The Space Race and Television Broadcasting

Human exploration of space and the advancement of broadcasting are closely interlinked. This was especially the case during the Space Race. The Space Race was a time of great competition, between Russia and the United States. The countries attempted to outdo each other, in as many ways as possible.

The Space Race took place during the Cold War. It signified a time of great global conflict, and the possibility of war, between Russia and the United States. “Soon after World War 2, the United States and the Soviet Union became locked in a global conflict pitting democracy against communism. Space became a critical theater in this Cold War, as each side competed to best the other’s achievements in what became known as the Space Race,” (Space Race, page 1). The Space Race was a time of great technological advancement. This was a direct result of Russia and the United States’ attempts to outdo each other.

Broadcasting played a huge role during the Space Race. It was key in propagating space achievements all over the world. People from every walk of life witnessed manned space achievements on television. Events such as the moon landing were widely broadcasted throughout the United States and the rest of the world. “The mesmerizing television coverage of the Apollo 11 Moon landing 50 years ago brought previously unthinkable images and ideas into the homes of millions, leaving a profound impact on pop culture and the American psyche,” (Jeffrey). Many peoples’ lives were forever changed by the moon landing. The grainy footage brought into their homes mesmerized and awed the masses. Broadcasting enabled millions to witness history unfolding in front of their very eyes. Other events, such as Kennedy’s moon speech, were also widely broadcasted on television. The Project Mercury Missions were aired on television, and seen by millions. Other missions, such as Scott Carpenter’s Mercury- Atlas 7 Flight, were also aired on tv sets all over the globe. During Carpenter’s Mercury-Atlas 7 mission, his equipment malfunctioned. This led to Carpenter landing quite a distance away from where he was supposed to land. The event captured the attention of millions, leading to widespread concern. “NASA lost communication with Carpenter and for about 40 minutes, tens of millions of viewers watching on television waited anxiously, concerned that he had not survived reentry or splashdown,” (Jay). Television played a huge role informing the public during the time of the Space Race. Milestones in manned space flight were broadcasted everywhere. The Apollo 8 mission is another such example. “The first Apollo 8 TV broadcast started some 31 hours into the mission. The use of a 9 mm wide angle lens inside the spacecraft provided good pictures. Frank Borman acted as both director and narrator, Jim Lovell as an actor preparing a meal, and all three crewmen as Cameramen,” (Wood). Television broadcasting relayed important manned spaceflight achievements to the public. Ultimately, this was key in furthering the connection between mankind and space. People began to view the world, and their daily lives, much differently than they had before. As a result of international broadcasting, the publics’ perception of space was forever altered.

The Space Race also inversely impacted the technological development of broadcasting. NASA scientific research during the Space Race was key in advancing television technology. It forever changed the future of broadcasting. “On July 20, 1969, viewers witnessed one of the most compelling live news reports in the history of television: American astronauts disembarking Apollo 11 and taking their first steps on the surface of the moon. This broadcast was a product of over a decade of technological development in TV accelerated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),” (Crawford). NASA made the most progress in satellite research, which was absolutely key in changing the face of broadcasting. The United States’ cold war competition with Russia brought about a plethora of new technologies. In the broadcasting world, the satellite was one of the most significant of these technologies. The satellites furthered wireless communication, allowing television content to be aired all over the world. “When NASA launched its first satellite, Explorer I, in January 1958, the range of wireless communication changed forever,” (Crawford). While broadcasting played a significant role during the space race, the space race also impacted the technological advancement of television. Television informed millions by filming major achievements in space. Meanwhile, the space race furthered television, through NASA scientific research and cold war competition.

Broadcasting played a huge role during the space race. It informed millions, by airing significant manned space achievements and milestones internationally.

One of the largest broadcasts during the Space Race was the Apollo 11 moon landing. People from all over the world watched in awe and amazement, as astronauts set foot on the moon. Truly an astounding number of people watched the moon landing, as black and white grainy footage of Armstrong appeared on their television sets. “More than half a billion people, about 14 percent of the global population, watched in more or less real time from Earth — the delay in signal from the moon a mere 1.25 seconds, not including the time it took to reach one’s own TV,” (Lloyd). The Apollo 11 broadcast forever changed peoples’ perceptions of the world.

