Full Description
Down to Earth presents the first comprehensive overview of the geopolitical maneuvers, financial investments, technological innovations, and ideological struggles that take place behind the scenes of the satellite industry. Satellite projects that have not received extensive coverage-microsatellites in China, WorldSpace in South Africa, SiriusXM, the failures of USA 193 and Cosmos 954, and Iridium-are explored. This collection takes readers on a voyage through a truly global industry, from the sites where satellites are launched to the corporate clean rooms where they are designed, and along the orbits and paths that satellites traverse. Combining a practical introduction to the mechanics of the satellite industry, a history of how its practices and technologies have evolved, and a sophisticated theoretical analysis of satellite cultures, Down to Earth opens up a new space for global media studies.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
I Concepts and Cartographies
1. The Invention of Air Space, Outer Space, and Cyberspace
2. Dethroning the View from Above
3. The Geostationary Orbit
4. "Freedom to Communicate"
5. The NAVSTAR Global Positioning System
6. Satellites, Oil, and Footprints
II Satellite Mediascapes
7. From Satellite to Screen
8. Beyond the Terrestrial?
9. Crossing Borders
10. WorldSpace Satellite Radio and the South African Footprint
11. Content vs. Delivery
III Orbital Matters
12. When Satellites Fall
13. AFP-731 or The Other Night Sky
14. Microsatellites
15. Disjecta Membra, the KÁrmÁn Line, and the 38th Parallel
Contributors
Index
