Association of Autonomous Astronauts
Encyclopedia
The Association of Autonomous Astronauts is a worldwide 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. 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)
.
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". Artists who became involved were often connected to the zine scene
or mail art
movements. The five year mission's completion was marked at the 2000 Fortean Times
conference, although some chapters have continued activities to the present day. Several AAAers have experienced zero-gravity training flights.
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". 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".
Theorist Brian Holmes
commented the AAA like this : "The ideas sound fantastic, but the stakes are real: imagining a political subject within the virtual class, and therefore, within the economy of cultural production and intellectual property that had paralyzed the poetics of resistance." in his book "Unleashing the Collective Phantoms"
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 suit
s delivering a petition against the militarisation of space
to the headquarters of Lockheed
. 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.
Luther Blissett (nom de plume)
Luther Blissett is a multiple-use name, an "open reputation" informally adopted and shared by hundreds of artists and activists all over Europe and the Americas since 1994...
.
The Association's ostensible five-year mission, a reference to Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, was to "establish a planetary network to end the monopoly of corporations, governments and the military over travel in space". Artists who became involved were often connected to the zine scene
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
or mail art
Mail art
Mail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and involves sending visual art through the international postal system. Mail Art is also known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art...
movements. The five year mission's completion was marked at the 2000 Fortean Times
Fortean Times
Fortean Times is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing and then I Feel Good Publishing , it is now published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. As of December 2010, its circulation was approximately 18,000...
conference, although some chapters have continued activities to the present day. Several AAAers have experienced zero-gravity training flights.
Writer Tom Hodgkinson
Tom Hodgkinson
Tom Hodgkinson is a British writer and the editor of The Idler, which he established in 1993 with his friend Gavin Pretor-Pinney. His philosophy, in his published books and articles, is of a relaxed approach to life, enjoying it as it comes rather than toiling for an imagined better future...
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". 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".
Theorist Brian Holmes
Brian Holmes
Brian Holmes is a Professor of Philosophy at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where he teaches an intensive summer seminar. He has worked with the French Graphics collective Ne Pas Plier from 1999 to 2001...
commented the AAA like this : "The ideas sound fantastic, but the stakes are real: imagining a political subject within the virtual class, and therefore, within the economy of cultural production and intellectual property that had paralyzed the poetics of resistance." in his book "Unleashing the Collective Phantoms"
The London chapter participated notably in the J18 Carnival Against Capitalism
Carnival Against Capitalism
The Global Carnival Against Capital took place on Friday, 18th June, 1999. It was an international day of protest timed to coincide with the 25th G8 Summit in Cologne, Germany. The carnival was inspired by the 1980s Stop the City protests and the Global Street Party, which happened at the same time...
protests during that year's G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
summit, with a contingent of AAA members dressed in space suit
Space suit
A space suit is a garment worn to keep an astronaut alive in the harsh environment of outer space. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, and are necessary for extra-vehicular activity , work done outside spacecraft...
s delivering a petition against the militarisation of space
Militarisation of space
The militarisation of space is the placement and development of weaponry and military technology in outer space.-History:Acquisition of high grounds for military advantage has been a perennial feature of military campaigns. For thousands of years, military tacticians have exploited the concept of...
to the headquarters of Lockheed
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
. The group was particularly concerned about the Cassini-Huygens
Cassini-Huygens
Cassini–Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA/ASI spacecraft mission studying the planet Saturn and its many natural satellites since 2004. Launched in 1997 after nearly two decades of gestation, it includes a Saturn orbiter and an atmospheric probe/lander for the moon Titan, although it has also returned...
spacecraft and its RTG
Radioisotope thermoelectric generator
A radioisotope thermoelectric generator is an electrical generator that obtains its power from radioactive decay. In such a device, the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioactive material is converted into electricity by the Seebeck effect using an array of thermocouples.RTGs can be...
power source performing an earth fly-by to boost its speed
Gravitational slingshot
In orbital mechanics and aerospace engineering, a gravitational slingshot, gravity assist maneuver, or swing-by is the use of the relative movement and gravity of a planet or other celestial body to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft, typically in order to save propellant, time, and expense...
toward the outer Solar System.
Timeline
- 23 April 1995: Launch of the Association of Autonomous Astronauts in the grounds of Windsor CastleWindsor CastleWindsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
, UK. - 23 April 1996: Publication of 1st Annual Report: "Here Comes Everybody!"
- 23 April 1997: Publication of 2nd Annual Report: "Dreamtime Is Upon Us!"
- 21st - 22 June 1997: 1st Intergalactic Conference – Public NetbasePublic NetbasePublic Netbase was a cultural media initiative, open access internet platform, and advocate for the development of electronic art. Long a support of avant-garde, sometimes controversial, art and digital culture, the project increasingly came into conflict with the Austrian political establishment...
, ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... - 23 April 1998: Publication of 3rd Annual Report: "Moving in Several Directions At Once!"
- 18th -19 April 1998: Intergalactic Conference – Link Centre, BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... - 23 April 1999: Publication of 4th Annual Report: "Space Travel By Any Means Necessary!"
- 18th – June 27, 1999: Space 1999: Ten Days Which Shook The Universe – various venues, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK. http://www.deepdisc.com/space1999/ - 23 April 2000: Publication of 5th Annual Report: "See You In Space!"
- The 333 days : series of encounters following the 5YP, including Gravité Zéro festival in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- 23 April 2005: AAA's ten year encounter in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(http://confluences.net), in support to Steve KurtzSteve KurtzSteve Kurtz is a professor of art at the SUNY Buffalo, former professor of art history at Carnegie Mellon University and a founding member of the performance art group, Critical Art Ensemble. He is known for his work in BioArt, and Electronic Civil Disobedience, and because of his arrest by the FBI...
and the Critical Art EnsembleCritical Art EnsembleCritical Art Ensemble is an award-winning collective of five tactical media practitioners of various specializations including computer graphics and web design, film/video, photography, text art, book art, and performance. For CAE, tactical media is situational, ephemeral, and self-terminating... - 23 April 2007 : AAA II Wake-Up Communique: "The Dream Is Just Beginning"
AAA groups and links
- AAA mailing list: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/aaacommunityspaceprogram/
- AAA 333 Bologna (It)
- AAA Anzio (It)
- AAA Vienna (At) : http://aaa.t0.or.at
- Raido AAA (UK) : http://www.uncarved.org/aaa.html
- Nomad AAA
- AAA Glasgow Cabal (UK)
- AAA Kernow (UK) : http://www.myspace.com/bodminmoorexplorer
- Disconaut AAA (UK) : http://www.uncarved.org/disconaut/
- Dionysian AAA (UK) : http://www.angelfire.com/id/ASP/DAAA.html
- Inner City AAA (UK)
- East London AAA (UK)
- Jungle AAA (Nl) : http://socialfiction.org/jungleaaa
- Oceania AAA : http://www.deepdisc.com/aaa
- AAA Aotearoa (NZ)
- AAA Insurgent Cosmos
- AAA Parasol (UK)
- AAA Toronto (Ca) : http://mirmnp.blogspot.com
- AAA Noordung (Si) : http://www.postgravityart.org
- AAA Argentina
- AAA Guyane (Fr)
- Orgone AAA
- AAA Paris Nord (Fr)
- AAA Paris Sud (Fr)
- AAA Montpellier (Fr)
- AAA Amsterdam/Area 23 (Nl)
- AAA 10 Year Anniversary Video Site : http://semaphore.blogs.com/aaa/
- Forum AAA Rosko (Fr) : http://www.rezoweb.com/forum/technologie/aaaroskoforum.shtml
- AAA Twin Cities (Minnesota, USA)
- AAA Porto (Pt)
- AAA Chamberí (Madrid, Es)
Influences on other subcultures
- Datacide magazine : http://datacide.c8.com
- London Psychogeographical AssociationLondon Psychogeographical AssociationThe London Psychogeographical Association is an organisation devoted to psychogeography. The LPA is perhaps best understood in the context of psychogeographical praxis.-London Psychogeographical Institute:...
: http://www.unpopular.demon.co.uk/lpa/organisations/lpa.html - Gigabrother : http://www.gigabrother.com
- The Laboratory Planet journal : http://www.laboratoryplanet.org
Further reading
- "The Conquest of Space in the Time of Power", The Situationist International N°12, 1969 : http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/12.space.htm
- Mind Invaders: A Reader in Psychic Warfare, Cultural Sabotage and Semiotic Terrorism, Stewart Home, Serpent's TailSerpent's TailSerpent's Tail is a British independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Pete Ayrton. It is notable for its translated works, particularly European crime fiction, and is the British publisher of Elfriede Jelinek and Lionel Shriver...
(London), 1997
-
- An overview of Neoist activities in the 1990s, including highlights of the AAA's first two years.
- "Unleashing the Collective Phantoms", Brian Holmes, Autonomedia, USA, 2008
-
- A text discussing the AAA : http://www.republicart.net/disc/artsabotage/holmes01_en.htm
- "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.
- "Quitter la gravité", edited by Ewen Chardronnet, Editions de l'Eclat, Paris, 2001
-
- A selection of texts in french language into AAA's philosophy, literature, history and future.
- The book is free online in lyber : http://lyber-eclat.net/lyber/aaa/quitter_la_gravite.html
- "The Laboratory Planet" journal, in english and french : http://www.laboratoryplanet.org