen ahead of the reality curve. Hollywoodembracesthe improbableand impossible.Together,they ferment a heady senseof confidenceabouthumaninvolvementin space,andwhet the appetitefor its endlessstreamof mysteries.

But has ourculture really embraceda progressive missionin space,or do we merely chasecostly- and empty - fantasies?

Perhapswe ask too much.Millions of televisionviewers grew up half believing dilithium crystalscould powera StarshipEnterprise, defyingthe lawsof physicsby hitting warpspeed.Capt. Kirk andMr.Spock, of course, were unaffected by Einstein’sSpecialTheoryof Relativity.

If Luke Skywalkercould baffle Darth Vader byembracing"the force," so can anyone,anyonewhobelieveshard enough.And El aliens were everyschoolboy’sfriend; it wasjust a matterof timebeforeambassadorsfrom othergalaxies visitEarth,sharingcosmicknowledge.Spacetravelerscanmoveat lightspeed, remember,with advancedtechnology.

Pop culture has helped bring space down toEarth,making it accessibleto everyone- no matterhow unsophisticated.It also opened our eyes towhat else might be lurking in anothergalaxy AsRobertWise, directorof the 1951 cult classic,The Daythe Earth StoodStill, exclaimed: "For us to believewe’re the only possibleintelligence in the world isextremelyegoistic.It’s arrogant.What we’re interested in, what we watch andwhat we read reflectsthat."

Space,thereal andlife version,isn’t soreceptive,judging from the record of 40 years of trying toexplore it. While the popular myth portrays usAmericansas aprogressivesociety armedwith thetools of advancedscience,the universebitesback.

The Apollo 1 and Challengeraccidentsremindus of the frightful difficulties that mustbe overcomeevenbeforewe reachorbit.

Certainly,people aren’t going into spaceat thepace science fiction writers predicted. It took theUnited States 34 years to put its 100th person inspace,beginning in 1961 with Alan Shepard’sbriefparabola overthe Atlantic. Once bounding off themoon, the American space program today isnowherenearsendingpeopleto anotherplanet.

Colonizationof themoon andMars, althoughonthe drawing boards, is far from practical reality.Roboticprobes have visitedor zippedby eightof thenine planets,andfour are ontheir way to interstellarspace.In 1989,whenvoyager2 sentbackmind-boggling imagesof Neptune,the scienceworld stood incollectiveawe.But the public’s interestin suchfindings has been short-lived. Ever bored withunmannedjourneys, peopledemandahumanpresencein spaceevenwhen thereis little, if any, scientific justification.

Insteadof flirting with aMartian colony, NASA

The laws of physics don’talways apply in movies andtelevision, such as in StarTrek and ET: TheExtraterrestrial; facing page;Star Wars; Close Encountersof the Third Kind; and thisyear’s Contact. this page,top to bottom.

AP/ PARAMOUNt’ WINTER 1997/1998 41.

DIveiing TrajectoriesThe Cosmicand the Merely Fantastic

today settles for low-Earth orbit aboard space shuttles.Ratherthanchasinga cometor settingup campon a Jovianmoon,astronautsare morelikely to behit by a passingcommunicationssateffiteor a lug wrenchfrom the Geminidays.

Meanwhilethe fantasticfilm versionof ‘space’hasmoremomentumthanever. The Star Wars trilogy flourishesinre-release andis the subjectof a retrospectivethis fall at theSmithsonian. Space-alienblowouts, Men in Black andIndependenceDay, are the top box-office performersof thelast two years.The marginally moreseriousContact, basedon the late Carl Sagan’snovel, gotreleasedin 1997 after adecadeof development.Spacemovies benefitfrom aninfinite canvason which to paint stories and are aided bytoday’seye-poppingcomputertechnologyIt doesn’ttake a

gratification in tworocketscientistto seethat they giveushourswhererealismtakesdecades.

Herein liesthe paradox.Even inthe wakeof phenomenalscientific discoveries- considerthe Hubble telescope’s accomplishments- peopleare distrustful of large-scaletechnologies and fear the slightestrisk, arguesBrian C. Marsden,director of planetary sciences at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centerfor Astrophysics inCambridge,Mass.

