# CHAPTER 6

# POPULAR CULTURE AND PROMOTION

----

Atwill, William Dorsey. "Fire and Power: Narratives of theSpace Age." Ph.D. Diss. Duke University, 1990. A deconstructiveanalysis of the space program using Apollo images and rhetoric.

Bainbridge, William Sims. "The Impact of Science Fictionon Attitudes Toward Technology." In Emme, Eugene M. Editor.*Science Fiction and Space Futures, Past and Present*. SanDiego, CA: AAS History Series, Vol. 5, American Astronauti- calSociety, 1982. Pp. 121-35. In this article the author challengesthe traditional interpretation that science fiction informs thereader about science and propagandiz- es in favor of technologicalprogress. Instead, he finds that new schools of science fictionsometimes promulgate entirely different sets of values based onan anti- technology bias. Even so, Bainbridge documents the closelinkage between science fiction as a promoter of spaceflight andother technological advances. Such a linkage was present in theApollo program of the 1960s.

_____. *The Spaceflight Revolution: A Sociological Study*.New York: Wiley- Interscience, 1976. Reprint, Malabar, FL: RobertE. Krieger Publishing Company, 1983. This important but not entirelypersuasive sociological study traces the development of the ideaof spaceflight from its science-fictional beginnings through therise of mass market magazines and compares it with the actualfact of spaceflight as it emerged in the 1960s. The author findsthat a conspiracy of technological zealots manipulated the U.S.government to create an organization and fund an aggressive lunarlanding program. Bainbridge asserts that "Not the publicwill, but private fanaticism drove men to the moon" (p. 1).The book's strength rests on Bainbridge's analysis of the Americanand British Interplanetary Societies, the science fiction subculture,the "Committee of the Future" (1970-1974) of the WorldFuture Society, and the role of "fandom" in promotingspaceflight. This type of analysis, while useful, is not carefullytied to the development of public policy relating to the spaceprogram. In spite of the argument's other attractions, Bainbridgedoes not convincingly demonstrate how the "space boosters"were able to create Project Apollo and to persuade President Kennedyto announce his lunar decision in 1961.

de Bergerac, Cyrano. *Voyage dans la Lune* (*The Voyageto the Moon*). Paris, 1649. This books describes a fictionaltrip to the Moon by propulsion from firecrackers. As soldierslit fuses to the firecrackers, the hero jumped into a gondolaand tier upon tier of explosives ignited like rockets and launchedhim to the Moon. Thus Cyrano's hero became the first flyer infiction to reach the Moon by means of rocket thrust, a premonitionof Newton's third law of gravity about every action having anequal and opposite reaction. Once on the Moon, the character inthis novel had several adventures, and later in the book he alsojourneyed to the Sun.

Braun, Wernher von. "Crossing the Last Frontier." *Collier's*.22 March 1952, pp. 24-29, 72-73. Featuring illustrations by ChesleyBonestell, this was one of several articles written by von Braun,then technical director of the Army Ordnance Guided Missiles DevelopmentGroup at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL, to generate enthusiasmin the United States for a spaceflight program that would landhumans on the Moon. This and related efforts were critical inincreasing public belief in the possibility of reaching the Moon,although it took the launching of Sputnik by the Soviets to propelthe United States to establish a space program and the electionof John F. Kennedy as president to establish a landing on theMoon within a decade as the goal of the Apollo program. Here,von Braun provided details about a space station he envisionedas "either the greatest force for peace ever devised, orone of the most terrible weapons of war--depending on who makesand controls it." This evocation of the Cold War was characteristicof the times and proved a formidable tactic in generating supportfor U.S. space efforts. While he spoke of the possible use ofthe station as a platform for the launching of atomic bombs, however,he also described peaceful, scientific uses of the station, suchas meteorological observa- tions.

