Outer Space

     A basic problem in international relations is that the world looks different from different countries. That even affects outer space. Americans focussed on the fact that 77-year old John Glenn was going back into space. In Spanish news he got polite mention, but the focus was on the first Spaniard to go into space, Pedro Duque, who was also the youngest member of the Discovery crew. He was photogaphed repeatedly. Prince Felipe of Spain flew to Cape Canaveral and spoke with him by phone. His parents were interviewed, as was his wife, seen with their newborn baby. There was brief mention of a Japanese crew member, a woman named Chiaki Mukai. She went virtually unnoticed in American reports. I wonder how Cape Canaveral looked from Tokyo?

Ronald Hilton - 10/29/98