"We accomplishedan enormousamount in thoseearly daysof spaceexplorationbecausewe set our mindsto it, and we did it," he says."And sodid the Russians. Now we haveCongressthreateningNASA aboutthedangers of sending Americanastronauts to the Mir space station. It’sbecomepathetic."

The early astronautswere perceivedby societyaswarriors withtheright stuff, men with enoughguts tosit atop a rocket belching 15 tons ofexplosivefuel eachsecondon its wayto the moon. Even the Apollo 1 fire,which killed threeastronautson a training exerciseon thepad in 1967, was viewed as a sort of macho, Zeitgeisttragedythat actually propelledAmerica closertoward themoon. The Challenger accident nearly 20 years laterstunnedthe nation and groundedthe mannedspaceprogramfor 2-1/2 years.

Themighty SaturnV rocketsthat workedflawlessly100percentof the time today sit in museums,although engineerssay they still remain an adequatetechnologyto sendpeopleto Mars. Thespaceshuttle,promisedas aninexpensive, routine airline to orbit, is so grossly expensiveandcomplex that no commercialenterprisewill touch it. To flyone orbiter, techniciansmust cannibalizeparts from another, and theworld’s knucklesturn white with every launch.

Ratherthanbuild on its earlysuccessin space, Americacontinuesto end programsit begins, arguesJoan Johnson-

Freese,formerly head of the space policy centerat theUniversity of Central Florida and author of Space: theDormant Frontier. Hamstrung by Congress, she says,NASA’s efforts are more a study of endurance thanprogress.

"Americansare thebestandthebrightest,butwe’re theultimate throw-away society"shesays. "We went to moonand later said, "been there,done that," and let the Apollorocketsrot in museums.We’ve hit burnout."

After Challenger,which sentsix astronautsanda schoolteacherslamminginto the Atlantic Ocean,America’sadventurousspirit turned to "loathing at the pad." "You can’t gointo spacewith thisattitudeof totalrisk aversion,"Johnson-

paralyzedby thefear of failure."Congress came close to cancellingAmerica’s involvement with theRussians, sayingthat puffing astronautsaboard the aging Mir spacestation was tantamountto suicide. TheRussians,however,havesafely operatedMir for 11 years.

The fear mentality was fannedthis fall by the Florida Coalition forPeaceand Justice, an environmentalgroup based inGainesville, whichprotested the Cassini mission toJupiter. Thereason:72 poundsof plutonium on boardcould "threatenbillions" of people in the event of anaccident.Such alarmistviews distractthe focusof aprogressivespaceinitiative, arguesDavid C. Webb, an aeronautics consultantin DaytonaBeach,and formerly with Embry RiddleAeronauticsUniversity.

"Going into spacefor the interestof the humanracehasbeenverymuchon the back burner," he says."Spaceexplorationis aboutour own spiritualevolution,and the day we stopis theday we will contemplateour navels.

But our generationhaspulledbackand demanded ultimatesafety, no risks, everythingprotectedby rules and regulations."

Webb believespop culture has createdwhat he calls a"Star Trekmentality" aboutwhat we cando in space,a newmythology that goesnowhere.

"Is spacereally any differentfrom the fairy talesthatwegrew up on?" he asks."Yes, it’s enlargedour perceptionofour place in the universalschemeof things, and that’s thefundamentalrevolution.But we’ve cometo believethat wecan do things that are extremelydifficult just becausetheEnterprisecantravel at warpspeed. Peoplewill believethis,and it all falls backon a systemof public educationthat stillhasn’tadjustedto the fact that we’re in space."

The cardinal "fact" in this story was Sputnik, whichspurredthe United Statesandcreateda true senseof nation-

Freesesays."WeareMore recently,

WhenVoyager2 sentbackmind-bogglingimagesof

Neptune,the scienceworld

stood in collective awe.But the

public’s interest in such findings

has beenshort-lived.