Braun, Wernher von. "Man on the Moon: The Journey."*Collier's*. 18 October 1952, pp. 52-59. With illustrationsby Chesley Bonestell, this was another of the articles von Braunwrote to promote the spaceflight movement. This particular articleset forth in understandable terms many of the technological detailsvon Braun expected a voyage to the Moon to involve. While someof them proved not to be prophetic, they were graphic and helpedto grip the imaginations of the American public.

Braun, Wernher von, and Ordway, Frederick I., III. *Space Travel*(New York: Harper & Row, 1985). This update of *Historyof Rocketry & Space Travel* contains an excellent summaryof the early visions of space flight and the execution of ProjectApollo.

Bush, George. "Remarks by the President at 20th Anniversaryof Apollo Moon Landing." National Air and Space Museum, July20, 1989. Copy available in NASA Historical Reference Collection,NASA History Office, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC. At thisanniversary celebration, President Bush recalled the excitementof the Apollo 11 lunar landing and endorsed NASA's long-rangeplan, the Space Exploration Initiative, an ambitious effort thatwould return Americans to the Moon, establish a lunar base, and,then, using a NASA-built space station, send human expeditionsto the planet Mars. In advancing SEI, Bush followed the classicscript for exercising leadership in space. He made a Kennedy-likeannouncement, complete with a strong personal commitment, proposingthe initiative during a major address commemorating the twentiethanniversary of the first landing on the Moon delivered from thesteps of the National Air and Space Museum with the Apollo 11astronauts at his side.

Cooke, Hereward Lester, with the collaboration of Dean, JamesD. *Eyewitness to Space: Paintings and Drawings Related to theApollo Mission to the Moon Selected, with a Few Exceptions, fromthe Art Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(1963 to 1969)*. Foreword by J. Carter Brown. Preface by ThomasO. Paine. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1971. A collection of 258 paintingsand drawings in reproduction, created by a variety of artistsranging from Norman Rockwell to Chesley Bonestell. A magnificentand variegated collection.

Crouch, Tom D. "`To Fly to the Moon': Cosmic Voyaging inFact and Fiction from Lucian to Sputnik." In Emme, EugeneM. Editor. *Science Fiction and Space Futures, Past and Present*.San Diego, CA: AAS History Series, Vol. 5, American AstronauticalSociety, 1982. Pp. 7-26. In this article Crouch traces the impactof science fiction on space pioneers like Robert H. Goddard.

Clarke, Arthur C. *The Exploration of Space*. New York: Harper& Brothers, 1951. In this book a senior science fiction writerprovided both fiction and non- fiction in one of the more representativeattempts to build realistic expectations of space travel. Althoughlargely concerned with space technology, the sequence of chaptersin this influential book laid out a blueprint for the future ofspace exploration that included a lunar landing on the Moon andeventual colonies.

_____. *Going Into Space*. Los Angeles: Trend Books, 1954.A soft-cover, well- illustrated, comic-like book laying out "thrillingmaterial" on "man's interplanetary future" for"avid space enthusiasts." One of a number of easy-to-read"dime store" books on the future of space explorationthat appeared in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emphasized theattraction of the Moon as a place to locate an Earth colony andas a jumping-off place to the remainder of the Solar System.

"Columbuses of Space." *New York Times*. December22, 1968. This important editorial compares the flight of Apollo8, the first circumlunar mission, to the first voyage of ChristopherColumbus in 1492.

Crichton, Michael. *The Andromeda Strain*. New York: AlfredA. Knopf, 1969. Inspired by the failure of Biosatellite I in 1966,Crichton's fictional account of an alien organism run amok contributedto public concern about extraterrestrial contamination and NASA'sdecision to quarantine the first three astronaut crews to returnfrom the Moon. 

Disney Productions, Walt. *Man and the Moon*. 1955. Originallyproduced to promote the Disneyland theme park, this widely-viewedtelevision program on "Walt Disney Presents" sportedthe powerful image of a wheel-like space station as a launchingpoint for a mission to the Moon. This production included a cameoby Wernher von Braun who explained the technical details of alunar landing mission. The episode deliberately sought to shapepublic opinion and influence government policy.

