Conference 7.286::space

    I've seen several of these commercials.  I don't remember all of the
    combinations, but they feature Whoopi Goldberg, Lucille Ball, Sinatra,
    Vereen, Willie Nelson, Ara Parseghian (sp), and a number of others, all
    talking about some of the direct benefits of space research and
    technology.  I think they serve as an excellent "image" campaign for
    the space effort.  By the way, I think they are shown as PSAs (public
    service announcements), so the NSF probably doesn't have to pay diddily
    for the airtime. 

I saw one the other day with Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter on a split
screen, allegedly talking by satellite between California and Georgia.
(There was no 1/4 second lag in their conversations, however.)

A cynic could say "where were these people when they were in office?"
but I'm not that cynical.

Also, I think spots are by the "US Space Foundation."

- tom]

US Space Foundation, 800-255-1000

From: [email protected] (MacLeod)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Commercial plea for space station - effective!
Date: 3 Nov 87 02:55:45 GMT
Organization: Digital Research, Monterey, CA
 
    Has anyone else seen the (in my opinion) well-done commercial plea
for renewed space activity from McDonnel-Douglas?  It goes like this -
 
(View from Earth orbit; Earth to left.)
 
  Voice begins to ask if it would be good to have ongoing space research,
  a manned space station, and so on.
 
(From below camera angle, a long Skylab-like station begins to move past
 the camera, and you can hear muffled SSB-type voice transmissions in the
 background.  Obviously, this is a space station.)
 
  Voice asks several questions as the station passes by your POV, then
  says, "There is such a program, but it is not American" or words to that
  effect.
 
    (The end of the station comes into view with a huge red star and a
CCCP on it.  The muffled SSB transmissions are louder and now clearly
in Russian. The station drifts onward.) 
  
    The McDonnel-Douglas logo comes up and there is a request for
support for a renewed US space effort.  I may have some of this
confused; I only saw it once and I wasn't paying attention at the
beginning.  It was quite moving, though, and I wish that they would
run it every night during Nightline or somewhere where it would do
some good.  Has anybody else seen this? 
 
    Mike MacLeod

>    Has anyone else seen the (in my opinion) well-done commercial plea
>for renewed space activity from McDonnel-Douglas?
 
  I've seen it.  Unfortunately, it plays on paranoia - hardly a usefull,
long-term approach to exploring space's potential.

John

    	Perhaps, but it might be the only way the US will get back into
    space again, just as we needed SPUTNIK in 1957 and VOSTOK 1 in 1961.
    
    	Larry
    

      I agree that paranoia might be the only way to motivate the American
    public at this time, but what a sad sad state of affairs !  That
    old paranoia/competition with the Russians business is what has
    caused our short sighted policy problems .  We will never get out
    of that stupid political rat race unless we set a visionary goal
    oriented program in place, rather than the quagmire that we have
    now .  Get people to think of the future for themselves rather than
    looking over their shoulders at some imaginary enemy for petes sake!
    
    Jon

    	Like it or not, the US has usually needed a swift kick in its
    collective pants to get out of its conservative, self-interested
    mode when it comes to new situations, be it war, space exploration,
    whathaveyou.
    
    	Goddard was laughed at for having the "radical" idea of sending
    a simple rocket to the Moon; Von Braun's Earth satellite program
    was shrugged at by the US government and military in the 1950s as
    "not worth their time", until the Soviets suddenly showed they were
    far from disinterested in the challenge.
    
    	Someday Americans will really look to the future for the benefit 
    of the world, but not yet...                               
       
    	Larry
                      

    Radio Moscow has been pumping there own plan, maybe we  should
    add it to the TV commercial over American TV. The Soviets plan 
    to use their new booster to make a industrial complex in space, 
    a moon base (that was new to me), and then  a man trip to Mars.  
    