42 FHC FORUM

Diverging TrajectodesMerely FantasticThe Cosmicand the

al insecurity.The Russiansputa satelliteatopagiant match-stick, set it onfire andshotit to heaven.If they could sendasatellite into orbit, they could send a nuclear bomb overWashington.Hollywood captured boththe fear and paranoia of the new missile gapin suchfilms asFail SafeandDr.Strangelove.

The public had fantasized about space long beforeSputnik.Sciencefiction writers Jules Verneand H.C. Wellswrote of trips to the moonand invading Martians.And thebombastically dramatic OrsonWelles,awareof the power of radioin those golden years, frightened anation with his all-too-realWar of theWorlds.

A dozen years before Sputnik,the world froze in awe of the atomicbomb, first in the desert of NewMexico, then overtwo unsuspectingJapanesecities. Perhapsit was thebomb that madeSputnik, andspace-age technologies,soalarming, notesWalterA. McDougall in thebook TheHeavens and the Earth: A PoliticalHistory of the SpaceAge.

"It hasoften beensuggestedthatthe atomic bomb was responsible,creatingat onceanappetitefor vicarious scientific adventureand a needto externalize fear," he writes."Hollywood mass-producedlow-budget thrillers premisedon technological nightmares: atomic mutations, giant insects - visitors fromouter space."

But the real-life storieswere farmore compelling: Mercury,Geminiand Apollo; Yuri Gagarinand JohnGlenn, Neil Armstrong and SallyRide;ChristaMcAuliffe; the Voyagerprobes, Hubble telescope,Galileo;evena probe to frozen Pluto. With aclear-eyedlook, they combine to givecalled a cosmicperspective.

Former Apollo astronautEdgarMitchell believesourbrief time in space has expandedhuman awarenessbyopeningour view of the world.

"I am oneof the growing handful of humanbeings tohaveseenthe Earth from the point of view of an extraterrestrial," Mitchell writes in his 1996 book The Way of theExplorer. "In the heavensthereis no up and down,no eastand west. Earthis but a beautifulblue speckin the midst ofa vast emptinessmarkedby luminous celestialbodies.Weinhabit oneof thosecelestialbodies."

That new perspectivehas created anawarenessof"spaceshipEarth," saysLouis Friedman,executivedirectorof the PlanetarySociety in California, the world’s largestspace-advocacygroup.

"Forty years in spacehas changed our world viewtremendously,"he says."I meanthat literally Our view ofthe world and oar relationshipto it has changedunalterably. We live onandoff the planetandlook down on it, andthat’s changedour environmental,socialandpolitical thinking."

But it has also changedthe natureof who we are andwhere we mightone daygo. Exploringspacewith powerfulinstrumentshas allowed us to test the boundariesof the

on fire and shot it to heaven.

Hollywood captured boththe

fear and paranoia of the newmissilegap in such films as Dr.

Strangeloveabove.

us what might be century."This has forced

knownuniverse- andof timeitself.Today we can "see" some 14 billionyearsbackinto history flirting withthe early renmantsof the Big Bang,with our own eyes touching lightthat hasstreamedthrough spaceforeternity.

In his last book, Billions andBillions: Thoughtson Life and Death atthe Brink of the Millennium, Sagansaid the 20thcenturywill beremembered for three broad innovations:The unprecedentedmeansto save,prolong and enhancelife; unprecedentedmeansto destroylife, including puttingglobal civilization at risk;and unprecedentedinsights intothenatureof ourselvesandthe universe.Eachhas beenbrought forth by science and technology, which hedescribesas a sword withtwo razor-sharpedges.

"At thebeginningof the centuryit was thought that the Milky Waygalaxy was the only galaxy," hewrites."We now recognizethat thereare a hundredbillion others,all fleeing one from anotheras if they arethe remnantsof an enormousexplosion. Exotic denizensof the cosmiczoo have beendiscoveredthat werenotevendreamtof at the turn of the

us to look up, and by doing so give upmany of our most comforting beliefs. By knowing the universe, wehavein many waysbecome smaller,less potent,morevulnerable.

"The tidy anthropocentric prosceniumof our ancestors," Saganwrites, "hasbeenreplacedby a cold, immense,indifferent universe in which humansare relegated toobscurity."

