Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Useful for readers interested in the evolution of media-oriented satellites and the cultures they serve. Recommended."
* Choice *
"Grounded in fact and garnished with theory, this volume both excites and builds on a renewed appreciation for satellites…a treasurehouse of materials for people who want to figure out the technical colonization of the air!" -- John Durham Peters * author of Speaking into the Air *
"Philosophers have looked upward into the starry heavens and been filled with wonder and awe.
Down to Earth reverses the gaze, revealing how satellites impinge on so many aspects of our lives. Read it before Skynet goes online." -- James Der Derian * Brown University *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
I Concepts and Cartographies1. The Invention of Air Space, Outer Space, and Cyberspace
2. Dethroning the View from Above
3. The Geostationary Orbit
4. “Freedom to Communicate”
5. The NAVSTAR Global Positioning System
6. Satellites, Oil, and Footprints
II Satellite Mediascapes7. From Satellite to Screen
8. Beyond the Terrestrial?
9. Crossing Borders
10. WorldSpace Satellite Radio and the South African Footprint
11. Content vs. Delivery
III Orbital Matters12. When Satellites Fall
13. AFP-731 or The Other Night Sky
14. Microsatellites
15. Disjecta Membra, the Kármán Line, and the 38th Parallel
Contributors
Index
