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Short abstract:

In this paper, we provide an overview of the material connections between the development of popular imaginaries of outer space and military development, our personal experiences with popular culture that sparked our love of outer space, and those moments which challenged us towards new imaginaries.

Long abstract:

The technological infrastructure that enables spacefaring entities to deliver materials into orbit—whether they be state or commercial actors—is so deeply embedded with the military-industrial-complex that if you ask any emerging aerospace engineering PhD what their prospects are of getting a job not entangled with defense, they’ll tell you it’s close to none. If you ask them what inspired them to pursue a career in aerospace engineering, they might tell you watching Star Trek, reading Isaac Asimov, or riding Space Mountain at Disneyland sparked their imagination and desire to look towards the stars. What role do these imaginaries play in planting the seeds that are then harvested to provide labor to the defense industry? On a personal level, for those of us engaged in space-related work—whether we be in the sciences, engineers, social scientists, or humanities scholars—how might we learn to nurture different dreams?

In this presentation, we provide a broad overview of the material connections between the development of popular imaginaries of outer space and military development, starting with the relationship between Walt Disney and Wernher von Braun. We then share our personal experiences with popular culture that sparked our love of outer space, and the interventions that allowed us to reconsider normative narratives of colonial expansion beyond Earth. Finally, we will engage the audience in a conversation inviting similar introspection into how the imaginaries of space many of us grew up with are related to the very systems of violence anticolonial work related to outer space seeks to disrupt.