Forty years afterbreachingthe Earth’satmosphereandpeering into the abyss, wehave openedourselvesto farmore thanspaceitself. We have,possibly for the first time,openedour consciousness.*

Kurt Loft is a reporter whocoversscience andtechnologyforThe TampaTribune.

The Russiansput a satelliteatop a giant matchstick, setit

44 FHC FORUM

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SPACE IN CUI.TURE & THE ARTS

Remembering the Right Stuff... and Looking AheadTom Wolfe,Norman Mailerand othersfound literary gold in the spaceprogram

Driving Fast on the Beach

Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff placedthefirst astronautsin the tradition ofChuckYeager and otherdaring testpilots.In this passage,he describestheir late-night driving.

e driving eventually tookon anextraordinarydimensionhereatthe Cape.Gus Grissomand

GordonCooper,and then Al ShepardandWally Schirra,would discoverJim Rathmann.Rathmannwas a bigruggedcharacterwho hadoneof thelargestautomobiledealershipsin thearea,a GeneralMotorsagencyabouttwenty milessouthof CocoaBeachnearMelbourne.It was typical AirForcestuff that Gusand someof theothersshouldbecomegreatpals ofhis. Rathmanriwasno ordinary autodealer,however. Het-urnedout to bea racingdriver; the best,in fact. In1960 he won the Indianapolis500after havingfinishedsecondthreetimes.Rathmannwasa greatfriend ofEd Cole, the presidentof Chevrolet.ColehadhelpedRathmannset up hisagency.When he found out thatRathmannknew the Mercury astronauts,hebecamethe astrobuffof allastrobuffs.Americaseemedto be fullof businessmenlike Colewho exercisedconsiderablepowerandwerestrong leadersbut who hadneverexercisedpowerand leadershipin itsprimal form: manly couragein thefaceof physicaldangerWhentheymetsomeonewho had it, they wanted to establisha relationshipwith thatrighteousstuff. After meetingtheastronauts,Cole, who had just turnedfifty, wasdeterminedto learnto fly.Meantime,Rathmannset up a leasingarrangementwherebythe boyscouldleaseany type of Chevrolettheywantedfor practicallynothingperyear Eventually,Gus andGordohadCorvetteslike Al Shepard’s;Wallymoved up from an Austin-Healyto aMaserati;andScottCarpentergot a

ShelbyCobra,a true racingvehicle.Al was continually coming byRathmann’sto havehis gearratioschanged.Gus wantedflared fendersand magnesiumwheels.The fevergrippedthem all, but Gusand Gordoespecially. They weredeterminedtoshow the champ,Rathmann,and eachotherthat theycouldhandlethesethings.Gus would go outrat-racingat night at theCape, racingfull-borefor the next curve,dealingwith theoncoming headlightsby psychokinesis, spinning off the shouldersandthenscramblingbackup on the highway for moreof it. It madeyou coverup your eyesandchuckleat the sametime. Theboys werefearlessin anautomobile,theyweredeterminedtohang theirhidesright outover theedge andthey hadno ideawhatmediocredriversthey actually were,at leastby the standardsof professionalracing. Whichis to say,theywere like every groupof pilot traineesat everybasein Americawho everreachedthat crazedhour of the nightwhenit cametime to provethat theright stuff works in all areasof life.

A Carnival at Cocoa

Of a Fire on theMoon is NormanMailer’s accountof the Apollo II mis-

sion. HereMailer who refers to himselfas Aquarius is leaving the launch site.

On the way backto Cocoa Beachtherewasa monumentaltrafficjam, and Aquariushad time to

look at objectsby the road.Therewasa parkedtrailer with a twelve-footinflated rubberrocket- it looked likea condomwith a paintedtip. Downits length rana legend.

GOODLUCKAP0LL011Montg.Ala.The radio was playing in the cat

FredSomething-or-otherfrom theTitusville Chamberof Commercewastalking fast. "And whenthe folks whowerevisiting this launchheregohome,I want them to tell everybodyhow beautiful it wasfrom Titusville."

