40
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. Spagnulo, The Geopolitics of Space Exploration, Springer Praxis Books,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69125-7_5
5
Rocket Man: From The Space Shuttle
to the International Space Station
She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine AM
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the Earth so much I miss my wife
It’s lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
And I think it’s gonna be a long long time
‘Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
Elton John, “Rocket Man”, 1972
The 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing gave the US the final victory in the Space Race
against the Soviet Union. But while NASA’s lunar achievement was decisive for
this extraterrestrial competition, it was not so for the ongoing terrestrial one. And
even as America aimed for the Moon, Russia occupied the space around the Earth,
launching crewed space stations into low Earth orbit.
This situation eventually prompted America to redirect its space program in
order to face new threats and opportunities that could materialize closer to Earth.
Shortly before the first Moon landing, President Nixon had already set up a special
Space Task Force
1
to plan the future programs, saying:
1
White House Presidential Documents, March 21, 1969. Space Task Force Chairman: VicePresident Spiro T. Agnew, the group included Robert C. Seamans, Secretary of the Air Force
and former deputy administrator of NASA; Thomas O. Paine, NASA Administrator; and Lee
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. Spagnulo, The Geopolitics of Space Exploration, Springer Praxis Books,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69125-7_5
5
Rocket Man: From The Space Shuttle
to the International Space Station
She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine AM
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the Earth so much I miss my wife
It’s lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
And I think it’s gonna be a long long time
‘Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
Elton John, “Rocket Man”, 1972
The 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing gave the US the final victory in the Space Race
against the Soviet Union. But while NASA’s lunar achievement was decisive for
this extraterrestrial competition, it was not so for the ongoing terrestrial one. And
even as America aimed for the Moon, Russia occupied the space around the Earth,
launching crewed space stations into low Earth orbit.
This situation eventually prompted America to redirect its space program in
order to face new threats and opportunities that could materialize closer to Earth.
Shortly before the first Moon landing, President Nixon had already set up a special
Space Task Force
1
to plan the future programs, saying:
1
White House Presidential Documents, March 21, 1969. Space Task Force Chairman: VicePresident Spiro T. Agnew, the group included Robert C. Seamans, Secretary of the Air Force
and former deputy administrator of NASA; Thomas O. Paine, NASA Administrator; and Lee