Space Craze: America's Enduring Fascination with Real and Imagined Spaceflight

A space historian's tour through astounding spaceflight history and the Smithsonian's collection of space and science fiction memorabilia

Winner of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' 2024 Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Award

Spanning from the 1929 debut of the futuristic Buck Rogers to present-day privatization of spaceflight, Space Craze celebrates America's endless enthusiasm for space exploration. Author Margaret Weitekamp, curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, writes with warmth and personal experience to guide readers through extraordinary spaceflight history while highlighting objects from the Smithsonian's spaceflight collection. 

Featuring historical milestones in space exploration, films and TV shows, literature and comic strips, toys and games, and internet communities, Space Craze is a sci-fi lover's dream. The book investigates how spaceflight, both real and imagined, has served as the nexus where contemporary American concerns, such as race, gender, sexuality, freedom, and national identity, have been explored and redefined. Chronological chapters include: 

• Chapter 1: Buck Rogers, Ray Guns, and the Space Frontier

• Chapter 2: Space Forts, Television, and the Cold War Mindset

• Chapter 3: John Glenn, the Apollo Program, and Fluctuating Spaceflight Enthusiasm

• Chapter 4: Star Trek, Star Wars, and Burgeoning Fandoms

• Chapter 5: Generation X, the Space Shuttle, and Promoting Education

• Chapter 6: Space Stations, Spaceflight Enthusiasm, and Online Fandom

• Chapter 7: Streaming Services, Battling Billionaires, and Accelerated Change

From the almost 650 million viewers who tuned in to watch the first steps on the Moon, to the ardent Star Trek fandom that burgeoned into a cultural force, Space Craze taps into the country’s enduring love affair with space.

Margaret A. Weitekamp is chair of the Space History department at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum where she curates the Social and Cultural History of Spaceflight Collection encompassing some 5,000 pieces of space memorabilia and science fiction objects. She is also the author of Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America’s First Women in Space Program.