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The chapter explores the political and economic origins of the Cold War Space Race. Unlike the earlier private-sector led phases of space exploration, it was the large-scale political demand for spaceflight that provided a new driving economic force starting in the late 1950s. It is the political history of this period that has dominated the history of spaceflight and has given it an overwhelming governmental and public-sector focus, relegating the earlier history of private-sector support to the footnotes and sidelines. The driving motivation during this period for the provision of public funds was a desire to signal status and capability through monumental achievement—this time at a national scale rather than at the city or individual level at which earlier space exploration projects, such as astronomical observatories, had been focused. Understanding space exploration as a signaling function for the nation and the nation’s leaders provides a perspective that allows pursuits such as the Space Shuttle, Space Station Freedom, and the International Space Station to be understood as resulting from the same exchange mechanism that produced America’s desire to go to the Moon.

This chapter examines the implications of the current and contradicting trends of the major Asian space powers. The Asian Space Race dilemma raises several space-related questions which demands attention: What are the implications of the current trajectories of national space policies? What areas might become sources of conflict? Are the national investments being made in particular areas of space capability sustainable? In what ways is space likely to be affected by the forces of globalization? Are military aspects of national space policies likely to conflict with civil and commercial aims? And, finally, where are unilateral national policies in regard to space security likely to bump up against regional and international interests for strengthened collective security in space? The chapter addresses these questions by breaking down the Asian space dynamics into the three major areas of space activity—civil, commercial, and military.

This chapter examines the conceptual themes of late development and regional completion in Asia's space programs. It describes how the relative availability of space technology in the early twenty-first century, the speed of recent space developments, and the failure of corresponding political institutions place Asia in an unstable position in terms of space security. Asia's Space Race, also called as the second Space Age, began with the emergence of Chinese human spaceflight capabilities in October 2003 when they launched Shenzhou 5, their first manned spacecraft. The chapter looks into the factors which differentiate this Space Race from the one during the Cold War, such as the lack of security negotiations that might promote mutual restraint. Most Asian nations share several common characteristics—they are relative newcomers to military space activity, are still engaged in longstanding regional competitions, and have no history of discussing these matters with their neighbors.

This chapter describes a range of films that appeared in the 1960s. It then addresses the ‘new art’ films that appeared in the late 1960s throughout the 1970s. The 1960s was a time when science fiction and science fact became remarkably intertwined, sometimes blurred, particularly within the context of an American national preoccupation with the story of the Space Race. The first ‘golden age’ of the science fiction film is frequently placed in the 1950s, with a second ‘golden age’ typically dated from the late 1970s and early 1980s. An interest in drugs became a defining feature of the ‘new art’ science fiction films. Examples of the American ‘new art’ science fiction films are then considered. The chapter also investigates a couple of British films, Zardoz and The Quatermass Conclusion. These British films also show the counter-culture as a feminine threat. An interview with Director Ken Russell is finally presented.

This chapter explores the development of the technologies required for spaceflight. Getting into space involves understanding the basic physics of propulsion and mastering a specific type of mechanical engineering. Unfortunately, this type of science was first used utilized in times of conflict as Nazi Germany developed long-range missiles during World War II. After the war, the Soviet Union and the United States acquired several German military scientists, blueprints, and hardware, giving them the opportunity to jumpstart their own respective missile programs, which eventually led to the “Space Race” between the two superpowers. The German machinery, specifically the deadly V-2 long-range ballistic missile, provided the technology needed to create the first space rockets. After numerous changes in the German designs, the Soviet Union developed the R-7 Semyorka Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which in 1957, would successfully launch the satellite Sputnik I into orbit.

This introductory chapter outlines the underlying issues of the competing trends of competition and cooperation between nations due to increased human space activity. The risk of space conflict raises a number of troubling challenges as humanity stands on the threshold of a major expansion of human space activity. The Space Race during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union serves as an example of cooperation. Both sides learned that unrestricted military behavior risked uncontrollable conflict. Unfortunately, history somehow disproves this as the previous default behavior for humans with regard to new environments (unsettled continents, the oceans, and the world's air space) has been a self-destructive pattern of conflict and division of spoils. In space, however, the conflicts could be quite a bit more dangerous, particularly given the close linkages between space security and nuclear stability among the great powers.

This chapter expands on the notion of Apollo Culture in greater detail, beginning with an historic context of the Cold War era. It takes a look at the Sputnik and Vanguard launches during the IGY (International Geophysical Year) Space Race, and explains how these political and social events of the mid-20^th century set the stage for the rise and fall of the Apollo program- which required a combination of engineering, marketing, and scientific efforts by the federal government.

This chapter examines the influence of the theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, on how American Catholics experienced the Cold War and the space race. It argues that Teilhard's cosmic holism enabled them to envision a future of cosmic harmony rather than inevitable nuclear annihilation. It also examines interest in Teilhard among both Catholic and non-Catholic users of psychedelic drugs. Case studies of worship space include suggestions by the artist Louisa Jenkins, three "dream churches" commissioned by the magazine editor Maurice Lavanoux and meant for outer space or the depths of the ocean, and the architect and visionary Paolo Soleri's "arcologies."

This chapter introduces the key term, the “literature of white estrangement” and argues that African American engagement with whiteness is an unrecognized intellectual tradition within African American letters.

This chapter juxtaposes the history of the ‘Space Race’ with the outbreak of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland; while Neil Armstrong predicted a ‘giant leap’ for mankind, it was clear to many that the promised science-fictional future wasn’t available to everyone. If space exploration was humankind’s destiny, the majority of humanity would end up with ‘the wrong history,’ including Northern Ireland. This chapter explores the work of authors Bob Shaw and James White, both self-described ‘escapists,’ and examines how their science fiction addresses both this disparity and their own ambiguous attitudes to history. Shaw, a pulp-influenced purveyor of action-adventure, depicted heroes against insane demagogues, while White is most famous for his Sector General series, set aboard a hospital space station that treats patients from varying species, where the real enemy is xenophobia. Their works embody different attitudes to history: Shaw tries to escape history, and White to diminish its importance.

This chapter investigates the reasons for, and implications of, the apparent absence in Krokodil's affirmative cartoons of positive character types, including Soviet political leaders. Without overstating their significance, it traces their "absent presence" by considering how, even when Soviet leaders were physically absent, their presence was still implied. Consequently, since images of those at the centre were so rare, we may describe Krokodil's affirmation of Soviet ideology visual discourse, de-centered. A performative reading of Krokodil's cartoons about ordinary citizens enables us to interpret the journal's own performance of its own acts of engagement with all the dominant popular-official themes of the Thaw era, notably the Space Race. By analyzing the graphic construction of cartoons affirming Soviet ideology from the post-Stalin period, we may understand more fully the magazine's performances of memory and critiquing present and past achievements.