"Follcs," said an announcer, "getin on theApollo 11 Blast-offSale."The radio had lostno time.

America- his country.An emptycountry filled with wonders.

Aquariusdid not know how hefelt. He washappyall afternoonandwent surfboardingfor the first time,notevendispleasedthat it washarderthanhe thoughtto standup.

In the eveningheleft CocoaBeachto fly backto Houstonwherehewould cover the trip to the moonand back. On theflight, everybodywas drunk, andthe hostesses wereflip and hippy and couldhavebeendrinking themselves.The Southernbusinessmenwerebeaming.

In the late edition hebroughtwith him, Aquariusread thattheReverendAbernathy together withafew poor families had watchedthelaunching from the VIP area, after

46 FHC FORUM

making a requestof Dr. Thomas0.Paine,Administrator of NASA, forspecialbadges."If it werepossibleforusnot to pushthe buttontomorrowand solve the problemswith whichyou are concerned,we would notpushthe button," Dr. Painesaid.

Answeredthe ReverendAbernathyafter the launch,"This isreally holy ground.And it will bemore holy oncewe feedthe hungry,care forthe sick, andprovide forthosewho do not havehouses."

Birth of a NewspaperThe SpaceCoast, in its glory years,

was hometo one of the fewsuccessfuldaily newspaperlaunchessince WorldWar 11. Here in Confessionsof anSOB., Al Neuhearth, laterCEO ofGannettCorp. and founder ofUSAToday, describeshis idea for CocoaTodayand its initial rejection.

Inlate 19591 traveledup the

Atlantic Coastto CapeCanaveraltoopena newsbureaufor the Herald.

It was a trip that would changemylife.

I was there,watchingthroughbinocularsfrom the balconyof theVanguardMotel, whena Redstonemissile blastedoff. This unnamedseven-storyrocketwasto pavetheway for mannedspace travel.

It didn’t takean MBA or a geniusto figure out the futurewashere.Thepopulationof the areahad been23,000 in 1950. It was projectedat70,000 by 1960 and250,000by 1965.

The SovietshadbeenspinningSputnikaroundthe globe.We werejust beginningto play catchup withthem. The spacerace wason andsureto accelerate.And so was my imagination.

I went backto the Herald andaskedto see JimKnight, the moneyman.

"I’ve just comebackfrom theCanaveralarea," I told him. "Peoplearepouring in from everywhere.Mostly well educated.They’regettingreally good-payingjobs on thespaceprogram.There’ll be a quarter millionof them in five or six years.And nolocal daily newspaperin the area!

There’sa vacuumwe canfill if we actbeforeanybodyelsedoes."

"What do you havein mind?" heasked,pokerfaced.

"I think we should start a newdaily up there. I don’t haveany factsor figuresfor you yet,but my gutinstinct saysit could work."

His expressiondidn’t change."We’re doing prettywell already.Let’s concentrateon theHerald." He

dismissedthe idea with a wave of thehand.

That wasmy introductionto thereality that mostmoneymenandbigcorporationsaren’t interestedin newideas.The comfortablestatusquodrivesmostcorporations.It drivesme crazy.

Fouryearslater, whenI wasnegotiatingwith PaulMiller to joinGannett,he told me thathe wasinter-

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Rememberingthe Right Stuff... and Looking Ahead

estedin expanding, particularlyintoFlorida. I gavehim a brief accountofmy ideaof startinga daily newspaperon theSpace Coast.

Whenheexpressed interest,thathelpedme decideto leaveKnight andjoin Gannett.I wantedto work for acompanythat waswilling to try newthings.

When Will We Live in Space?

