Future visions and the heritage of space

摘要

Since the late 19th century, outer space and spacecraft have been symbols of the future, and indeed, futurist symbols. In the 1950s, space technology was seen as the solution to the human condition, the locus for new utopias – and dystopias. The future was shiny, metallic, robotic, orderly, the province of science and reason. The reality has been far less dramatic, but perhaps far more transformative, as daily life on the planet is structured by access to global navigation satellite systems and positioning, navigation and timing. These spacecraft are powerful representations of the ultimate heritage. In space, they are not subject to the unruly organic and geological processes that cause human artefacts to decay on Earth. Faye Ginsburg has talked about satellites as a sort of a silent colonialism. She argues satellite telecommunications can actually work to reduce diversity and overlay existing societies or cultures with a homogenised capitalist, more globalised view.