The moon landing dominated television, and captivated the masses. The footage of Apollo 11 far outdid previous television events. It was out of the ordinary, dazzling, and truly an amazing feat. “Television was born as a live medium, but by the 1960s, few things happened live on it. Growing up in Los Angeles, nearly everything we saw, including the evening news, was prerecorded. Space launches were not. They were early-morning events, history in the making, which I was roused from bed to watch,” (Lloyd). The round-the-clock coverage of the moon landing added to its significance. Apollo 11 was extensively covered by numerous broadcasting networks. “Nevertheless, the overall quality and erudite tenor of Cronkite’s round-the-clock coverage, as part of an energized and extremely dedicated media effort, had a lasting influence on public conceptions of the mission,” (Jeffrey). This quote illustrates the power broadcasting exercised during the moon landing. The Apollo 11 broadcast had a huge impact on the way the public viewed the landing itself, and also how they viewed NASA spaceflight. The public’s opinion of the Space Race was also significantly influenced by Apollo 11 coverage. CBS news thoroughly covered the moon landing. “CBS News’ planning was intricate, expensive and wide- ranging, involving multiple reporting locations across three continents. CBS memos from the time describe the scope of the news coverage and the significance of the Apollo 11 mission,” (Jeffrey). This quote demonstrates the significance of the moon landing in the broadcasting industry. Large television stations, like CBS, thoroughly planned their coverage of the moon landing. The fact that CBS spent so much time planning for the event truly illustrates how big Apollo 11 was. Stations were getting ready for millions to tune into the live coverage. “In the run up to CBS' coverage, Robert Wussler, Cronkite's producer, told Variety magazine that it would be ‘the world's greatest single broadcast’ in television history,” (Jeffrey). This quote is a perfect illustration of the enormity of the Apollo 11 broadcast. No previous television broadcast had ever reached such an enormous audience, and impacted so many people. Without television this event would’ve never reached the millions of people it did. The coverage of Apollo 11 was nonstop. It was round-the-clock, in every sense of the word. “Mr. Banow played his part on the ground, helming the coverage of the Apollo 11 mission for CBS news while standing on his feet like and orchestra conductor. Mr. Banow treated the 32 hours of programming on July 20 and July 21, 1969, like ‘a blockbuster kind of motion picture,’ he said in an interview, which meant days of rehearsal, custom animation and a cast of correspondents and producers so large that the end credits lasted seven minutes,” (Hsu). This quote further illustrates the extreme preparation that went into televising the Apollo 11 mission. Every aspect of the broadcasting coverage had to be carefully thought out. The news companies were aware that the event would have a massive impact, and as a result, thoroughly prepared to cover it. This quote further demonstrates the idea that the Apollo 11 broadcast was one of the greatest news broadcasts in television history. In America, news broadcasting networks spent loads of time covering the event. These networks’ coverage dominated television. “All three major American broadcast networks — CBS, NBC, and ABC — covered the Apollo 11 mission, with CBS dominating the ratings. In the United States, 94 percent of people watching television were tuned into the event,” (Hsu).

The Apollo 11 broadcast led to an increase in space-themed content on television. It influenced multiple avenues in the world of television. Advertisements, talk shows and other content were significantly influenced by the coverage of the moon landing. The fact that the Apollo 11 broadcast influenced future television so much demonstrates its massive impact in the broadcasting world. The Apollo 11 broadcast informed millions, while also changing the landscape of television. “Networks in the United States rounded out their coverage with hours of analysis and moon-related entertainment. On ABC, the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov chatted with Rod Sterling, the creator of “The Twilight Zone” television series. The network had also commissioned Duke Ellington to create something new for the occasion. He made his television debut as a vocalist, performing the song he had composed, ‘Moon Maiden,’ live on the air,” (Hsu). Advertising was also hugely impacted by coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The effect on advertising further illustrates the overall impact of television’s coverage of Apollo 11. “The advertising industry got in on the craze, too. In one ad, Panasonic showed astronauts on the moon watching a television set under the words ‘Now you can watch the Russians coming even if you’re 250,000 miles from home.’ Space-themed ads also appeared from Stouffer’s, Sony, Ford, United, Motorola and other companies,” (Hsu). The Apollo 11 event carried on in particular media, into the future. “Apollo 11 went on to have a long media afterlife. MTV opened for business in 1981 with a montage of NASA images from the mission assembled by a Greenwich Village firm, Manhattan Design,” (Hsu).

