Talking about space

From the Cold War space race to the rise of commercial spaceflight, a parallel history unfolds—one shaped through headlines, speeches, and stories.

From the Cold War space race to the rise of commercial spaceflight, outer space has taken shape in headlines, speeches, and stories: a paper trail of how it has been defined and reframed over time.

Across time,
space has been a frontier

Across time,
space has been a hazard

Across time,
space has been a race

Across time,
space has been a market

As the way we talk about space changes,
so do its protagonists and the themes that shape it.

In the end, outer space echoes the small stage of Earth.

The recurring themes

How attention given to different themes changed across 1950–2024

New York Times

Total headlines: X

SELECT A THEME TO SEE DETAILS