Donovan, Robert J. "Moon Voyage Turns Men's Thoughts Inward."*Los Angeles Times*. December 29, 1968. This editorial reflectson the religious and spiritual significance of Apollo 8.

Drury, Allen. *The Throne of Saturn*. Garden City, NY: Doubledayand Co., 1971. This work, appearing at essentially the same asthe Apollo 14 mission to the Moon, is a fictional story of therivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union over spaceexploration. It focuses on the end of the Apollo program and thecontinuing race into space in the post-lunar landing era. Druryuses the novel to ask the question, why do humans need to be inspace? He argues the issue back and forth, never giving a definitiveanswer.

Durant, Frederick C., III, and Miller, Ron. *World's Beyond:The Art of Chesley Bonestell*. Norfolk: Donning, 1983. Bonestell'spaintings helped to create realistic expectations of space betweenthe 1940s and the 1960s. They were a powerful means of demonstratingto the public the reality of spaceflight that led to the Apollodecision.

"Footprints in the Dirty Sand." *Washington Post*.December 28, 1968, p. A10. This editorial demonstrates that thewonders of the flight of Apollo 8 even impressed the normallycritical editorial writers at the *Washington Post*.

Goddard, Robert H. *A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes*.Washington, DC: Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Volume71, Number 2, 1919. In this monograph, one of the most importantin his career, Goddard argued from a firm theoretical base thatrockets could be used to explore the upper atmosphere. Moreover,he suggested that with a velocity of 6.95 miles/second, withoutair resistance, an object could escape Earth's gravity and headinto infinity, or to other celestial bodies. He also suggestedlaunching a rocket to the Moon with flash powder that would igniteon contact as a means of tracking it. Although Goddard refusedto work with other scientists to develop American rocketry, remainingessentially a lone inventor, this paper and his example did helpinspire others to follow in his footsteps.

Goldstein, Lawrence. Editor. "The Moon Landing and its Aftermath."*Michigan Quarterly*, 8 (Spring 1979): 153-363. This collectionof art, poems, letters, essays, and other articles takes up theentire issue. Together it could be described as a cultural reactionto Apollo 11 and the overall lunar landing program.

Haggerty, James J. "Apollo: End of a Beginning--Will MankindNurture the Seed?" *Aerospace Perspectives*, 2 (March1973): unpaginated. Discusses the general history of Apollo andthen makes a case for the continuation of an aggressive spaceexploration program.

Horrigan, Brian. "Popular Culture and Visions of the Futurein Space, 1901-2001." In Sinclair, Bruce. Editor. *NewPerspectives on Technology and American Culture*. (Philadelphia:The American Philosophical Society, 1986). Pp. 49-67. A sophisticatedtreatment of the influence of popular culture upon the space program,including Apollo, with treatment of science fiction in literature,the movies, and television.

Kasson, John. *Amusing the Millions*. New York: Hill andWang, 1978. In 1903 the creators of "A Trip to the Moon"opened Luna Park, a fantasy-like setting, described in Kasson'sbook. Fifty million people visited the park in its first fiveyears.

Krugman, Herbert E. "Public Attitudes Toward the Apollo SpaceProgram, 1965-1975." *Journal of Communication*. 27(Autumn 1977): 87-93. Results from a four-times yearly Trendexpoll that surveyed support for the U.S. space program over theApollo era. The poll found that less than half of the people inthe U.S. supported the level of spending necessary to accomplishProject Apollo, but that an overwhelming number supported theidea of landing on the Moon.

Kauffman, James Lee. "Selling Space: The Kennedy Administration,the Media, and Congressional Funding for Project Apollo, 1961-1963."Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana University, 1989. This is a sophisticateddiscussion of the efforts by NASA and the White House to continueensuring that sufficient public support was present for ProjectApollo so that resources would be allocated to it by Congress.It deals only with the Kennedy administration, however, and thereforeleaves out the most interesting part of this story, the effortsto keep the project moving forward expeditiously after its newnesshad worn off and after other priorities had emerged for whichdollars were needed.

