The illustrious Mike Whybark is running a series of interviews with David Sander, a man who has decided to create a mockumentary called Man Conquers Space. It's a "documentary" about the US space program in an alternate timeline, based on a series of articles that Collier's magazine initially published in 1952 and 53.
The articles, created by a team that was headed by Wernher von Braun and Chesley Bonestell, were profoundly influential (just Google up collier's magazine space program), although they were somewhat optimistic.
Man Conquers Space is a retrospective "documentary" about this never-realized space program (moon landing in 1962, a Mars landing in 1968). Sander uses Bonestell's artwork as the basis for the visual look of the film, and, judging from the trailer, it looks spectacular.
I say check it out.
That looks to be very good. I always wished the space program would have gone on to bigger and greater things. Should be thought of as national security. If an astroid or nukes take out good ole Earth at least some humans could be on a 2nd planet.......
The future isn't what it used to be. I think it's very true that we live in an age of dimished expectations. I'm not sure what von Braun would think of the ISS -- a large, gangly, international spacestation that doesn't spin in space to provide gravity, a destination unto itself, not a way point to the farther reaches of space.
It's true that times have changed -- there is no cold war, no evil empire anymore. And with that loss, there is no space race.
But does that mean that we have lost our ability to dream, and our (literal) ability to reach for the stars?
illustrious?
Well, ain't yah? Look at all those words... There's some illustriousness there.
I spelled 'illustrious' right.
lower-case i or uppercase?
;)