Rocket Stars in the Global Space Age: Clarke, Qian, Sarabhai, Jähn, Merbold and Tamayo
Roundtable with Alexander Geppert (NYU/Caltech), Maritza Gómez (Colegio de México), Lu Liu (Georgia Institute of Technology), Haitian Ma (University of Amsterdam), Asif Siddiqi (Fordham University), Tilmann Siebeneichner (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and David Skogerboe (Utrecht University)
Friday, 3 December 2021, 12:00–14:00 EST
Location: Online
Oft-repeated but rarely questioned, the notion of the ‘founding father’ has long been a conspicuous trope in outer space historiography, with patriarchal figures and popular techno-celebrities being credited for large-scale technical achievements. This roundtable will discuss the making, function, and popularity of such rocket stars and Space Age ‘father figures’ in a global setting: Arthur C. Clarke (Britain/Sri Lanka); Qian Xuesen (China); Vikram Sarabhai (India); Sigmund Jähn and Ulf Merbold (East and West Germany, respectively); and Arnaldo Tamayo (Cuba).