    If RM is talking about it I would assume the money has allready 
    been funded... an this is for the trun of the Soviet century
    
    john

From: leif@swatsun (Leif Kirschenbaum)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Commercial plea for space station - effective!
Date: 12 Nov 87 03:34:04 GMT
Organization: Swarthmore College, Swarthmore PA
 
    In article <[email protected]>
[email protected] (Stephen P. Masticola) writes: 

>In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (MacLeod) writes:
>
>> Has anyone else seen the (in my opinion) well-done commercial plea for 
>> renewed space activity from McDonnel-Douglas? 
>
>MdD's argument does not, however, make any objective
>sense at all, in explaining why a space station will benefit the U.S.
>more than spending the money elsewhere (including other space
>projects such as BDB, solar energy, planetary exploration, astronomy,
>etc.).  Beating the Soviets in a propoganda race is not an acceptable
>reason to spend 20-40 billion dollars.

    Right now we spend much more than that on defense, much of which
is unecessarily spent.  Isn't this propaganda for the American people?
The Space Station will (this may be somewhat innaccurate, or
repetitive for many readers): 

1) Force us to invent new technology  
2) Give easier access to a space environment for vacuum, microgravity,
cold temperatures, etc. 
3) Permit on-the-site supervision and *repair* (how many experiments
have failed in orbit that could be repaired by an astronaut) of
various experiments including the space telescope and other scientific
packages 
4) Allow us to put many of the satellites we currently use in one spot
thus consolidating power supply, and allowing us to more easily
maintain them.  In addition micrometeorite protection would be easier
with all the instrument in one place.  Another factor is limited room
in orbit:  If every satellite needs 100 miles leeway (due to launch
innacuracy and other factors) and the U.S. wants many satellites, and
they have to be above the equator, smaller countries like Brazil or
India may be pushed aside in their quest for satellite space. 
5) Be a launching platform for manned and unmanned missions
6) Be an assembly site for manned and unmanned missions.  I would think
cleanliness would be easier in the vacuum or near-vacuum of space than
on Earth. 
 
Leif Kirschenbaum '91 Swarthmore College
Swat Motto: "Harsh but fair"- I'm working on a *real* signature.

From: [email protected] (Jonathan Leech)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: AW&ST advertisement in poster form
Date: 16 Nov 87 18:37:41 GMT
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
 
    The 2-page ad from United Technologies which appeared on the
inside cover of the 9/21 issue of Aviation Week (picture of astronaut
on the lunar surface, caption ``It's time we raised our sights
again'') is a powerful image. It's also available in poster form; a
polite letter to:
 
    United Technologies
    Director of Public Relations
    United Technologies Building
    Hartford, CT 06101
 
    Resulted in my getting a free poster of the ad (along with some
other UT ads and a corporate info brochure) in 10 days.  My copy is
going on my office door, the best to expose it to my coworkers;
perhaps other people will want to do the same, thus this posting. 
A tip of the hat to UT for the free poster! 

    Jon Leech ([email protected])    __@/

    "The idea of ``picking up where Apollo left off'' in lunar
exploration is a chimera.  There is nothing to pick up; when we dropped
it, it broke." 

     John & Ruth Lewis in 'Space Resources: Breaking the Bonds of Earth'

    from the other side, here is their ad
    
    Commercial Launch Vehicle
    92 %
    Sucess Rate
    in Over 110
    Flights
    
    Lift Capacity:
     4,800 lbs to GEO
    44,000 lbs to LEO  and if that is not enought guess what
    11,000 lbs to the MOON, MARS or VENUS
    
    For mor information contac:
     SPACE COMMERCE CORPORATION
     69th Floor
     Houston, Texas 770022 USA
     Telephone (713) 227-9008
     Fax       (713) 227-9006
     Telex       910-240-9191
    
    and if you have not guessed the first line of this add
    
    PROTON COMMERCIAL LAUNCH VEHICLE
    
    from Aviation Week 15 Feb 88 page 72