People dreamed of cosmic exploration--winged spaceships and lunar
voyages; space stations and robot astronauts--long before it actually
happened. Space and the American Imagination traces the emergence of
space travel in the popular mind, its expression in science fiction, and
its influence on national space programs.
Space exploration dramatically illustrates the power of imagination.
Howard E. McCurdy shows how that power inspired people to attempt what
they once deemed impossible. In a mere half-century since the launch of
the first Earth-orbiting satellite in 1957, humans achieved much of what
they had once only read about in the fiction of Jules Verne and H. G.
Wells and the nonfiction of Willy Ley.
Reaching these goals, however, required broad-based support, and McCurdy
examines how advocates employed familiar metaphors to excite interest
(promising, for example, that space exploration would recreate the
American frontier experience) and prepare the public for daring missions
into space. When unexpected realities and harsh obstacles threatened
their progress, the space community intensified efforts to make their
wildest dreams come true.
This lively and important work remains relevant given contemporary
questions about future plans at NASA. Fully revised and updated since
its original publication in 1997, Space and the American Imagination
includes a reworked introduction and conclusion and new chapters on
robotics and space commerce.