Kepler, Johann. *Kepler's Somnium: The Dream or Posthumous Workon Lunar Astronomy*. Translated by Edward Rosen. Madison: Universityof Wisconsin Press, 1967, pp. 17-122. Although technology didnot develop to the extent that actual travel to the Moon couldtake place, for centuries people posited that it was theoreticallypossible and longed for the time when it would happen. When Galileofirst broadcast his findings about the solar system in 1610, hesparked a flood of speculation about lunar flight. Johann Kepler,himself a pathbreaking astronomer, posthumously published a novel,*Somnium* (*Dream*) (1634), that recounted a dream ofa supernatural voyage to the Moon in which the visitors encounteredserpentine creatures. He also included much scientific informationin the book, speculating on the difficulties of overcoming theEarth's gravitational field, the nature of the elliptical pathsof planets, the problems of maintaining life in the vacuum ofspace, and the geographical features of the Moon.

Krug, Linda T., *Presidential Perspectives on Space Exploration:Guiding Metaphors from Eisenhower to Bush*. New York: Praeger,1991. This important study assesses the use of language in buildingand maintaining support for aggressive space activities. The centerpieceof this study is the successful use of language to ensure thatProject Apollo was carried out within the time constraints mandatedby President Kennedy in 1961.

Lasser, David. *The Conquest of Space*. New York: Penguin,1931. This is the first realistic non-fiction book on space travelwritten in the English language. It was authored by the founderof the American Interplanetary Society. Lasser was also the firsteditor of *Amazing Stories*. One of the centerpieces of thisbook was a trip to the Moon.

Ley, Willy. *Rockets*. New York: Viking Press, 1944. A Germanemigr‚, Ley labored to convince interested readers that rocketswould soon be able to carry humans off the surface of the Earthand to the Moon. This was one of the earliest books on rocketryfor the general American public, serving as a basic referencesource for future science fiction and reality writing.

Ley, Willy. *Rockets, Missiles, and Men in Space*. New York:Viking Press, 1968. This is the fourth and final edition of 21printings of the work first published as *Rockets*. It emphasizesthe possibilities of space flight as a reality rather than sciencefiction. Ley came to the U.S. in 1935, and this book became ofthe most significant textbooks available in the mid-twentiethcentury on the possibilities of space travel. Once again, thebook emphasizes the importance of a trip to the Moon as the firststep by humanity off the Earth and into the universe.

Ley, Willy, and Bonestell, Chesley. *The Conquest of Space*.New York: Viking Press, 1949. A best-selling book containing Bonestell'sfantastic depictions of the Earth and the Moon. The oblique paintingsof the Moon from lunar space gave the public a view remarkablylike the one that NASA would provide more than a decade laterafter its first landing there with the Surveyor space probe.

MacLeish, Archibald. "A Reflection: Riders on Earth Together,Brothers in Eternal Cold." *New York Times*, December25, 1968. This is a poet's comments on the significance of seeingthe Earth "as it truly is," during the Christmas flightof Apollo 8. MacLeish summed up the feelings of many people whenhe wrote at the time of the Apollo 8 circumlunar flight, that"To see the Earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautifulin that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves asriders on the Earth together, brothers on that bright lovelinessin the eternal cold--brothers who know now that they are trulybrothers."

"Man Will Conquer Space Soon." *Collier's*. March22, 1952; plus October 18, 1952, October 25, 1952, February 28,1953, March 7, 1953, March 14, 1953, June 27, 1953, April 30,1954, and June 25, 1954. This famous *Collier's* magazineseries of articles helped to build public interest in space explorationby declaring its "inevitability."

Mazlish, Bruce. Editor. *The Railroad and the Space Program:An Exploration in Historical Analogy*. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press,1965. This is an attempt to document the "social inventions"generated by the railroad in American history with those of thespace program as manifested especially in Project Apollo. Whilethe book deals largely with the development of railroads, theydo not provide, Mazlish argues in the introduction, a useful comparisonwith the space program and therefore demonstrates the limitationsof historical analogy.