FreemanDyson,an astrophysicistatTheInstituteof AdvancedStudiesinPrinceton,hasdreamedof spacetravelsince boyhood.In themid ‘50s he workedon theshort-lived Orionproject to develop a spaceshippoweredby nuclearbombs.In the ‘70s,he was still telling a writer heexpectedhimselfto travel in spaceduringhis lifetime. In the 1997book, ImaginedWorlds,Dyson, now74, offers a slowertimetablebut continued optimism.

nother newtechnology,the technology of spacecolonization,

ay makeit possiblein the longrun to alleviatethe conflicts betweendiscordanthumanambitionson ashrinkingplanet.If it werepossibletoexportsurpluspopulationsof peopleandindustriesinto spacehabitatsscatteredover the solarsystem,thenthe Earthmight be preservedasanunspoiledwildernessor asan ecological park. Thepeoplewho choosetoremainon Earthmight be requiredtolive frugally andencroachno furtheron the living-spaceof otherspecies.Polluting industriesmight be permanently bannedandhumanpopulations on Earthmight be firmly limited.For suchutopianvisions tobecome real,thetechnologiesof spacetransport andspacehabitationmustbecomeradicallycheaperandmoreaccessiblethan they are today.Traveling andliving in spacemustbecomecheapenough,sothat ordinarypeoplecanemigratefrom Earthas they now emigratefrom onecountry to another.Political andsocialobstaclesto emigrationmay still exist,but the physicalandeconomicobstaclescanbe overcomeif the technology is cheapenough.

I haveno doubtthat cheapspace

travel will sooneror laterbe developed.The questionthat I amnot ableto answeris whenthis will happen.What is the appropriatetime-scaleforthe greatmigrationfrom Earth?Thereis no law of physicsor chemistrythatdecreesthat spacetravel must alwaysbe expensive.Sofar as the laws ofphysicsare concerned,if onemeasuresthe cost ofmoving into spacebycalculatingthe cost of theenergyrequired,the cost oflaunchinga personfrom Earthinto spaceshould beno greaterthan the cost of acommercial flight from New York to Tokyo.But to bring thecost ofspacelaunchesdown to the cost of commercialairtravel requiresa hugevolume of traffic. Spacetravel will only be cheapwhenmillions of peoplecan useit.And millions of peoplecanonly useit whenthereare abundantspacehabitats already built,placesto whichthe travelerscan go. Thegrowth ofspacehabitatsand the declineof costs

must inevitably be aslowprocess.Much maybe donein a hundredyears,but notenoughto havea majorimpact on theproblemsof Earthboundhumanity.The large-scaleexpansionof life andhumanityintospacewill not comein time to solvethe problemsof our grandchildren.

In the next hundredyearswe willprobably have humansettlementsonthe Moon andon a few nearbyasteroids. Perhapsalso onMars. We willseegeneticallyengineeredplantsandanimalsadaptedto the colonizationof variousasteroidsandplanets.Forexample, wemay seethe Martianpotatoestablishedon Mars, a varietyof potato that lives in placeswhereliquid water liesdeepunderthefrozenground,with hardyshootsclimbing up to the surface andsproutingleavesto takeadvantageofmid-day sunshineduring the Martiansummer. Thesedevelopmentswill benecessaryprecursorsof large-scale

48 FHC FORUM

emigration but will not be sufficient.My guessis that large-scaleemigration will beginonly after manyventures of small-scaleemigration havebeenattempted,somesucceedingandothersfailing. Small-scaleemigrationmay continue fora few hundredyearsbeforelife is thoroughlyadapted and growing wild on the multitudeof worlds that are orbitingaroundthe sun.Long beforea thousand yearshavepassed,life will havespreadoverthe solar system. Andbythat time, our humandescendantswill be spreadout too.*

Reprint credits: CONFESSIONS OF AN SOBby Allen H. Neuharth. Copyright t 1989 by AlNeuharth. Used by permission ot Doubleday, a division ol Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

IMAGINED WORLDS by Freeman Dyson,Cambridge, Mass. Reprinted by permission of thepublisher Harvard University Press. Copyright © 1997by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Excerpt from "The Cape’ from THE RIGHTSTUFF by Tom Wolfe, Copyright © 1979 by TomWolfe, Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus &Giroux, Inc.

OF A FIRE ON THE MOON Copyright © 1970by Norman Mailer reprinted with permission of TheWylie Agency, Inc.

