Social, Cultural and Educational Legacies - ER - NASA

to “Astronauts Young, [Robert]Crippen, and all the people of NASAfor their inspiration and cooperation.”When First Lady Hillary RodhamClinton announced that a womanwould command a mission for thefirst time in NASA’s 40-year history,the NASA Arts Program asked JudyCollins to write a song to commemoratethe occasion. She agreed and composed“Beyond the Sky” for that historicflight. The song describes the dreamof a young girl to fly beyond the skyand heavens. The girl eventuallyachieves her goal and instills hopein those with similar aspirations.This is foreshadowed in the fifth verse.She had led the waybeyond darknessFor other dreamers whowould dare the skyShe has led us to believein dreamingGiven us the hope thatwe can tryAuthored for NASA as part of the NASA Arts Program.InspirationThe shuttle inspired so many peoplein such different ways. Much as theflag came to symbolize Americanpride, so too did the launch andlanding of the shuttle. As an example,William Parsons, Kennedy SpaceCenter’s former director, witnessedhis first launch at age 28 and recalled,“When I saw that shuttle take off atdusk, it was the most unbelievableexperience. I got tears in my eyes;my heart pounded. I was proud to bean American, to see that we could dosomething that awesome.”Film and TelevisionIMAX ® films built on the thrill ofspaceflight by capturing the excitementand exhilaration of NASA’s on-orbitoperations. Shuttle astronauts weretrained to use the camera and recordedsome of the program’s most notableevents as the events unfolded in orbit,like the spacewalk of Kathryn Sullivan,America’s first woman spacewalker.Marketed as “the next best thing tobeing there,” the film The Dream isAlive documented living and workingin space on board shuttle. Destinyin Space featured shots from thedramatic first Hubble Space Telescopeservicing mission in 1993, whichboasted a record-breaking fivespacewalks. Other feature films likeMission to Mir took audiences to theRussian space station, where Americanastronauts and cosmonauts performedscientific research.The excitement inspired by the SpaceShuttle and the technological abilities—both real and imagined—did notescape screenwriters and Hollywooddirectors. In fact, the shuttle appearedas a “character” in numerous films,and several major motion picturesfeatured a few of NASA’s properties.These films attracted audiences acrossthe world and sold millions of dollarsin tickets based on two basic themes:NASA’s can-do spirit in the face ofinsurmountable challenges, and theflexibility of the shuttle. They includeMoonraker, Space Camp, Armageddon,and Space Cowboys.Television programs also could notescape the pull of the Space Shuttle. In1994, the crew of Space TransportationSystem (STS)-61 (1993), the firstHubble servicing mission, appeared onABC’s Home Improvement. Six of theseven crew members flew to Californiafor the taping, where they starred asguests of Tool Time—the fictionalhome improvement program—andshowed off some of the tools theyused to work on the telescope in space.Following this episode, astronauts fromthe US Microgravity Laboratory-2,STS-73 (1995), appeared on HomeImprovement. Astronaut KennethBowersox, who was pilot for oneflight and commander of two flights,made three appearances on the show.Bowersox once brought AstronautSteven Hawley, who also flew onSTS-82 (1997).The Space Shuttle and its space flierswere also the subject of the televisiondrama The Cape. Based on the astronautexperience, the short-lived seriescaptured the drama and excitementassociated with training and flyingshuttle missions. Set and filmed atKennedy Space Center, the series ranfor one season in the mid 1990s.Consumer CultureThe enduring popularity of the SpaceShuttle extended beyond film andtelevision into consumer culture.During the shuttle era, millions ofpeople purchased goods that boreimages of shuttle mission insigniasand the NASA logo—pins, patches,T-shirts, polos, mugs, pens, stuffedanimals, toys, and other mementos.The shuttle, a cultural icon of the spaceprogram associated with America’sprogress in space, was also prominentlyfeatured on wares. Flight and launchand re-entry suits, worn by theastronauts, were particularly popularwith younger children who had hopesof one day flying in space. Peoplestill bid on thousands of photos andposters signed by shuttle astronauts onInternet selling and trading sites.Photos of the shuttle, its crews,astronaut portraits, and images ofnotable events in space are ubiquitous.466Social, Cultural, and Educational Legacies