The Making of an Enterprise: How Star Trek Helped NASA Dream Big and How NASA Helped Star Trek Survive: The St. Louis Astronomical Society November Meeting

Glen Swanson will explain how NASA, the Smithsonian, and the aerospace community helped craft, legitimize, and popularize the vintage television show Star Trek. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry sought to create a work of science fiction that would immerse viewers through clever storylines and impressive visual effects. But he also wanted to present the story in a scientific and technological context that felt believable. To this end, Roddenberry, a former WWII combat pilot, used his connections in the aerospace industry to seek out the latest and greatest technology. The result was an entertaining science fiction franchise that inspired a generation to consider a career in science and engineering.

Swanson holds a B.S. in History from Western Michigan University and an M.S. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota. From 1998 to 2002, he served as Chief Historian of NASA's Johnson Space Center. While there he edited the anthology Before This Decade Is Out… Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program and co-authored other technical publications. Swanson founded Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, now in its thirty-second year and recipient of the American Astronomical Society's Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History.

The St. Louis Astronomical Society is an organization for individuals interested in astronomy and telescopes. The public is invited to attend its meetings, telescope observing sessions, and special events. For more information about Astronomical Society events, please visit www.slasonline.org.

Free parking will be available.

Header image by p2722754 from Pixabay