Marketing Space, Part 5. How the Popularization of Space Helped Change the Earth, 1970s‑2000s

After the conquest of the Moon, initial successes in Mars exploration, and the completion of the Apollo program, a new phase in space history began. In the West, particularly in the United States and the countries involved in the European Space Agency (ESA), the most prominent events centered around the Space Shuttle program, launching space stations, and various international space projects. In the 1960s and 1970s, NASA launched the Mariner series, which were unmanned robotic probes that studied Venus, Mars, and Mercury. In 1973, the first orbital laboratory station, Skylab, went into orbit. There, astronauts and scientists studied Earth and the effects of spaceflight on the human body. As part of the Viking project in the 1970s, two probes went to Mars.

From the early 1970s until the commissioning of the International Space Station (ISS), space exploration not only advanced science and technology but also had a strong impact on culture, education, and the economy. Much of this was made possible through the efforts of individual space organizations and government support.  

In a previous article, we wrote about the influence of space on Soviet mass culture in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, we turn to the Western world to discuss how the promotion of space technologies and the idea of further exploration became a driving force for change across all areas of life.

Historical context

After six successful lunar missions, NASA’s manned space program came to an end, but the agency continued exploring the Solar System with unmanned vessels like Voyager and Viking. Later, it concentrated its efforts on the Skylab space laboratory, which hosted three expeditions over a two-year period. It then shifted its focus to the Space Shuttle program (officially named the Space Transportation System or STS), a reusable, low-Earth orbit spacecraft. Between 1981 and 2011, astronauts from 16 countries conducted 135 flights on five shuttles (Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor) with a total mission duration of 1,323 days. Additionally, space shuttle missions were used to construct the ISS, an orbital laboratory that has been continuously occupied by humans since 2000.

The space shuttle marked an important phase in space exploration following the completion of the Apollo missions. Despite two missions that were cut short by accidents and crew loss, the program played a huge role in advancing space exploration. Among other things, shuttle missions delivered astronauts and scientists into space to conduct research in space physics and astronomy and put the Hubble Telescope and ISS components into orbit.

Space exploration continued despite declining funding: by 1975, NASA’s budget had decreased to 1% of the national budget, from its peak of 4%. Much of its funding went to contractors who manufactured spacecraft, while NASA continued to handle their maintenance.

How NASA popularized space during the Skylab & Space Shuttle era

Alongside the decline in funding, public interest in space also waned. The novelty had faded, domestic issues drew the public’s attention, and disasters like the Challenger shuttle launch in January 1986, which destroyed the shuttle and killed its crew, harmed NASA’s reputation. The agency thus had to adapt its PR strategies to strengthen its image and generate interest in space exploration and new technologies.

Educational initiatives

In 1985, the Teacher in Space Program (TISP) was launched, having been announced a year earlier by President Ronald Reagan. It was aimed at school students and their teachers, to foster student interest in mathematics and space. To achieve this, teachers were trained as shuttle payload specialists so they could share their experiences with students upon return to Earth. However, the first such mission, during which teacher Christa McAuliffe was set to go into space, ended in tragedy when the Challenger shuttle exploded. NASA quickly canceled TISP, replacing it with the Educator Astronaut Project, which essentially pursued the same goals. Under the new program, McAuliffe’s backup, Barbara Morgan, finally went to space in 2007, though this time as a fully qualified mission specialist rather than a teacher.

Among other educational projects, it’s worth mentioning so-called “Space Camps,” which started in 1982. At that time, U.S. schools held exhibitions and organized summer internships for high school students. The aim was to spark young people’s interest in science and technology, with the long-term goal of nurturing a new generation of scientists and engineers. At Space Camps, students explored topics like space exploration, aviation, and robotics, and could use unique simulators, such as those that simulated walking on the Moon or being in open space. Some of these Space Camps are still in operation.

In 1984, the White House also developed the Young Astronaut program, which was aimed at enhancing knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, fields that later formed the basis of the “STEM” approach to education (though the acronym itself only came into use in the early 2000s). 

The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, also became a source of important discoveries and a powerful educational tool. NASA believed it “fundamentally changed humanity’s understanding of the universe” and the agency developed numerous programs and educational resources based on data from the telescope in an effort to inspire students to study astronomy. Today, anyone can “reserve” the Hubble Telescope, which has become a resource used not only by scientific and educational institutions but also by amateur astronomers.

Influence on popular culture

NASA also leveraged popular culture to boost the success of new projects. The space shuttle Discovery was named after the ship in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” though the original inspiration was one of the vessels James Cook used when discovering the Hawaiian Islands. Another memorable event in the shuttle’s history was when John Glenn traveled aboard it on October 29, 1998. Glenn was 77 at the time, making this his second flight into space.

