Association of Autonomous Astronauts

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The Association of Autonomous Astronauts is a world-wide network of community based groups dedicated to building their own spaceships. The AAA was founded 23 April 1995. Although many of their activities were reported as serious participation in conferences or protests against the militarization of space, some were also considered art pranks, media pranks, or just an elaborate spoof.[1] The AAA had numerous local chapters which operated independently of one another, with the AAA effectively operating as a collective pseudonym along the lines of Luther Blissett (nom de plume).[2]

The Association's ostensible five-year mission, a reference to Star Trek, was to "establish a planetary network to end the monopoly of corporations, governments and the military over travel in space".[2] Artists who became involved were often connected to the zine scene or mail art movements.[2] The five year mission's completion was marked at the 2000 Fortean Times conference[3], although some chapters have continued activities to the present day.

Writer Tom Hodgkinson described them as "a loose bunch of Marxists, futurists, and revolutionaries on the dole", going on to explicate their mission as "reclaim[ing] the idea of space travel for the common man". To the AAA, he said, "space travel represented an ideal of freedom". [4] Annick Bureaud of Leonardo/OLATS viewed their work as "space art" that "combine[d] freely space, cyberspace, raves, esoteric things, techno-music, etc.", calling attention to "how they recycle ... key images (the MIR Space Station, the astronauts on the Moon, etc.) ... mixed with science-fiction (and specially Star Trek) buzz-words or images" and then subject these "sacred icons" to "iconoclastic treatments".[5]

The London chapter participated notably in the J18 Carnival Against Capitalism protests during that year's G8 summit, with a contingent of AAA members dressed in space suits delivering a petition against the militarisation of space to the headquarters of Lockheed.[6][7] The group was particularly concerned about the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft and its RTG power source performing an earth fly-by to boost its speed toward the outer Solar System.

Contents

[edit] Relevant quotes

"The days of this society are numbered. Its reasons and its merits have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; its inhabitants are divided into two parties, one of which wants to build its own spaceships and leave this world behind."

"Prisoners of the Earth: come out!"

"Space travel by any means necessary"

"Reclaim the stars!", East London AAA

"Above the paving stones, the stars"

"Space is the place", Sun Ra

"The next step to growing up is going up!"

"The Planetarium Must Be Built!" AAA Kernow

"Earth is the only spaceship we've got!" WiccAAA

"Gravity is a social law!" AAA 333 Bologna

[edit] Timeline

three sided football workshop, at the 1st Intergalactic Conference of the Association of Autonomous Astronauts, Public Netbase, Vienna, Austria Summer Solstice 1997
three sided football workshop, at the 1st Intergalactic Conference of the Association of Autonomous Astronauts, Public Netbase, Vienna, Austria Summer Solstice 1997

[edit] AAA groups and links

[edit] Music

"Rave In Space" CD (2000)

[edit] Influences on other subcultures

[edit] See also

v • d • e
Space tourism
Major private companies
Organizations
ARCASPACE · LiftPort Group · Personal Spaceflight Federation · Space Tourism Society · Association of Autonomous Astronauts
Successful spacecraft
Living in space
Historical events

[edit] Further reading

  • Mind Invaders: A Reader in Psychic Warfare, Cultural Sabotage and Semiotic Terrorism, Stewart Home, Serpent's Tail (London), 1997
An overview of Neoist activities in the 1990s, including highlights of the AAA's first two years.
  • "Anche Tu Astronauta: guida all'esplorazione independente dello spazio", Riccardo Balli, Castelvecchi editore, Roma, 1998
An insight in Italian language into AAA's philosophy, literature, history and future.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dee (April / May 1998). Escape from Gravity - The Dreamtime Mission Revisited. Fringecore magazine. Retrieved on 2006-01-03.
  2. ^ a b c Multiple name. Sztuka Fabryka (2004). Retrieved on 2006-01-03. Sztuka Fabryka is a worldwide non-profit artists organisation based in Belgium.
  3. ^ Mark Pilkington (June 2002). "Roads Less Traveled". Fortean Times. Retrieved on 2006-01-03. 
  4. ^ Tom Hodgkinson (2005). How To Be Idle. HarperCollins. 0060779683.  Hodgkinson is editor of The Idler.
  5. ^ Annick Bureaud (1998). Space Art. Leonardo/OLATS. Retrieved on 2006-01-03. From the proceedings of the Rencontres du 13 avril interdisciplinary conference. Via the Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Sathnam Sanghera. "Anarchists attempt to paralyse the City 10,000 activists are due to join a protest in London against capitalism", Financial Times. Retrieved on 2006-01-03. 
  7. ^ Halt the Nuclearization and Weaponization of Space: Report from the UK. Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. Retrieved on 2006-01-03.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Autonomous_Astronauts"
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