Several other television broadcasts occurred during the Space Race. Another significant television event was tv coverage of the Mercury-Atlas 7 flight. This event was significant, mainly due to the technical problems Scott Carpenter encountered. His space capsule ended up landing in the wrong spot, quite a distance from its target area. Both CBS and NBC news covered the flight and accident in detail. “Based on the limited information in the Paley Center database, it appears CBS aired live coverage from around 7 pm to at least 5 pm, starting before the launch and ending with his rescue,” (Jay). On NBC, a large number of people watched the coverage of the Mercury-Atlas 7 flight. It wasn’t nearly as many people as the Apollo 11 moon landing, but still was very indicative of the role of broadcasting during the Space Race. Broadcasting was key in relaying the event back to the general public. “NBC-TV would later estimate that some 65 million people watched at least some of the coverage of Carpenter’s flight, compared to a similar early estimate of 96 million for John Glenn’s space flight on February 20th,” (Jay).

Project Mercury was covered extensively on television. Numerous aspects of the manned missions were covered in detail, captivating people from many walks of life. Every single mission was covered on television. The amount of programming each Mercury mission received varied, but they were all thoroughly covered on national television. “The six-shot, one-man-each U.S. Mercury series received major coverage, from start to finish,” (Hogan). The very first Project Mercury mission, Freedom 7, was covered by CBS. The special broadcasts, revolving around the Freedom 7 flight, were around 6 hours. “The CBS News ‘launch cast’ ran from 1022 to 1130 EDT, but five other CBS News Special Reports and one Bulletin ran before and afterward that day, plus a half-hour Eyewitness to History in prime time that night called ‘Our Man in Space,’ “ (Hogan). The Aurora 7 mission was also extensively covered on national television. The whole spaceflight, from beginning to end, was televised throughout America. This time around, the video coverage was much longer, airing for 10 hours. “On Thursday 24 May 1962, ‘The Flight of Aurora 7’ received similar all-out coverage, including a 10-hour stretch from before launch to after splashdown for the postponed three-orbital mission by M. Scott Carpenter. Broadcasts of 12 minutes for a short post-flight NASA news conference and two wrap-ups of 30 and 15 minutes also aired that evening, plus one-hour for a press conference by Mr. Carpenter three days later, and a speech by him on Tuesday 5 June 1965,” (Hogan).

The launch of a chimp into space was also widely broadcasted on international television. CBS was the main station that covered the chimp’s short flight. The space chimp was sent into space by America. Shortly after this event, the Soviet Union sent a dog into orbit. This event was also broadcasted on television. Both of the flights were quite representative of Cold War competition, between America and the Soviet Union. They were both briefly aired on American television. “On Tuesday 31 January 1961, African-born space chimp Ham rocketed into space on a suborbital hop from Florida, and he splashed down (and lived until 1983). CBS News noted his flight with three one-minute Bulletins at 1205, 1225, and 1554 EST. (The American ‘space chimp’ Enos’s flight in November 1961 received similar coverage). On Thursday 9 March 1961, a one-minute mid-evening Bulletin reported that the Soviets had launched a black dog named Chernushka (‘Blackie’) into Earth orbit (the animal retuned alive after making one
orbit),” (Hogan). This quote illustrates an important point. These events, while not nearly as significant as the moon landing, were still covered on national television. What can be gleaned from this is that most aspects of the Space Race were televised. Even the least significant events were covered by varying news outlets. Even an army lunar mission was covered on television. CBS was the main news station that aired this event, in 1958. “Almost two months later, on Saturday 6 December 1958, CBS News aired a pair of special programs about another U.S. Army lunar mission called Pioneer 3. The U.S. military adamantly banned live launch coverage, so on the first program CBS News aired a videotape liftoff about three minutes after ‘fire in the tail,’ “ (Hogan). This quote demonstrates an important idea. The coverage of this mission didn’t include live footage of the event. This was different from many of the other televised space flights, which often included detailed live footage. Despite this, the event was still covered, just like many of the other spaceflights at the time.