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Children at Play wee organized by the Cincinnati Historical Society Museum and is presented by Ivory Soap; with Historical Museums Grants-In-AidProgram assiatence provided by the Oureas of Historical Meeuma, Division of Histoncal Resources, Florida Department of Slate, Sandra B. Mortham,Sectelary of Stats; sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Depatlrnront of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, avid the Flonda Arts Council; and usdathe support of the Meuopolftari Dade County Cultural Affairs Council arid the Metropoisan Dade County Board ef County Commissioners.

Book yourpassagetodayandespthenceit hryounelt

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Children at PlayNovember 14. 1997 Apr11 5, 1998

a - S

Mismatched Disciplines?No, engineersand humanistscan learn from eachother

BY ROSALIND WILLIAMS

Acrucial differencebetween humanistsandtechnologistshaslessto do with the quality of theirminds than with their organizational affilia

tions.I would also argue, becausepeoplein technological professionsidentify so closely with theirsponsoringorganizations,they also define theirresponsibilities as intellectuals and citizens inamarkedlydifferentway from most humanists. And,finally, I would makethe casethat the specialist definition of responsibility incorporates profoundly humanistic and philosophicalvalues.Engineers canlearnsomething about values from humanists, butengineers also have something to teachhumanistsin this regard

The summer 1995 movie, Apollo 13,which narratedthe odysseyof a near-tragic mission to the moon, made this pointquite effectively. I deliberately use the wordsodysseyand tragic, becausethe motif of a journeythat requires courageand cunning is among themostancientandvenerablein the humanistictradition. In this case,though- andI’m referringnotjustto the Hollywood story but to the bookco-authoredby AstronautJamesLovell and also two interviewsI’ve heard with the participants - in this case,thehumandrama grew out of loyalty to an organizationally definedmission.

The story of Apollo 13 illustratesa wide rangeof humanisticvalues: intellectualintegrity basedona profound respect for physical reality; loyalty tothe group; patriotism definednot asnarrow chauvinism, but as civic pride; courage; self-sacrifice;imagination; wonder; and,above all, a senseofduty, a conviction that duty is an honor and thathonor derived from duty is somethingto be cherished.

Of course,it’s quite possibleto look at the negative side of all this: the bureaucraticauthoritarianism, the contemptfor Mother Earth,not to mention

assertionsof male dominanceassociatedwith themassive violence of rockets,which, in watchingthemovie, mademethink, asI havesooften thoughtasa historian of technology,no woman would haveinvented this.

But why did the audienceapplaud at the end,and why did I applaud? It’s becausedespite thetroubling aspectsof this, it was a profoundly

human story - human just becausethetrouble andthe beautywere so intermingled.

If the missionof Apollo 13 inspiresmewith both admirationand disgust,so doesHomer’s Odyssey.The astronauts- and Iwill note the origins of that word - aremostcertainlyspecialists,but their work reachesfar beyond narrowutility. Out of engineering, a terrible beauty is born. Now, if you

talk to most engineers,male or female, you willoften find that they feel the most human part oftheir liveswaswhenthey wereinvolved with somelarge-visionedproject, what William Jamesmighthavecalledthe moral equivalentfor war. Thisorga

- nizationally based collective enterprise is not sotypical of humanists,but it can be a humanisticexperience, andit is basedon a conceptof responsibility that deservesthe respectof the apparentlymore free-floatingphilosophicalminds.

We have a wonderful opportunity before us,because thefault line betweenhumanitiesand technology, and,I hope,betweenthe philosophicalandthe specialist minds, is suddenly disappearing.Historians,writers, artistsareall thrilled to discover the humanisticdimensionsof digital technologies. Engineers,on the other hand, are becomingmore and more aware of the nontechnical andhumanisticdimensionsof engineeringpractice. Ifwe canget Apollo 13 backhome from outerspace,we surely can succeedin this more earthlyeducational endeavor. *

Rosalind Williamsis deanof students,and deanof undergraduate studies at MassachusettsInstituteof TechnologyMIT. Theseare extractsfrom remarksat the 30th anniversarysymposiumof theNational Endowment forthe

Humanitiesin 1995, "NEH In The Digital Age."

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The SpaceProgramat 40

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