lifestyle
space
race
i love museums and attend as often as i can, especially during the colder months when vintage events are limited; the indoor activity of learning more about history to see the influences or outcomes of my favourite decades greatly appeals. wanting to go somewhere new, i visited the leicester space Centre, the outcome of which made me ponder how different modern life would be if the atomic age had not happened.
Charlie Adams Charlie has been collecting 1940/50s clothing and accessories for over a decade, being addicted to novelty prints and Bakelite.
T
he atomic era started with the detonation of the fi rst nuclear atomic bomb in 1945; this scientifi c achievement is given the credit of ending WWII, however global peace was not granted, countries were still competing with one another wanting to prove their dominance over ideology and technology. The Cold War soon began; although no battles took place, the threat of global nuclear destruction was real, with both the US and Soviet Union making grand military technological breakthroughs. However, these advancements also opened the door for many new possibilities, making the dream of the exploration of space possible. This was seen as a benefit to mankind, capturing the imaginations of all across the world showing that farfetched dreams could in fact turn into realities, although the military benefit of the space race was the global announcement of how far each country could, in essence, send a nuclear missile. In the public domain this was turned to national pride as a distraction from the Cold War and global recession. In 1955 both countries declared they would be launching a satellite into space, thus the Space Race began. In 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first satellite Sputnik 1 to orbit the planet; in the following years each side celebrated many victories, the most famous of which being the US 1969
apollo 11 mission that saw the first men on the moon. So I asked myself, how did this change the lives of everyday men and women? When I asked Dan Kendall, the curator at The Leicester Space Centre, he told me: “It’s a general assumption that a huge amount of money is spent on space exploration – and whilst this is true, it doesn’t reflect all of the good that has come about as a result of cutting edge space technology, much of which impacts on our day-to-day lives. “Many of us use satnavs in our cars or Google Maps, without giving much consideration to the network of satellites orbiting the Earth above. Space technology impacts our lives in many other – often less obvious – ways too, ranging from memory foam mattresses or digital image sensors in our smart phone cameras, to shock absorption systems used to protect buildings against earthquakes and improved food safety standards. They all owe their origins to space technology, and are only a few of the many things that have had a far reaching benefit to modern life.” However there were more than just technological advances: fashion, furniture, entertainment and architecture were all influenced. Designers had a new theme for inspiration, characterising the new Space age designs by the use
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