Terms & Conditions

Book Review

ANN GARRISON DARRIN & BETH LAURA O'LEARY (ed.). Handbook of space engineering, archaeology, and heritage. xx+1016 pages, over 250 illustrations. 2009. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press; 978-1-4200-8431-3 hardback £97.

Review by Wayne Cocroft
English Heritage, Cambridge, UK
(Email: wayne.cocroft@english-heritage.org.uk)

Cocroft image

This substantial volume explores space heritage, the final frontier for archaeologists. Space archaeology is defined as the 'the archaeological study of material culture related to space exploration that is found on Earth and in outer space, that is, exoatmospheric material that is clearly the result of human behaviour' (p. xi). The book is the result of collaboration between Ann Garrison Darrin, a physicist from John Hopkins University, and Beth Laura O'Leary, an anthropologist at New Mexico State University. Within it, besides papers by the editors, there are ten sections and 49 chapters by 43 contributors from the social and physical sciences. The volume leads readers from either discipline through the basics of archaeology, space technology, heritage, and a history of the space age from its origins as a technological and propaganda battleground of the Cold War. Later sections discuss strategies, policies and the practicalities of preserving artefacts on earth and in space. One of the most intriguing chapters (by Doleman) is on the as yet inconclusive archaeological investigation of the alleged UFO crash site at Roswell, New Mexico; and Campbell (pp. 873-86) contends that protocols are needed for dealing with material culture with a non-human origin. The book concludes with chapters on the role of science fiction writers and their role in inspiration, with Boone (p. 931) arguing that they share with archaeologists the long view of human evolution. Two appendices provide an explanation of terms and a list of international space organisations.

Barclay and Brooks (p. 683) make an apt analogy between the space environment and the maritime. They are both hostile environments where often hugely expensive equipment is required to document and in some instances recover artefacts. They are also international spaces where global co-operation is required to recognise and protect significant cultural material. O'Leary's interest in this subject began in 1999 with the Lunar Legacy Project, which was established to consider the heritage of the Apollo 11 Tranquility Base landing site, where humans first set foot on the moon in July 1969. This work illustrates some of the challenges of preserving space heritage. On earth, the Apollo 11 launch site in Florida is registered as a National Historic Landmark, and since the publication of this book the Californian Historical Resources Commission has registered 106 artefacts at Tranquility Base as a historical resource (Gorman 2010). Although the objects have received some official recognition which may protect them from future souvenirs hunters, international law forbids any state or individual laying claim to the surface of the moon, therefore preventing any one state protecting the site and humankind's first extra terrestrial footprints.

Just as challenging is the space debris that orbits the earth. The United States' Space Command continuously tracks over 17 000 pieces of space debris, ranging from rocket casings and satellites to fragments of space vehicles (White 2008). Ossiander and Ostdiek (p. 366) suggest sending significant objects into a parking, or graveyard, orbit, although even there they would be subject to degradation from micrometeroids and ultraviolet radiation. Alternatively, they might be removed from their context and returned to earth.

As the editors acknowledge, even a volume of over 1000 pages cannot cover all areas of the topic. The discussion of the history of space technology is heavily focused on the United States, although its German origins are also well covered. The material culture of other space-faring nations including, China, France, India, Japan and the United Kingdom is less well represented. The space age has also created its own architecture of research establishments, manufacturing plants, corporate headquarters, towns and settlements. In England, at the Spadeadam Rocket Establishment in Cumbria, are internationally rare surviving examples of 1950s large rocket test beds, while at the Needles on the Isle of Wight, the rocket test site is a National Trust property. It was here that the Black Arrow rocket was developed, which in 1971 launched the British-designed Prospero satellite. This event marked Britain as the third country to place a satellite in orbit and, although now silent, Prospero will probably continue to pass over our heads for at least another century.

The publication of this volume marks the passing of the space archaeologist as a figure from a science fiction book to one dedicated to the study and preservation of one of humankind's greatest cultural achievements. It is a timely and essential starting point for anyone considering the legacy of space exploration. With the imminent launch of Virgin Galactic, space tourism and visits to historic spacecraft may be less than a decade away.

References


Back to Top