What is it about?
Science fiction genre has long gone hand in hand with the innate human outward-yearning impulse and exploratory optimism, of which the aerospace conquests of the past century have arguably been the bravest and the boldest expression. In this essay, we discuss contemporary (science-fiction) stories that, in the above vein, prominently feature aerospace conquest as something inherently good for humanity. The identified problem with the stories is that they seem to take the broader impacts of such technologies - notably the natural ecosystem impacts, but geopolitical implications as well - for granted. The main question explored by the paper is how the contemporary humanity should articulate popular tales of exploratory optimism and technological prowess in the era when the hubris of comparatively small number individual actors in the aerospace industry could have (dangerous) global collective repercussions.
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Why is it important?
On the one hand we reveal critical blind spots in techno-optimism conveyed by contemporary popular (science-)fiction, notably exemplified by (but not limited to) various instances of the "Star Trek" franchise. We argue that such stories neglect very real contemporary dangers to humanity such as environmental disaster brought about by uncontrolled global techno-economical developments, of which aerospace is a prominent (but not only) part. Furthermore, we lean on such stories and their rich history to reveal critical oversights of the blind techno-optimism of the contemporary era, arguing that the optimisim exemplified by the historical conquests of speed&distance frontiers can no longer be justified in the world of limited resources and collective stakes of such endeavours.
Perspectives
As a researcher/professor in the domain of new aerospace technologies, but also someone heavily invested in the popular culture, storytelling, and how the technology interacts with other aspects of the human experience - researching and developing the thesis of this paper has really helped me reveal the complicated nature of the human relationship with the technologies that enable our innate drives to come to pass. Unsurprisingly, given that they are all different reflections of ourselves, I am persistently amazed to when I realise just how much the seemingly naïve popular storytelling can tell us about the purportedly more "rigorous" and "coherent" field of engineering and technology.
Aleksandar Joksimović
ISAE-SUPAERO
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Holding Aerospace in High Esteem: Insights from Science Fiction, January 2024, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA),
DOI: 10.2514/6.2024-0406.
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