“I remember it all. I was there. That’s what matters.” These were the words of an Apollo/Shuttle-era retiree, cleaning up a little but leaving behind much of the memorabilia of a decades-long career. I was fortunate to inherit some of these items from a few retirees, as I was young, enthusiastic, and dust-tolerant. So today, instead of a blog, I’ll share “The next giant leap” from the late 1970s (which pre-dates my time with NASA). This one is not out there in the wild, as much as the internet has absorbed things pre-internet. I really should get around to scanning this all one day. I know, being there, that’s what matters. But still, as another retiree once said, they were leaving much of it behind, as “maybe someone might learn from it all.”
Enjoy!
Download “The next giant leap” as a .pdf
Phone Calls from Space!
“Space industrialization could revolutionize one of America’s most popular institutions-the telephone call. In the not-too-distant future, a call to Europe or to the corner pharmacy may be completed through space. Instead of calling your friends at their homes, offices, or clubs, you would dial them directly; you wouldn’t have to know their whereabouts. The telephone would be a small, hand-held communicator or a wrist radio.”
Space Shuttle will become operational in 1980, and America will embark on a dramatic new course: the routine, practical use of space, One of the goals of that era is space industrialization, which simply is the expansion of our world by the incorporation of the space environment into our productive capacity. Here is a brief look at some of the remarkable benefits that can be foreseen for America and mankind from those industrial activities.
Phone Calls from Space!
Zapata Talks NASA 