Michaud, Michael A.G. "The New Demographics of Space."*Aviation Space*. 2 (Fall 1984): 46-47. Updates to 1981 theresults of polling on American support for the U.S. space programoriginally reported in the Krugman article.

_____. *Reaching for the High Frontier: The American Pro-SpaceMovement, 1972- 1984*. New York: Praeger, 1986. Michaud presentsa cogent history of and commentary on the pro-space efforts madeby voluntary organizations that arose near the end of the Apolloprogram. Michaud identifies the key groups, traces their originsand goals, and describes how they had a subtle but critical influenceon the space policy of the nation during the late 1960s and early1970s. These groups lobbied with Congress and used publicity tosupport the space effort, not always with the expected results,however. Their intent was to turn ideas and a diffuse pro- spacesentiment into legislation aimed at building support for NASA'sprogram. This book represents the first systematic attempt toanalyze the space booster efforts of the latter 1960s and the1970s, and although a fine contribution, it should not be thefinal word on the subject.

Michener, James A. "Looking Toward Space." *Omni*.May 1980, pp. 57-58, 121. This fine article hits home to the heartof the American sense of pioneering and argues that the next greatchallenge in this arena is space. "A nation that loses itsforward thrust is in danger," he comments; "the wayto retain it is exploration" (p. 58). It is an eloquent andmoving defense of the American space program in all its permutations.

_____. "Manifest Destiny." *Omni*. April 1981,pp. 48-50, 102-104. An outstanding reading experience, this article,by the dean of American popular novelists, encapsulates all themost cherished principles for manned space flight. It is humandestiny to explore, he notes, and space is the next logical path.He recounts the success of Apollo as the first step in humanity'smovement beyond the Earth.

Miller, Ron, and Durant, Frederick C., III. "Lunar Fantasies:The Story of the First Great Moon Expedition-- of 1978."*Omni*. February 1987, pp. 50-55. This is a short summaryof the lunar expedition outlined by von Braun and other writersfor the Collier's series.

Mueller, George E. "The Space Program: Future Plans,"delivered before the International Air Transport Association,Amsterdam, October 23, 1969. Available in the NASA HistoricalReference Collection, NASA History Office, NASA Headquarters,Washington, DC. In this classic but erroneous statement on thefuture of space exploration, the head of NASA's Office of MannedSpace Flight predicted that more than 200 people would be livingin space--in Earth and lunar orbit or on the Moon-- by the mid-1980s.

Nicholson, Marjorie. *Voyages to the Moon*. New York: Macmillan,1948. This little-known book describes the possibility of spaceflightand a landing on the Moon.

O'Neill, Gerard K. *The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space*.New York: William Morrow, 1976. A tract by the leader of the spacecolonization movement, this book suggests that the U.S. shouldbuild on the success of Apollo with lunar colonies from whichthe rest of the Solar System could be explored.

Ordway, Frederick I., III, and Liebermann, Randy. Editors. *Blueprintfor Space: Science Fiction to Science Fact*. Washington: SmithsonianInstitution Press, 1992. This recent collection of articles bya wide range of contributors runs the gamut from visions of spaceflight to projections for the future. Most of the contributionsare rather undetailed and consist mostly of overviews of theirsubjects, but they are written by such well-known figures as BenBova, Sam Moskowitz, Frank Winter, Ernst Stuhlinger, Fred L. Whipple,John M. Logsdon, Sally K. Ride, and Thomas O. Paine, as well asthe editors, with Liebermann offering a discussion of "The*Collier's* and Disney Series," especially relevantto this section of the bibliography. There are also brief bibliographiesat the ends of articles, and the book is lavishly illustrated.

Ordway, Frederick I., III; Adams, Carsbie C.; and Sharpe, MitchellR. *Dividends from Space*. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1972.This is an attempt to show that the costs of the space programhave been more than returned in benefits to humanity, both tangibleand intangible. The authors discuss at length the use of spacesystems to improve weather forecasting, facilitate communications,and inventory Earth resources. They also emphasize the developmentof the technological base with such major programs as ProjectApollo.

