Space propaganda

Many forms of space propaganda have been used by public and government officials to influence space policy. Because that very few people have been to space, propaganda often relied on artistic depictions and imagery to convey its messages.

Posters

The Soviet Union and the United States issued several propaganda posters to promote their national space programs, and incite emotional reactions from the public.

Poster depicting Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, the first woman in space

Stamps

One of the ways in which national governments recognize influential figures is through commemorative postage stamps. Usually these stamps are issued for a limited time.

Postage Stamp depicting Soviet Astronaut Yuri Gagarin

Postage Stamp depicting Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon

In the United Kingdom, stamps are also printed with Space achievements.

"Royal Mail celebrates Britain's contribution to space exploration with its latest set of commemorative stamps. Due to be issued on 16 October, the six stamps all feature images from European Space Agency missions. From skimming Saturn's rings to keeping a watchful eye on the sun, from visiting our neighboring worlds to flying by the "failed planet" of asteroid Lutetia, Britain now performs most of its space exploration through European Space Agency (ESA). This year marks the 50th anniversary of Britain's space exploration effort. On 26 April 1962, its first satellite, Ariel 1, was launched by NASA. It carried scientific experiments designed by British universities and turned Britain into the world's third space-faring nation, after Russia and America."[6]

Films

Films have been used to educate or indoctrinate citizens through informative or dramatic portrayals of ventures into space.

One of the most effective educational films about the space race was The Right Stuff. This film showed the history behind the Mercury Seven astronauts and it helped to give the public a better idea of who these men were and what it took to become an astronaut.

However, in 1986, the movie Space Camp was released. It did poorly in the box office, mainly because it was released five months after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and was seen to be bad taste to continue with its release.

From The Earth To The Moon, the novel by Jules Verne

In 1998 HBO released a television miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon. This was hosted by Tom Hanks whose role in the film Apollo 13 assisted in the success of the series. The series, as explained by Hanks, was to give the viewer an accurate as possible view to the many episodes of the space race.[9]

In 2008 NASA worked with the Discovery Channel to create a documentary series entitled When We Left Earth. The documentary used footage of the space race along with interviews from the people who worked on the project. It was narrated by Gary Sinese, who also played in the Apollo 13 film. The release also coincided with a Presidential campaign in which one of the topics was the next steps of the American space program.

Even though Star Wars was not created as a propaganda film and was created as a science fiction space opera, there are references to the Cold War within the film. At one point during the commentary for Return of the Jedi, George Lucas commented that he wanted the arrival of the Emperor to the Death Star to look intimidating and fearful, "...to look like May Day in Russia."[10]

Several of the James Bond film series: Dr. No, You Only Live Twice, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day, and Quantum of Solace touch on themes of space exploration. According to John Cork, author of James Bond Legacy, "James Bond was the first hero of the space age.... The Mercury 7 astronauts were being trained right as Dr. No was coming out."[11] The plot of the first Bond film, Dr. No, is about how the villain Dr. No attempts to disrupt the Mercury program. In the film You Only Live Twice, astronauts are held captive in an attempt to initiate World War III. The opening scene of the film depicts astronauts getting killed in space. Satellite weapons and Moon vehicles are depicted in Diamonds Are Forever. Bond becomes the astronaut himself in Moonraker. According to Cork, "They deal with the ideas of manipulation of satellites. They really are dealing with the way the space program works now: We're sending up incredible sophisticated satellites.... Ian Fleming was fascinated by rocketry and space. He even communicated with Arthur C. Clarke."[11]

The One Giant Leap Foundation is an organization that promotes the peaceful commercialization of space. Below is a direct quotation of its mission statement,[8]

OGLF and The Space Show share a common mission and vision. First, our mission is to promote, encourage, and support future global economic opportunities and development, scientific discoveries, and medical advances for all humankind through peaceful and cooperative ventures in outer space. Currently our work and mission is manifest in The Space Show where there is a free and open debate regarding how best to achieve space-faring status with all its positive implications. OGLF and its supporters, along with The Space Show's listeners and guests, are committed to advancing integrity and responsibility both in our off-Earth conduct and in the potential long-range consequences of our actions in space. Our commitment to our common mission and vision is unwavering. As we say in our vision statement on air on each program, we will know when our mission has been accomplished when space becomes routine like any other place and tool on Earth , and part of our global economic infrastructure.

