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Saturday, July 24. 2010
Time Keeps On Slippin’...
His topics are generally in the nerdy vein, but composed in such a way that even dumbshits (who weren’t bright enough to study math and science in high school and college) can grasp and understand it. And then generally agree with his point of view.
He can be persuasive!
Note to Dan: Don’t think I can be easily persuaded! You’ll have to work at it!
Anyway, to mark the 41st anniversary of the Moon Landing and the 35th Anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Young Dan wrote this piece, probably my favorite of his various essays. It speaks volumes about our society in general and our attitudes about space and exploration.
Those are a few reasons I’m posting it here. The other reason: I’ve been busy as of late and haven’t written anything in weeks and this is a quick and excellent fix to that situation.
Really though, it’s a great bit of writing.
It does need some graphics, photos even, so I’ve added a few ...
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It’s been 35 years since Vance Brand, Valeri Kubasov, Alexei Leonov (Who also did the first space walk), Donald "Deke" Slayton, and Thomas Stafford all shook hands while in orbit around the Earth. It's been 41 years since man first set foot on the Moon. And it's been 53 years since the first artificial satellite. And it's been 107 years since the first powered flight. For thousands of years, Humanity has looked to skies, wondering, questioning. For millennia we have watched the birds and have wondered how we might do the same. Since our birth as a species the Moon and stars have been there. No culture escapes making the stars and the skies fundamental to their way of understanding the world.In less than a century we went from the first man flying under power to a man stepping on the Moon. In less than a century we went from two terrible global conflicts to a cold war stalemate that could kill us all, to a peaceful space race. At the height of the cold war, the two biggest adversaries collaborated to a degree previously unimagined in order to accomplish a simple goal: To have national representatives shake hands while in orbit around the Earth.
The space race and all subsequent space exploration has had a positive effect on international relations. From terror and uncertainty grew not just one of the most amazing accomplishments of Human ingenuity, Apollo 11, but one of the most amazing accomplishments of Human diplomacy. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project has had huge ramifications, including the creation of the International Space Station, arguably one of the most potent forces encouraging international peace. The ASTP helped bridge the divide between east and west. These men are heroes. These men should be on our stamps. All five of them.
It may seem odd, how easily and capably these two nations came together in order to accomplish this goal. But even in the beginning it was realized that while there may be many national reasons for sending a man to space, the ultimate function of anyone actually sent so far from home would be to act as an ambassador for Humanity.
The first official record of this cooperation concerning space exploration we have the 1963 "Limited Test Ban Treaty". It's ironic to note that this document was designed to halt testing and development of nuclear weapons and to start the disarmament process.1 Though neither nation had yet done so, this agreement prohibited testing nuclear explosions in orbit or in the high atmosphere.2 Though only a small part of the document, it is this part that shows the beginnings of the idea that space is about something more than national prestige.
The second record of international cooperation in space came when, in 1967, the "Treaty on principles governing the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies" was created. While the whole document is a testament to peaceful cooperation, especially given its stance on the militarization of space, it is article V that really speaks to the companionship that is found when exploring space.3 This document not only builds on what was accomplished in the Limited Test Ban Treaty, and was heavily influenced by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs document, "Declaration of legal principles governing the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space", This document goes far beyond either of these both in scope and in impact. It firmly establishes space as a Human resource that should benefit all peoples, that space should be free from military activity, and that all who enter into space are ambassadors of mankind and should be treated as such.Both of these documents make heavy use of the principles outlined in the Antarctic Treaty, signed by 12 nations including the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.. Those principles include the idea that some domains are the province of all Humanity, to be preserved for their scientific worth and held as common ground. It is those principles which allowed the other documents in 1963 and 1967 to be created, and it is the sense of shared destiny engendered by exploring space, that laid the foundation for a project as ambitious as the Apollo-Soyuz test project.
A lot had to happen in order for the ASTP to work. But those momentous handshakes led directly to the creation of the International Space Station. It was the first time that two livable spaces had been combined in such a way, and thus this mission laid much of the groundwork for what would become a fundamental element of space station construction: Modular pieces. This kicked off Russian and American space stations such as Mir and Skylab, which led to numerous breakthroughs in longevity in space and construction in space. Though the Russians were more successful at this than we were. This also helped shape what would become the Space Shuttle, because even with modular construction, the bigger the module the better. A heavy lift vehicle was essential for the construction of the ISS. The political and social ramifications are what allowed so many nations to come together and create even the possibility of such a thing as the ISS. It is those social and political consequences, it is those technical accomplishments, which have allowed us to construct the ISS.
The ISS is the result of a multitude of decisions made over decades. It is the result of peaceful cooperation and cooperative exploration. The ISS is the current culmination of Human ability. It's very existence is made possible by international cooperation and the hope that one day we will truly be able to explore Space as one species: The Human Species.
1"Proclaiming as their principal aim the speediest possible achievement of an agreement on general and complete disarmament under strict international control in accordance with the objectives of the United Nations which would put an end to the armaments race and eliminate the incentive to the production and testing of all kinds of weapons, including nuclear weapons,…" Preamble, Limited Test Ban Treaty, 19682"1. Each of the Parties to this Treaty undertakes to prohibit, to prevent, and not to carry out any nuclear weapon test explosion, or any other nuclear explosion, at any place under its jurisdiction or control:
(a) in the atmosphere; beyond its limits, including outer space; or under water, including territorial waters or high seas; or…" Art. I, Limited Test Ban Treaty, 1968
3"States Parties to the Treaty shall regard astronauts as envoys of mankind in outer space and shall render to them all possible assistance in the event of accident, distress, or emergency landing on the territory of another State Party or on the high seas. When astronauts make such a landing, they shall be safely and promptly returned to the State of registry of their space vehicle." Art. V, The Outer Space Treaty, 1967
Related article by Zemanta:
First International Space Crew Reunites for Mission's 35th Anniversary (space.com)
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