by Lucas Nensel
Creator’s Statement
Science Per Unit Time: Insights into Living in Space assembles archival footage and reports of the third manned mission aboard the Skylab space station, and explores conflicts within the space mission related to time. Skylab was the United States’ first space station, launched by NASA, and occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. Skylab 4 was the third and longest space mission to its date, and housed a number of tests in order to understand how people could live in outer space for an extended period of time. The crew conducted extensive scientific experiments, including solar observations and medical studies, while overcoming early challenges such as space sickness and heavy workloads. These challenges would lead to Skylab 4 becoming infamous for the first supposed strike or mutiny in space, when the astronauts stopped communications with the ground.
The opening minute of the video essay is intended to highlight the multiplicity of time by the question of “where to start” thinking about time in space. A convoluted question that is answered in multiple ways; the imaginaries of NASA, how the mission is deemed useful, and the pre-flight phase that contains dozens of plans for the mission. A synchronisation between the ticking clock in the background and the countdown to the astronauts’ rocket launch is intended to bring back to the conflict that would define Skylab‘s legacy. From here, the essay explores the mission as an exemplary case for the conflictual potential between the Newtonian time – or clock time – and time as an embodied and experienced phenomenon. When Barbara Adam (1998, 40) describes clock time, it is in relation to technological artefacts, following the Newtonian principles of decontextualisation, fragmentation, predictability, abstract space and time; or in other words, “without concern for the life-cycle of a product, without reference to its interaction with the environment, without recognition that the created artefact forms an integral part of the world-wide web of interconnected processes”. In Skylab, we follow three astronauts, engulfed in these Newtonian principles, which are not only ever-present in the technological make-up of the space station, but also in the daily scientific practice and experiments performed by the three scientists. Moreover, Skylab 4 became an experiment itself, testing what might happen when humans live for a long period of time in space. As such, as an essential feature, the clock is always in the background.
Only once does the video look into the perspective of the astronauts of what time meant for them during the mission. It goes from “ as much science per unit time” – as per the directive of the mission – to feelings of hurriedness, tiredness, pressure, and an abundance of conflict in which the demarcation of time became the centre of the struggle. As such, work becomes an inevitable axis to explore this conflict. The hectic jumps between all the areas of work represent not only the working atmosphere, but also the sheer load of tasks that the astronauts were expected to fulfil day in and day out. What we find in between this mountain of material is the reasoning for needing humans in space, but also what it means to have humanity in space. Sickness, curiosity, decision-making, rebellion, and enjoyment (to name a few) need room when living in space – just as much as they are part of human life on Earth.
The archival footage and interviews with Gerald Carr and Edward Gibson form the basis of the essay. In addition, a few screenshots from the missions press conference, air-ground transcripts, and a few title cards are being used to form an investigative narrator who, along with the audience, forms questions toward the material and finds himself flipping to the pages, comparing them to the video material. Further, the text elements highlight certain aspects that are deemed important for guiding the audience toward the experiences of the crew in the space mission. This gesture intends to invoke a sense of controversy, that may further spark the audience to form questions and second guess what they see. My reason for this is that Skylab 4’s legacy itself is debated among the press, NASA, and the astronauts themselves, to which extent the activities on Skylab count as a true strike in space or mutiny. As Brooker (2019-20) points out in his podcast series, it can be frustrating that in a case such as Skylab, there was little attention given to these labor conflicts and far more to whether a strike actually happened, or to the quantitative measurements of living in space. This essay, as such, tries to make space for the qualitative experience of what happened at Skylab. In contrast to the arranged material, which is a collage from different kinds of NASA publications, there is one piece that is ever present in the essay; Tick-Tock by Hans Zimmer: a piece from the soundtrack for the science-fiction film Interstellar, prominently featuring a ticking clock in its foundation. The idea here is to convey a sense of urgency, felt also by the astronauts from time to time again, when the mission’s design, and decision-making by planners and controllers, pushed the astronauts to the bearable limit of working hours. Further, the sound is there to remind us of the ever-present feature of time as a controlled unit and should contrast with the work environment in such a way that it feels alien at times. The video essay ends in a moment of relief from the clock, when the orchestra overshadows the ticking noise as the astronauts are seen running in circles in near zero-g, enjoying their weightless environment. However, while the image fades black, the sound of the clock creeps back in; a reminder that human moments like these—of escape from the clock—were rare but precious. As such, this video essay is a reflection on the Skylab 4 mission’s struggles, and also a meditation on the intricate dance between human experience and the technological frameworks that define space missions.
Thinking on Screen
“Science per Unit Time” was made during the short course titled “Thinking on Screen: Exploring the Video Essay as a Research Method for STS”, led by Joseph Popper and hosted by the STS Department at the University of Vienna. The course introduces the video essay and essay film as particular media forms and modes of research, and experiments with audiovisual ways of articulating a thinking process. Image, sound, and words form the essential materials for presenting thoughts on screen, and amplifying voices of researchers as they explore their chosen subjects.
Author Biography
Lucas Nensel is a masters’ student in the Science and Technology Studies Master programme at the University of Vienna. Lucas previously completed his Theatre–, Film– and Media Studies Bachelor, also at the University of Vienna. In 2022, Lucas and his colleague started a film production company called 3zu2 Filmproduktion in Rostock (Germany), where he works as a producer, director, writer and in an editorial position for feature film, documentaries and other productions.
References
Adam, B. (1998). Timescapes of Modernity: The Environment and Invisible Hazards. London: Routledge.
Brooker, Phillip. 2019-2020. Skylab: ASOS…IN SPAAAAACCCEEEE!!!!! (podcast mini-series). Skylab: Living and Working in Space. June 2019 – February 2020. Accessed 30 January 2024.