Deathkingdom

[pynchonoid]

from Reuters, a description of a situation shaping up
very like the Cold War use of space, and corresponding
rise of the aerospace establishment, that took place
in the 60s while Pynchon was working on GR, among
other works:

U.S. Eyes Space as Possible Battleground

  Jan 18, 11:20 AM (ET) 

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush's plan to expand
the exploration of space parallels U.S. efforts to
control the heavens for military, economic and
strategic gain.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld long has pushed for
technology that could be used to attack or defend
orbiting satellites as well as a costly program,
heavily reliant on space-based sensors, to thwart
incoming warheads.

Under a 1996 space policy adopted by then-President
Bill Clinton that remains in effect, the United States
is committed to the exploration and use of outer space
"by all nations for peaceful purposes for the benefit
of all humanity." 

[...]Outlining his election-year vision for space
exploration last week, Bush called for a permanent
base on the moon by 2020 as a launch pad for piloted
missions to Mars and beyond.

One unspoken motivation may have been China's
milestone launch in October of its first piloted
spaceflight in earth orbit and its announced plan to
go to the moon.

"I think the new initiative is driven by a desire to
beat the Chinese to the moon," said John Pike,
director of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense and space
policy research group.

Among companies that could cash in on Bush's space
plans are Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and
Northrop Grumman Corp., which do big business with the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration as well
as with the Pentagon. [...] 

...continues:
<http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/379850%7Ctop%7C01-18-2004::11:27%7Creuters.html>

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