Mission patches were a clever PR tool as well. Astronauts had been involved in their design since 1965, choosing elements that would reflect each mission’s goals and content. At some point, these patches became collectibles, and schools held competitions for the best design for upcoming missions. The crew of Endeavour not only chose a name suggested by students but also incorporated the colors of designers’ schools.

A lot of attention was devoted to international PR. NASA wanted to demonstrate that, as the winner of the space race, it was ready to magnanimously extend a hand of friendship and aid. The first international project was Spacelab, a reusable laboratory whose construction was initiated by NASA and ESA in 1974. Between 1983 and 1998, 22 major Spacelab missions were carried out, cementing NASA’s reputation as a reliable partner and pioneer in space innovation.

NASA’s largest international project, however, was the International Space Station (ISS), which began development in 1984 under the initiative of Ronald Reagan. In addition to the United States, Canada, Japan, and ESA were involved from the outset. They were joined in 1992 by Russia, which brought its experience in space technology inherited from the Soviet Union. The ISS is still operational and remains the most expensive object ever built by humans, costing at the time over $150 billion!

Space has been a driver of innovation and continues to have a significant impact on technologies used on Earth as well. A 2009 study published in Nature revealed that the Apollo program personally inspired half of the scientists surveyed. Nine out of ten believed that manned space exploration missions had stimulated new generations’ interest in science. Indeed, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF), the percentage of graduates with bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering peaked in the late 1960s.

By 1976, certain technologies originally developed for space had begun to be adopted in everyday life. Laser eye surgery, mammography, thermoelectric coolers for microchips, high-temperature lubricants, memory foam mattresses, Bluetooth technology, and ski suits, among other things, were all products that stemmed from space-related developments. NASA also played a crucial role in shaping the nascent satellite telecommunications market, which relies on technologies initially developed to support official missions.

The early commercialization of space

Space began to be used for commercial purposes as early as 1962, when the Telstar 1 satellite was launched to transmit television signals across the Atlantic Ocean. It was followed in 1964 by Syncom 3, which broadcast the Olympic Games to the world. However, the first actual commercial satellite was Intelsat I, also known as “Early Bird.” It connected Europe to North America both with television broadcasts and also with telephone and facsimile communication.

Between 1960 and 1966, NASA launched several meteorological satellites, called TIROS, to monitor weather from Earth’s orbit. These satellites not only allowed for more accurate weather forecasting (including for commercial purposes) but also helped track climate change.

One of the most significant steps toward the commercialization of space was the founding of the French company Arianespace SA in 1980. The world’s first commercial launch service provider, it was created to manage and provide marketing support for launches using Ariane rockets. These rockets could deliver payloads of between 4.2 tons and, since 1996, up to 5.2 tons into space. By 1998, the company accounted for more than 50% of the global market for launching satellites into geostationary transfer orbit.

In 1990, Hughes Electronics, the largest manufacturer of satellite equipment at the time, invested $750 million in creating a direct-to-home satellite broadcasting system, naming it DirecTV. The 1999 Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act further popularized satellite communication by allowing local stations to be included in satellite channel packages. By the end of 2000, the number of satellite TV subscriptions exceeded 67 million.

Meanwhile, space tourism began to develop by mid-1984. People from various professions, not just teachers, began to be trained as payload specialists. The first space tourist was Charles D. Walker, for whose flight McDonnell Douglas paid $40,000. After the Challenger disaster, however, interest in commercial launches quickly waned, leading some projects to experience funding gaps.

Brands in space, 1970-2000

Just like during the “space euphoria” of the 1960s, various brands drew inspiration from space to promote their products. The producer of M&M’s candies used astronaut imagery in its 1981 advertising, and in 1992, NASA astronaut Loren Shriver ate M&M’s in zero gravity aboard the Atlantis shuttle during the STS-42 mission.

Inspired by the earlier success of Tang’s space-themed promotions, Coca-Cola approached NASA with a proposal to test a soda dispenser aboard the shuttle. Upon hearing of this, Pepsi also requested to be part of the experiment. As a result of this competition, shuttle crews were able to enjoy their favorite drinks onboard the shuttle.

In 1996, Pepsi offered around $5 million for an astronaut to take an oversized replica of their soda can into orbit. Later, Columbia Pictures paid $500,000 to advertise the 1993 film “Last Action Hero” on the Conestoga launch vehicle. In 1997, the Israeli company Tnuva was the first to shoot a commercial in space, while the German company Bruno Banani sent a collection of “Your Dynamic Underwear” to the crew for fitness activities.

That same year, however, the U.S. House of Representatives passed 51 USC 50911, a law that prohibited licenses for missions intended to place intrusive commercial advertising in space. However, this did not mark the end of space commercialization: read our next article for more on how NASA continued to draw public attention to space technologies while private companies went beyond simply using space-related themes in their marketing and began launching commercial missions of their own.