SPACE WITHOUT ROCKETS: CULTURAL AND HUMAN FACTORS APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABLE SPACE TRAVEL

摘要

Space without Rockets was the first meeting about sustainable and lighter than air space travel addressing both a technological and cultural approaches to the subject, inspired by the work of Argentinian artist Tomas Saraceno and engineer John Powell of JP aerospace, initiated by curator Dr Rob La Frenais. In the heart of America's space landscape, near the White Sands Missile Range and not far from Spaceport America, the event focussed on some of the core questions that lie in the practice of internationally acclaimed artist Tomas Saraceno. Is it possible to imagine a future where space travel can happen without burning up hydrocarbons, increasing climate change and joining the nationalistic hegemony of the space race? Informed by Saraceno's ideas, the event looked at alternative visions of space travel through the lens of art and artistic activity, and included artists who question the meaning of space exploration, the human factors surrounding it and the landscape of West Texas and New Mexico, home to the history of rocketry and future of space tourism. Rob La Frenais will report and reflect on the results and the implications for education and outreach about new paradigms of space flight, including the demonstration of the first human flight in a registered solar balloon, without using any inert gases or hydrocarbons, which took place in White Sands Desert.