CBS News played a large role in relaying the Project Gemini flights to the masses. This station was key in helping the public to inform the public about Gemini. The manned Gemini missions were the last signifiant Space Race events broadcasted on international television. They were covered in quite a lot of detail. “Three weeks later, Gemini 3 — with astronauts Virgil 1. ‘Gus’ Grissom and John W. Young aboard the Molly Brown (plus a smuggled-in contraband corned-beef sandwich)— received literally full-coverage-plus, advanced with a one-hour night- before Special Report ‘Gemini Preview’ broadcast from Florida. On Tuesday 23 March 1965, the CBS News Special Report ‘Gemini: Two Men in Space’ lasted from 0700 to 1630 EST, from 2 hours and 24 minutes before launch to 2 hours and 13 minutes after splashdown,” (Hogan). The televised Gemini missions were the last big space achievements covered on national television. They represented the end of broadcasting’s large role during the Space Race. Numerous aspects of the missions were televised, and covered in quite some detail. “A launch-eve preview half- hour aired at 2000-2030 the night before. On launch day, Thursday 3 June 1965, Walter Cronkite anchored coverage from 0700 to 1636, with liftoff at 1116, in the first of a series of CBS News Special Reports called ‘G-T 4: Four Days in Space,” (Hogan).

The Space Race furthered the technological development of television and broadcasting. Competition between Russia and the United States led to the development of numerous new technologies. Technologies built on one another, eventually leading to a number of worldly benefits. One facet of society, forever altered by the Space Race, was television broadcasting.

Satellites completely changed the nature of long distance communication on Earth. The Space Race was key in leading to the development of new satellite technology. Satellites eventually reached into the world of broadcasting. It initially began as an advancement in widespread wireless communication, which would eventually impact the world of television broadcasting. “When NASA launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, in January 1958, the range of wireless communication changed forever,” (Crawford). The radio transmitters on Explorer 1 didn’t last very long, and died quickly. Shortly after the launch of Explorer 1, NASA sent out a new satellite, called Vanguard 1. “In an attempt to extend the life of their radio transmitters, the U.S. launched the test satellite Vanguard 1 on March 17, 1958. This small satellite, weighing only three and a half pounds, was outfitted with six small solar batteries, spaced around the shell to catch as much sunlight as possible. These solar cells powered one of the radio transmitters on the Vanguard and extended its life to months as opposed to weeks. Though the immediate goal was to use this extension of radio life to increase the amount of data that could be collected, it also made the idea of a communications satellite possible,” (Garity). The Explorer 1 and Vanguard 1 satellites marked the very beginning of the widespread changes television broadcasting would eventually experience. Experimentation in wireless communication, through satellites, would evolve into a commercial venture.