The Space Foundation also recognizes the history associated with space discoveries and advancements and emphasizes the peaceful use of space. Their website states,[8]

Space is the only domain where mankind has always worked in peace, in harmony, and proved over and over again that nations and men and women of different cultures can work together at their best for the betterment of humanity. As the Space Age evolved, school children across America were doing duck and cover drills in their classroom, the Doomsday Clock was moving closer and closer to midnight as the Cold War grew in intensity, deadly nuclear tipped ballistic missiles stood at the ready of the two most powerful nations in the history our of world. Overcoming the Cold War rhetoric and the intensity that existed between the super powers here on Earth, these same super powers made treaties to work with each other in space, to keep weapons out of space, and to rescue one another's astronauts should the need arise.

The successful launch of Sputnik in 1957 undermined the belief of American technological superiority. This event showed that the Soviets were ahead of the Americans.[16] This Soviet achievement put pressure on U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and was looked on by many as his greatest failure.[16] According to McDougall, "The concomitant arrival of Sputnik and the Third World generalized the problem of the American image. The Soviet challenge and European colonial heritage made it vital for the United States to present and image of progressive anticolonialism."[17] In the Soviet Union, being the first to reach space was seen as a great victory.[18] Yuri Gagarin's 1961 flight into space was seen by many as another Sputnik moment. Khrushchev stated that Gagarin's flight was the "...greatest triumph of the immortal Lenin's ideas."[19] Egypt's President Nasser stated the "gigantic scientific capabilities of the Soviet people and had no doubt that the launching of man into space will turn upside down not only many scientific views, but also many political and military trends".[20] American newspapers characterized Soviet advancement as: "a psychological victory of the first magnitude"; "new evidence of Soviet superiority"; "cost the nation heavily in prestige"; "marred the political and psychological image of the country abroad"; "Neutral nations may come to believe the wave of the future is Russian."[21]

Gherman Titov's flight into space was seen as a major accomplishment not only for the Soviet Union as a whole but the Premier himself and was boasted about in Pravda which stated that the Premier, "directs the development of the major technical projects in the country, and determines the basic directions of planned growth in cosmic science and technology. In his able proposals there is evidence again and again of his great conviction in the triumph of Soviet rocket technology."[22] Khrushchev felt pressure to put money into missiles and space technology but diverted much of it towards self-serving political objectives.[23] Another Soviet first was the flight of Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. This was used as a major propaganda theme when she returned in time for the International Congress of Women. It was a symbol of the Soviet woman. Tereshkova went on a world tour as proof of the equality of the sexes in the Soviet Union and the "ever-growing superiority of the socialist order of society over capitalism altogether".[24] When the Soviet Union launched Voskhod 1, the first spacecraft to carry 3 people, Pravda's headline read, "Sorry Apollo!". The article continued by saying, "...the so-called system of free enterprise is turning out to be powerless in competition with socialism such a complex and modern area as space research."[25]

"If the newspapers printed a despach that the Soviet Union planned sending the first man to Hell, our federal agencies would appear the next day, crying, "We can't let them beat us to it!" --- Hyman Rickover, 1959[26]

When John F. Kennedy became President of the United States there was a question about how to catch up with the Soviet Union. Kennedy did not want to "... place safety about the desire to gain some additional prestige".[27] However, there pressure was there from Congress when Overton Brooks, who was the Chairman of the House Space Committee said, "any step-up in the space program must be designed to accelerate a civilian program of peaceful space exploration and use....This very important from the standpoint of international relations."[28] James E. Webb had a meeting with President Kennedy to help convince him the need to spend resources in the area of space. In this meeting he stated, "...it will be possible through new technology to bring about a whole new areas of international cooperation in meteorology and communications...The extent to which we are leaders in space science and technology will in large measure determine the extent to which we, as a nation, pioneering on a new frontier, will be in a position to develop the emerging world forces and make it the basis for new concepts and application in education, communications, and transportation, looking towards more viable political, social, and economic systems for nations willing to work with us in the years ahead."[21] President Kennedy saw the benefits of the space program as both domestic and international. Kennedy had had a string a failures from Laos to the Congo, the Bay of Pigs Invasion and Gagarin. Vice President Lyndon Johnson was put in charge of America's objectives in space. In a report to President Kennedy he stated, "The Soviets led the United States in prestige; the United States had failed to marshal its superior technological resources; the United States should recognize that countries tend to line up with the country they believe to be the leader; if the United States did not act, the Soviet "margin of control" would get beyond our ability to catch up; even in areas where the Soviets led, the United States had to make aggressive efforts; manned exploration of the Moon was a great propaganda value but was essential whether or not the United States was first."[29] Further on in the meeting Johnson stated, "One can predict with confidence that failure to master space means being second best in the crucial arena of our Cold War world. In the eyes of the world, first in space means first period; second in space is second in everything."[29]