Paine, Thomas O., "1969: A Space Odyssey," address tothe American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Washington,DC, November 7, 1968. Copy available in NASA Historical ReferenceCollection, NASA History Office, NASA Headquarters, Washington,DC. This speech details the efforts of NASA to land astronautson the Moon in 1969 from the perspective of the NASA administratorat the time.

_____. *Pioneering the Space Frontier: The Report of the NationalCommission on Space*. New York: Bantam Books, 1986. In 1984Congress passed a bill requiring the president to name a NationalCommission on Space to develop a future space agenda for the UnitedStates. The White House in March 1985 chose Thomas O. Paine aschairman of the Commission. Since leaving NASA fifteen years earlier,Paine had been a tireless spokesman for an expansive view of whatshould be done in space. The fourteen other commissioners werea diverse group, ranging from Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrongand test pilot Chuck Yeager to the U.S. Ambassador to the UnitedNations, Jeanne Kirkpatrick. After a year's study the Commissionpublished a lavishly illustrated, glossy book endorsing "apioneering mission for 21st-century America"--"to leadthe exploration and development of the space frontier, advancingscience, technology, and enterprise, and building institutionsand systems that make accessible vast new resources and supporthuman settlements beyond Earth orbit, from the highlands of theMoon to the plains of Mars." The report also contained a"Declaration for Space" that included a rationale forexploring and settling the Solar System and outlined a long-rangespace program for the United States.

Pendray, G. Edward. "Next Stop the Moon." *Collier's*.September 1946, pp. 11- 13. Six years prior to the famous "ManWill Conquer Space Soon" series, this article argued thatthe Moon contained "riches beyond your wildest dreams"and advocated its exploration.

*Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, RichardM. Nixon, 1969*. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office,1971, p. 542. Nixon's statement that the Apollo 11 voyage wasso significant that it constituted the greatest week in humanhistory since the creation.

Pyne, Stephen J. "Space: A Third Great Age of Discovery."*Space Policy*. 4 (August 1988): 187-99. In this article,Pyne suggests that the world has known three great ages of exploration:(1) the circumnavigation of the globe, with its attendant discoveryof new lands; (2) the traversing and cataloguing of newly-foundcontinents; and (3) the exploration of the uninhabited regionsof Antarctica, the deep ocean basins, and outer space. The authorpoints to the culturally and historically determined nature ofdiscovery, which has thus far been largely a Western phenomenon,but emphasizes the qualitatively different character of spaceexploration, which takes the Earth, rather than any particularpart of it, as its starting point, and which sets forth to chartregions that are probably abiotic.

Redford, Emmette, and White, Orion F. *What Manned Space ProgramAfter Reaching the Moon? Government Attempts to Decide, 1962-1968*.Syracuse, NY: The Inter-University Case Program, January 1971.Limited edition study of the efforts of NASA and other governmentagencies to determine what policies and programs it should pursuefor the future space program. It is especially helpful as a statementof where leaders thought the U.S. should be going at the verytime the debate over NASA's goals after Apollo was taking place.

"Return from the Moon." *New York Times*. December28, 1968. A *Times* editorial in which the writers calledApollo 8 "the most fantastic voyage of all times."

Roberts, Christopher B. "NASA and the Loss of Space PolicyLeadership." *Technology in Society*. 12 (1990): 139-55.Since the days of Apollo, NASA's efforts have consistently exceededthe willingness of the political consensus to provide adequatefunding. As a result of the failure of U.S. leadership, includingthat within NASA, to fully comprehend the political dimensionsof the space program, the U.S. effort has drifted and the nationlost the commanding role it had with the success of Apollo. Inthis chapter, the author develops a new analytical framework forNASA's development and management of the space program, focusingon the dominance of bureaucratic goals over program goals.

