Humanities Job Talk

Abstract: Artificial satellites currently support a multitude of technological systems on the ground below. The ancestors of today's electronics-bearing behemoths took a variety of forms, from Sputnik's polished orb to giant, inflatable "satelloons" to globe-circling belts of copper filaments. As the number of satellites proliferated, at a range of orbital altitudes and inclinations, specialist and mainstream communities around the world confronted new realities of environmental risk in outer space. Questions of how to protect Earth orbit from misuse by a tiny club of powerful spacefaring nations—and how to ensure fair access to a global natural resource—imbued early efforts to codify the international governance of outer space. By the 1970s, the first-come-first-served occupation of particularly valuable orbits spurred developing nations to challenge the technopolitical status quo. This talk will examine acts of political resistance that shaped the satellite infrastructure, confronted Cold War hegemonies, and contributed to the rise of a truly global Space Age.