Space and National Security (1963)

The 1963 U.S. Air Force film Space and National Security envisioned futuristic wars conducted in space. The clip above is taken from the fascinating NOVA episode, Astrospies. Many thanks to Matt Chapman of Homestarrunner.com for bringing this clip to our attention.

As Matt points out, the "non-animation animation" is similar in style to many of the 1950s Disneyland TV episodes like Mars and Beyond, and Man and the Moon, as well as non-Disney films like Rhapsody of Steel.




See also:
Air Force Predictions for 2063 (1963)
2063 A.D. Book (1963)
Mars and Beyond (1957)
Man and the Moon (1955)
Rhapsody of Steel (1959)

NASA and the Internet Archive

Last week the Internet Archive announced a partnership with NASA (nasaimages.org) which provides searchable access to video and still images from NASA's vast archives. Above is a 1957 artist's rendition of Project Red Socks, which was to be the "world's first useful moon rocket."

From the press release:

NASA and Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library based in San Francisco, made available the most comprehensive compilation ever of NASA's vast collection of photographs, historic film and video Thursday. Located at www.nasaimages.org, the Internet site combines for the first time 21 major NASA imagery collections into a single, searchable online resource. A link to the Web site will appear on the www.nasa.gov home page.

See also:
Space Colonies by Don Davis
Nucelar Rocketship (1959)
Wernher von Braun's Blueprint for Space (1950s)
Rhapsody of Steel (1959)
Man and the Moon (1955)
Wernher von Braun's Space Shuttle (1950s)

Space Spiders (1979)

The 1979 book Toward Distant Suns features the "Space Spiders," illustrated below. Space Spiders are designed to help build the space colonies of the (paleo)future.


Use of Space Spiders to build a space colony of the Stanford torus type. In the foreground mobile teleoperators carry rolls of aluminum to restock the Spiders' supplies. Detail shows a Spider laying down the hull of the colony, which has the shape of a bicycle tire. Central disk structure will carry solar arrays.


See also:
Space Colony Pirates (1981)
Sport in Space Colonies (1977)
Space Colonies by Don Davis
More Space Colony Art (1970s)
Mars and Beyond (1957)
Challenge of Outer Space (circa 1950s)
Like Earth, Only in Space .... and with monorails (1989)
Space Colony Possible (The News, 1975)

'Humanization of space' envisioned in shuttle's wake (Christian Science Monitor, 1979)

A November 2, 1979 article by John Yemma in the Christian Science Monitor outlined Jesco Von Puttkamer's vision of America's future in space. Von Puttkamer was a planner for NASA and even consulted on the first Star Trek movie.

By the late '80s or early '90s, a huge solar power satellite may be constructed to beam microwave energy to Earth. And after that, a natural step as Mr. Von Puttkamer sees it, will be space colonies built with nonterrestial material and using solar energy.

See also:
Space Colonies by Don Davis
Sport in Space Colonies (1977)
Solar Energy for Tomorrow's World (1980)

Space Colonies by Don Davis

Donald Davis was commissioned to do paintings for NASA in the 1970s and is now offering them to the public domain. The "toroidal shaped space colony" above is an incredible piece of paleo-futuristic art from 1975. Click on the images to make them larger or visit his site to see all of his space paintings.