Remember the space age? It wasn’t that long ago. This illustration from Peter Fairley’s 1970 Space Annual is a great line drawing, but moreover reminds me of the wonder and awe we used to have for the space program.
That seems to have faded now, along with the space program itself. I remember as a boy looking at science-cool work by folks like Peter Fairley and Roy Gallant, and being so excited about the coming age when I, too, would sleep standing up on a station like Skylab.
Instead the shuttle program is over, and I just see these retro-futuristic drawings as interesting historical documents. And that makes me sad.
Photo: Steve Collins