On July 20, 1969 the United States landed on the Moon. This was seen as an American victory in space. The plaque that was left on the base of the lander states that "We came in peace for all mankind".

John Glenn

Main article: John Glenn

American Astronaut, John Glenn

In the United States, John Glenn is held in high honors. Being the first American to orbit the Earth was seen as a great American accomplishment. It was an important step to catching up with the Soviet Union during the Space Race. Glenn, in addition to becoming a successful astronaut, also became a successful politician. He successfully ran for the United States Senate. Later on, NASA honored his flight into space with a website that takes the viewer through John Glenn's Mission of Freedom 7.[31] The United States Post Office issued a commemorative stamp.[32] There are also schools named after John Glenn.[33][34]

Valentina Tereshkova

Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova feeding a baby tiger.

The USSR launched the first woman (also the first civilian), Valentina Tereshkova, into space on Vostok 6;[35] this was a propaganda stunt rather than a good faith step for women's equality, and possibly a medical experiment. Prior to flying on Vostok 6, Tereshkova worked in a textile factory and was an amateur parachutist. After Gagarin's flight, Nikolai Kamanin, director of cosmonaut training, read in American media about the "Mercury 13", female pilots trying to become astronauts. Although this article noted that the women passed the same medical qualification tests as the male candidates, it must not have mentioned that they were not accepted or trained as astronauts by NASA, and thus had absolutely no chance of being accepted into the all-male test pilot-astronaut community. In his diary, Kamanin wrote, "We cannot allow that the first woman in space will be American. This would be an insult to the patriotic feelings of Soviet women."[36] He got permission to choose a small corps of female cosmonauts; Tereshkova was the only one of five women amateur parachutists to fly.[35]

Although she had to join the Soviet Air Forces to become a cosmonaut, Soviet male test pilots of the 1960s were no more accepting of women in their ranks than their American counterparts,[37] though the Soviet Air Force had three segregated all-women combat air regiments in World War II. On November 3, 1963, Tereshkova married Vostok 3 cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev,[38] and they had a daughter, Elena Andrianovna Nikolaeva-Tereshkova,[39] the first person with both a mother and father who had traveled into space.[40]

Kamanin wanted to fly more women on the last two Voskhod flights, but the cancellation of these flights in 1965 put an end to this. The USSR didn't again open its cosmonaut corps to women until 1980, two years after the United States opened its astronaut corps to women.

Politicians and journalists will use the phrase space race to stimulate controversy, interest, or competition. The term was used during the Cold War to describe the competition between the US and the USSR. Today the phrase is used by journalists frequently to draw attention to competing countries developing technology and access to space. As Time Magazine states, “Space exploration is a powerful rallying point for national pride… The contest may not be accompanied by the blaring cold-war overtones of the last great space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. China's space program is conducted largely in secret, and Japan's modest achievements don't make headlines. But plenty is at stake. Over the past few years, a centuries-old rivalry between China and Japan has flared anew. While the two countries are increasingly interdependent economically, relations remain uncomfortably strained as fast-growing China begins to challenge Japan as the preeminent East Asian power. This spring, for example, anti-Japan riots erupted in a number of Chinese cities, and diplomatic disputes over natural-gas-field rights in the East China Sea continue to rage.[41]

Furthermore, journalists also describe how the race can lead to other fearful races. As Kyle Niemeyer discusses in his article Asia’s Space Race Could Turn into an Arms Race, “The major Asian nations, including China, Japan, India, and South Korea, are all expanding their space programs with little-to-no cooperation. These efforts are driven by national prestige and geopolitical rivalries, similar to the US-Soviet space race of the 1960s. Like that period, this space race is stimulating technological advances, but competing agendas are leading to duplication of work and mistrust—in other words, a waste of resources. Even worse, this competition is undermining recent cooperation between the US, Russia, and Europe."[42]