The pace soon quickened, as increasing numbers of satellites were designed and launched into space. AT&T jumped into the action, and launched the first commercial satellite, Telstar 1. “As a result of the boom in satellite technology, NASA helped AT&T launch the first commercial communications satellite, the Telstar 1, in 1962,” (Crawford). This satellite was key in changing the way commercial communication was viewed. A new age of television broadcasting was beginning, which was a direct result of satellite development and design. The first two American satellites in space, Explorer 1 and Vanguard 1, were designed by NASA. The Telstar 1 satellite was built purely as a commercial venture. This shift signified the use of satellites privately, by companies, as opposed to them being used only for NASA space research. “While commercially sponsored spacecraft are now widely accepted, Telstar was the first privately financed satellite. Bell laboratories designed and built the spacecraft which was paid for by the American Telephone and Telegraph Corp., under a NASA-AT&T agreement,” (Granath). The world of broadcasting was undergoing a massive shift. “The Telstar mission was also the first commercial payload in space, and demonstrated the ability for information to be transmitted around the world using satellites. While the Telstar 1 satellite was only operational for a few months, it successfully transmitted a variety of signals from orbit, including television, fax, telephone, data and still pictures from several locations across the United States and Europe, Smithsonian officials said,” (space.com). This passage illustrates an important point. Telstar 1 was key in demonstrating the numerous capabilities of satellite technology. It was instrumental in showing the masses in what ways satellite technology could impact television. The successful demonstration by this satellite would lead to future widespread use of satellites for television broadcasting. “ ‘Live’ communications would allow Americans to receive more quickly than they had before. They would also be more connected to the world, being able to receive television broadcasts from other countries,” (Garity). Telstar 1 marked a new age for international television. People all over the world were amazed by its advanced capabilities. The satellite’s broadcasts created a stir of excitement among the masses. It was demonstrative of a new era of television; one in which people all over the globe could tune into varying stations. “In homes across Rome, people barely touched their dinners. London’s pubs were packed, but bartenders served nary a drink. Throughout Europe, more than 100 million people huddled around television sets on the evening of July 23, 1962, to tune into history. With Europeans watching eagerly, a black-and-white image of the Statue of Liberty flickered onto their screens. The picture itself was not particularly noteworthy except for one thing: it was live, via satellite. The historic, live transatlantic broadcast was made possible by Telstar, a spherical satellite only the size of a large beach ball,” (Klein).

After the launch of Telstar 1, the Syncom 2 and Syncom 3 satellites were sent into space. These satellites greatly improved long distance communication on Earth. They marked a time when broadcasting was undergoing significant change. Alterations in communication would eventually result in huge broadcasting changes throughout the United States, and rest of the world. “This solidified the link between America and other countries created by Telstar, giving Americans relatively indefinite access to other countries. The Syncom 3 displayed this connection between the world when it was used to broadcast the 1965 Olympics from Tokyo to the western coast of the United States. The abilities of these satellites were only the foundation for modern communication satellites, which have even further connected the world,” (Garity).

During the Space Race, satellite television was just beginning to take shape. As new satellites were built and launched into space, broadcasting was redefined. But satellite television didn’t become truly widespread until the 70s. The advancements during the space race were key in setting up the future of broadcasting. Satellite technology built on itself overtime, until satellite broadcasts became widespread, in the 1970s. “In 1977 the International Plan for Satellite TV-Broadcasting was adopted. The plan determined position of satellites at geostationary orbit, frequency channels, service zones, signal levels and etc. According to the plan five national programs were to be broadcasted via satellite televisions in each of the countries,” (Tsiklauri).

The Space Race was key in starting the cascade of events that would lead to widespread satellite television. The creation of the satellite, brought about by Cold War competition, forever altered the face of television broadcasting. Overtime, satellite technology became more advanced. The technologies built on one another, eventually making satellite television fully feasible in the 1970s. Ultimately, advancements during the Space Race were essential in setting up the future for widespread international television broadcasting.

The Space Race, fueled by the Cold War, was a time of great technological advancement. Russia competed against the United States, as the two countries attempted to outdo each other. Television broadcasting played a key role during this significant time in history. It captured incredibly historical moments, including Apollo 11 and the Project Mercury Missions, and relayed them to the masses. The Space Race also inversely impacted television broadcasting. Advancements in satellite technology set the stage for future worldwide satellite television. Satellites were essential in establishing an ease in long distance communication. The improved communication had quite an impact on television broadcasting. It did this by enabling the spread of international television in the future. Television broadcasting played a significant role during the Space Race, relaying groundbreaking events to the masses, while at the same time, advancements in satellite technology paved the way for the future of international satellite television.

Bibliography:

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