Remembering the Space Age. - Black Vault Radio Network (BVRN)

Chapter 17
american Spaceflight history’s Master
Narrative and the Meaning of Memory
roger D. Launius
INtroDuCtIoN
the term master narrative typically refers to a set of sociocultural
interpretations of events agreed upon by most of the interpreters of the
event or age, and these are abundantly apparent when considering the history
of the Space age. they ofer what might best be considered secure knowledge
formed to delineate the trajectory of the historical event and center it in its
appropriate cultural place. Master narratives are ubiquitous in american history.
they serve important purposes in helping to create a useable past for the nation
and its peoples. historians, perhaps unmindfully, accept the master narrative
about whatever subject they are examining with relative ease most of the time
and facilitate its creation and maintenance as bulwarks upon which the national,
or other, story rests. In this instance they support a group identity, whether it
be a subgroup or a nation-state, exhibiting varying degrees of commitment to,
as well as detachment from, the concepts of the groups that they serve. they
move between these two poles to construct historical perspectives that will be
of value to the group. rarely do historians create from whole cloth a master
narrative, instead usually reinforcing the dominant perceptions, or master
narrative, already held by the group. 1
It may be argued that there are four narratives that have emerged concerning
the u.S. space program, one that is a master narrative and three minor variations.
these include: 1) the overwhelmingly dominant narrative of american triumph,
exceptionalism, and success; 2) the counter narrative of criticism of the space
program from the left, wasting funds on a worthless expense that yielded little
when so many americans could have benefted from spending on social programs;
3) a more recent narrative of criticism of spacefight from the right of
the political spectrum focusing on the program as a representation of liberal
taxing and spending strategies; and 4) a fringe narrative that sees in the u.S.
1. I have explored this issue an another context in roger D. Launius,“Mormon Memory, Mormon
Myth, and Mormon history,” Journal of Mormon History 21 (Spring 1995): 1-24.