Another Time magazine article titled "Sino-Japanese Space Race", states, “With Asia's biggest powers set to launch their first unmanned lunar missions — possibly as early as next month — the countdown has begun in the hottest space race since the United States beat the Soviet Union to the Moon nearly four decades ago."[43]

Europeans are also proud of their contributions to space. As Brid-Aine Parnell points out in her piece for The A Register, "The government is fond of bandying about the idea that the UK space sector already generates £9bn a year, but in fact this is a completely made-up figure concocted by counting Sky TV and a few other "downstream space" companies as though they were satellite makers or something. Chancellor George Osborne said that the increased spending on ESA would bring substantial benefits to the UK adding that the private sector had already identified projects worth up to £1bn that “will flow” from the investment. Clearly, the expectation is that more contracts will come Britain's way if it ups its investment in ESA at a time when other European countries are finding the spare change to fund their existing obligations."[44]

The People's Republic of China have also used their accomplishment in space as a form of internal and external propaganda. The word rocket itself means firing arrow.[45] The concept of rocketry was first developed in China during the 3rd century A.D. Modern Chinese advancement are given credit to Tsien Hsue Shen. In 2012 China released a film honoring the 100th anniversary of his birthday.[46] Chinese Communist Party general secretary Hu Jintao opened a library commemorating his birth.[47]

The Cultural Revolution in China affected the space program and there were competing for attention. “Subsequent histories recorded that the revolutionaries spread the slogan that “when the satellite goes up, the red flag goes down’ and urged concentration on the political rather than the scientific.[45] However once the Chinese had accomplished a successful satellite launch the official announcement was, “We did it through our own unaided efforts” despite the fact that several Russian scientist had assisted with the program up until the Sino-Soviet split.[45] The Chinese treated the successful launch as one of the greatest events of the century, which included nationwide parades and celebrations. The satellite itself broadcast “the east is Red”[45]

Chinese Postage Stamp depicting the Soviet Sputnik 1

First Chinese man in space, Yang Liwei

Even though the United States landed on the Moon in 1969, there is no more space race, and the Soviet Union no longer exists, there are still forms of space propaganda. The most widely used of which can be found in the People's Republic of China. The Chinese space program began in the 1960s but it was not internationally recognized until the launching of Shenzhou V, which put China's first astronaut into space. The Chinese had successfully launched a satellite in the 1970s. There was a pause in the Chinese program for a couple decades, but was picked up again and restarted as a way for the party to instill confidence and patriotism. With the rise of its space program it is now considered a modern country that can stand with the west.[48] Col. Yang Liwei became an instant celebrity in China. Millions of stamps were issued with his face on them to show this great accomplishment.[48]

TV commercials in China since 2003 have shown an astronaut walking on the Moon demonstrating the ultimate goal of the Chinese program.[48] Space images in China have been used as a manner of inspiration, but also to bring people under control. It is believed that in the near term China will start using female astronauts to demonstrate further successes with the space program.

China is also using space based missile technology as propaganda. China has developed and tested an anti-satellite weapon. Despite the fact that China has pledged to ban space based weapons, this demonstration to the world proved that they have developed them and could use them if need be.

• Burgess, Colin; Hall, Rex (2009). The First Soviet Cosmonaut Team. Chichester, UK: Praxis Publishing. ISBN 978-0-387-84824-2. LCCN 2008935694.
• Hall, Rex; Shayler, David J. (2001). The Rocket Men: Vostok & Voskhod, The First Soviet Manned Spaceflights. New York: Springer–Praxis Books. ISBN 1-85233-391-X.
• McDougall, Walter A. (1985). "Roots of Technocracy: ... The Heavens and the Earth. Political History of the Space Age". Science. New York: Basic Books. 230 (4730): 1154. doi:10.1126/science.230.4730.1154. PMID 17739121.

• Whitey on the Moon
• www.arts.gov
• Chinese Propaganda Posters Chineseposters.net
• Russian Propaganda Space Song Honoring Yuri Gagarin
• Space.com article about movies for Yuri Gagarin
• Chinese Use America the Beautiful for Space Launch
• Woody Woodpecker in Space
• Woody Woodpecker in Space II
• North Korean Space Propaganda Video
• SPACE Propaganda