Roland, Alex. "Barnstorming in Space: The Rise and Fall ofthe Romantic Era of Spaceflight, 1957-1986." In Byerly, Radford,Jr. Editor. *Space Policy Reconsid- ered*. Boulder, CO: WestviewPress, 1989. Pp. 33-52. In this article Alex Roland, a leadingcritic of NASA's human spaceflight program, argues that NASA iswedded to a large and expensive astronaut program, despite budgetaryand program realities, because of its longstanding vision of whatthe space program should be. Roland asserts that in the post-Challengerera since 1986 the U.S. is between the first and second stagesof spaceflight. In that first stage, the romantic "barnstorming"stage of rollicking excitement and wasted energies, the focuswas on the initial departure from planet Earth. A centerpieceof that romantic era of spaceflight, marked as it was by a seriesof specular events, was Project Apollo and the landing on theMoon. The second stage is undefined, but Roland contends thatit will be different from the earlier era and marked by gradualdevelopment and practical application of space technology.

Ryan, Cornelius. Editor. *Conquest of the Moon*. New York:Viking Press, 1953. Expanded version of a series of scientificarticles that appeared in *Col- lier's* under the title "Manon the Moon" in 1952. Includes articles by Willy Ley, Wernhervon Braun, and Fred Whipple, as well as illustrations by ChesleyBonestell.

Sharpe, Mitchell R. *Living in Space: The Astronaut and hisEnvironment*. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., 1969. Discussesbiomedical and psychological aspects of spaceflight as well asthe perils and advantages of doing it. Presents a strong argumentfor expanding human spaceflight through a rigorous Apollo programand aggressive efforts thereafter.

Shea, Joseph F., "Manned Space Flight Program," addressdelivered at the Third National Conference on the Peaceful Usesof Space, May 6, 1963, NASA News Release. Copy available in NASAHistorical Reference Collection, NASA History Office, NASA Headquarters,Washington, DC. The Deputy Director of NASA's Office of MannedSpace Flight considers space exploration as a matter of nationalsurvival and applauds President Kennedy's decision to undertakeProject Apollo on an aggressive timetable.

Shelton, William R. "Science and Fantasy, A Chronicle ofSpace." In Shelton, William R. *Man's Conquest of Space*.Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 1968. Shelton recountsthe events and people that have inspired space flight on the eveof the Apollo expeditions to the Moon.

Sidey, Hugh. "Pioneers in Love with the Frontier." *Time*.10 February 1986, pp. 46-47. This thoughtful discussion of thedevelopment of the U.S. space program emphasizes the role of thefrontier and the exploration imperative in the United States.Sidey, an extremely articulate commentator, suggests that nothingworthwhile is gained without sacrifice. This was a response tothe naysayers of the space program after the January 1986 Challengeraccident but emphasizes the 1961 Apollo decision of PresidentKennedy as the quintessential statement of a vision of exploringthe unknown.

Smith, Michael L. "Selling the Moon: The U.S. Manned SpaceProgram and the Triumph of Commodity Scientism." In Fox,Richard Wrightman, and Lears, T.J. Jackson. Editors. *The Cultureof Consumption: Critical Essays in American History*. New York:Pantheon Books, 1983. Pp. 177-209. Part of a larger collectionabout advertising and American culture, this article analyzesthe role of NASA, the aerospace industry, and political leadersin building support for Project Apollo. The author asserts thatApollo provides a useful vehicle for analyzing the evolution ofconsumer culture in the 1960s. Its social function, its publicists,and the form of presentation approximated those of the most highlydeveloped communication medium in American culture: advertizing.In the process the program accomplished its purpose; it articulatedto the world "an image of national purpose [in the U.S.]that equated technological preeminence with military, ideological,and cultural supremacy" (p. 177).

Smith, Ralph A. *The Exploration of the Moon*. London: FrederichMuller, Ltd., 1954. With text by Arthur C. Clarke. In this popularwork on space, paintings by British artist Ralph Smith dominatedthe book, with Arthur Clarke arguing that "there are no insuperableobstacles on the road to the planets" and asserting thatan aggressive space exploration should begin with trips to theMoon.

