NASA History Community:
Below and attached is information on an interesting, highly relevant NASA History talk next Wednesday afternoon (please note the special time for this talk). Feel free to forward to others who may be interested. Thanks
very much.
-Steve
NASA History Talk: “The Origins of Global Satellite Communications” by Hugh Slotten
Time/Date/Location: 2 – 3 pm
ET, Wednesday 13 December, virtual via
MS Teams link (no prior registration necessary)
Contact:
Steve Garber (stephen.j.garber@nasa.gov)
Description:
Hugh R. Slotten analyzes the efforts of US officials, especially during the Kennedy administration, to establish the first global satellite communications system. Locked
in competition with the Soviet Union for both military superiority and international prestige, President John F. Kennedy overturned the Eisenhower administration's policy of treating satellite communications as simply an extension of traditionally regulated
telecommunications. Instead of allowing private communications companies to set up separate systems that would likely primarily serve major "developed" regions, the new administration decided to take the lead in establishing a single world system.
Explaining how the East-West Cold War conflict became increasingly influenced by North-South tensions during this period, Slotten highlights the growing significance
of nonaligned countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. He also underscores the importance of a political economy of "total Cold War" in which many crucial aspects of US society became tied to imperatives of national security and geopolitical prestige.
Dr. Slotten is an Associate Professor in the Media, Film, and Communications Department at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Last year he was the
Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum,
and previously he was an American Historical Association Fellow in Aerospace History. Among other honors, his writing has won the Eugene Emme Award in Astronautical Literature from the American Astronautical Society.
Stephen Garber
(he/him)
NASA History Division
Office of Communications
NASA Headquarters
Mary W. Jackson Building, Room 5P25
Washington, DC 20546
202-358-0385
