Alice Claire Gorman

The cultural landscape of interplanetary space

Since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, interplanetary space has become filled with human material culture. A ‘spacescape’ now exists including terrestrial space sites like rocket ranges, satellites and space junk in Earth orbit and planetary landing sites. The significance of this material is usually understood within a ‘Space Race’ framework that emphasizes high technology and the Cold War rivalry between the USA and the USSR. However, appropriate management of the cultural heritage of space exploration requires a broader scope and this can be provided by a cultural landscape approach. The heritage significance of space exploration is explored through three cultural landscapes which illustrate complex and conflicting perspectives on space: Peenemünde in Germany, Woomera in South Australia and Tranquility Base on the Moon.

The archaeology of space exploration

Since the Second World War, the exploration and commercial development of space have created an increasingly complex material record of places and objects. In 1947, four rocket ranges were established in Algeria, Australia, the USSR and the USA, the first generation of Cold War facilities where the production of missiles also created the capability of penetrating outer space. In 1957, the launch of Sputnik 1 heralded the beginning of the orbital age. In 1969, humans first set foot on the surface of another celestial body when the Apollo 11 mission landed on the Moon, leaving behind a flag, bootprints, and a myriad of other material remains. After 50 years of rocket launches, there are now more than 10,000 pieces of human-manufactured material in Earth orbit alone. These places and objects have been extensively documented and are represented in space museums across the world; but until recently they have not been considered as an archaeological record. To do so raises a number of questions: what can the artefacts of the space age tell us that the documentary record cannot? How has space exploration altered or created landscapes on Earth and in space? How do people interact with the artefacts and landscapes of space exploration? And, perhaps most importantly, what are the heritage values of this archaeological record? For many, the history of space exploration is also that of the ‘Space Race’: a narrative that emphasizes the adversarial relationship of the Cold War superpowers and downplays international collaboration and the contributions of ‘Third’ and ‘Fourth’ world people. In this chapter I propose to sidestep the ‘Space Race’ approach and examine the archaeological record of space exploration with particular reference to launch facilities in Australia and Algeria, and early amateur satellites such as Australis Oscar V.

The sky is falling: how Skylab became an Australian icon

In 1979, the US orbital space station Skylab made a spectacular re-entry that, like the de-orbiting of Mir in 2001, was widely anticipated across the world. As it disintegrated, debris from the spacecraft fell around the towns of Esperance and Balladonia in Western Australia. The Shire of Esperance, tongue-in-cheek, fined the United States Government for littering. While in orbit, the space station was largely invisible. In its re-entry, however, the disembodied spacecraft became tangible, visible, and collectible, in the form of its widely scattered and charred remains. Anyone could own a piece of space if they wanted; the debris was both space junk and a precious artefact. Through these local and personal interventions after its decay, the social significance of Skylab came to outweigh its historic significance and it passed into popular consciousness as a rare Australian space icon. In this article I consider how the parts of Skylab became more than the sum of the whole.

Robot Avatars: The Material Culture of Human Activity in Earth Orbit

This chapter discusses orbital debris from a cultural heritage perspective. It examines the cultural material related to space exploration with a specific focus on “space junk” and the increasing amount of material remains including thousands of satellites, rocket bodies, parts and piece of spacefaring objects. The author argues that the materials and design reflect social and political interactions with space as well as humanity’s adaptation to a new environment. The study of space heritage can add to the history of space exploration and contemporary life on Earth.

The Heritage Uncertainty Principle: Excavating Air Raid Shelters from the Second World War

For the last few years, archaeologists at Flinders University, Adelaide, and staff at a former military hospital have been on the trail of an elusive structure: a subterranean air raid shelter (or series of shelters) built in 1942 to protect the lives of doctors, nurses, and their soldier patients in the event of a Japanese air raid. The search has attracted enormous public interest, as well as the attention of conspiracy theorists, convinced that the air raid shelters conceal military surplus and other secrets. The project has involved professional archaeologists, students, hospital staff, patients, veterans, and members of the local residential community. However, despite the investment of resources in documentary research, oral history collection, geophysical survey, and excavation, archaeology has revealed few material traces of the shelters, stranding them largely in people’s imagination.

An investigation of human responses to climatic fluctuations at Allen’s Cave, South Australia, from ca 40,000 to 5,000 BP, by a technological analysis of stone artefacts

Abstract Following its initial occupation ca 40,000 years ago, Aboriginal people using Allen’s Cave in South Australia’s arid zone experienced two major climatic changes. From the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) at ca 30,000 cal. BP, until its peak at ca 22,000–18,000 cal. BP, aridity in Australia reached its most intense phase during the human occupation of the site. Conversely, conditions around the Allen’s Cave region during the early Holocene, 11,000–8,000 cal. BP, were the most favourable for human occupation. In this paper, we present the results of a technological and statistical re-analysis of previously excavated Allen’s Cave stone artefact assemblages, focusing on the period ca 40,000–5,000 cal. BP, to examine whether people made adjustments to stone tool manufacture in response to these climatic fluctuations. Our results and interpretations are consistent with some of the conclusions of previous scholars, primarily that the site was used for infrequent visitation rather than long-term occupation, and that little change occurred in the production of stone artefacts (despite changing environmental conditions). We also concur that lithic evidence exists for trade/exchange and/or a change in foraging range or stone curation practices at the start of the early Holocene. However, we do not support all prior claims for significant cultural and demographic changes at this time and we argue that Allen’s Cave was probably abandoned from ca 30,000 to 26,000 cal. BP. The ca 4,000 year hiatus, combined with probable increased visitation after the LGM, suggests that whilst stone tool technology remained largely consistent during the period of focus, Aboriginal people did alter their occupation patterns in response to environmental changes. On the basis of these new interpretations about the site’s occupation history, we provide updated observations in order to contribute to desert occupation modelling.

The opportunities and challenges of graduate level teaching in cultural heritage management

Abstract In recent years there has been greater examination and discussion of teaching and learning in archaeology, and exploration of how best to reconcile the sometimes competing requirements of students, industry, teachers and university administrators. A key response by the academy in Australia has been the emergence of graduate level programmes. Drawing on the experiences of staff, students and industry partners of the Flinders University Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Management graduate programmes, we reflect on the opportunities such programmes afford to effect positive change in the training of graduates, the challenges they pose and the contrast they offer to the standard and long accepted Honours degree. We demonstrate that carefully crafted graduate level teaching programmes, with strong involvement of industry stakeholders, offer practical solutions to the issue of providing students with a well-rounded degree, whilst also meeting the particular needs of the cultural heritage sector to produce work-ready graduates.