Thomas, Davis. Editor. *Moon: Man's Greatest Adventure*.New York: H.N. Abrams, 1970. A large-format, illustrated work,the centerpiece of this book consists of three major essays. One,by Fred A. Whipple, Harvard University astronomer, describes thepossibilities of space flight for scientific inquiry. Anotherby Silvio A. Bedini, at the Smithsonian Institution, deals withthe Moon's role in human affairs. A final article by Wernher vonBraun of NASA analyzes Project Apollo and its execution in the1960s.

"Topics of the Times." *New York Times*. January13, 1920, p. 12. Reprinted in Clarke, Arthur C. Editor. *TheComing of the Space Age*. New York: Meredith Press, 1967. Thisis a *New York Times* editorial that was written in responseto Robert H. Goddard's 1919 Smithsonian Institution publication,*A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes*. It doubts thatGoddard's rockets could be used to reach the Moon, since accordingto the *Times* editorial writers, there is no air in spaceagainst which the rocket could push. It referred to Goddard asa dreamer whose ideas had no scientific validity. It also comparedhis theories to those advanced by novelist Jules Verne, indicatingthat such musing is "pardonable enough in him as a romancer,but its like is not so easily explained when made by a savantwho isn't writing a novel of adventure." The *Times*also questioned both Goddard's credentials as a scientist andthe Smithsonian's rationale for funding his research and publishinghis results.

Verne, Jules. *De la Terre … la Lune* (*From the Earthto the Moon*). Paris: J. Hetzel, 1866. This is a pathbreakingwork of science fiction that incorporat- ed a more sophisticatedunderstanding of the realities of space flight than had been seenbefore. His space vehicle was enclosed and powered by electricity,and it possessed some aerodynamic soundness. This book describedthe problems of building a vehicle and launch mechanism to visitthe Moon. At the end of the book, Verne's characters were shotinto space by a 900-foot-long cannon. Verne picked up the storyin a second novel, *Autour de la Lune* (*Around the Moon*),describing a lunar orbital flight, but he did not allow his charactersactually to land.

Von Braun, Wernher, and Ryan, C. "Can We Get To Mars?"*Colliers*. 30 April 1954, pp. 22-29. During the Second WorldWar German scientists, including Wernher von Braun, began testingspacecraft models based on S„nger's concepts as well as theoriesof their own. This article popularized the idea of a reusableearth-to-orbit space transportation system.

Wells, H.G. *The First Men in the Moon*. London: George Newness,1901. This is a pioneering work of science fiction that describedin detail the method of reaching the Moon and encounters withaliens there.

Wright, Mike. "The Disney-Von Braun Collaboration and ItsInfluence on Space Exploration." In Schenker, Daniel; Hanks,Craig; Kray, Susan. Editors. *Inner Space, Outer Space: Humanities,Technology, and the Postmodern World*. Huntsville, AL: SouthernHumanities Conference, 1993, pp. 151-60. This is a solid discussionof the role of Walt Disney and Wernher von Braun in promotingspace exploration in the 1950s through a series of three segmentson Disney's weekly television program. The second of these segmentsdealt with a human flight to the Moon.

Wilson, Charles Reagan. "American Heavens: Apollo and theCivil Religion." *Journal of Church and State*. 26 (Spring1984): 209-26. Applying the concept of American civil religion--aset of values and ethical beliefs--to Project Apollo, the authorfinds that the effort revealed an important link between scienceand technology, religion, and American self-understanding. Hesuggests that Apollo participants tied religion and science togetherin a surprising way. He concluded: "One sees elements ofboth a rational religion, which can be traced back to the Enlightenment,and an evangelical religion, which has been the nation's culturallydominent religious force through most of American history"(p. 210). Wilson explores the intriguing questions of rhetoricand belief, ritual and symbolism within the context of the U.S.Apollo program.

----

****

----