The Symbol of the Space Shuttle and the Degeneration of the American Dream

The US manned space flight program is interpreted as an expression of American culture. Since the inception of the program one can detect a regression in the projected image from that which the original astronauts built around themselves to that which NASA constructed with Christa McAuliffe — the “teacher‐in‐space”. The first represents the theme of the American attaining immortality through competence. The second, characterized by the “denial of difference,” represents the American as a participant at “Disneyland‐in‐space”. The capacity to manage technological achievement is present in the former and absent in the latter, in which the concept of technology is replaced by the concept of magic. It is suggested that the same cultural regression may be found in the recent history of American organizational culture.