More than half a century later, the University of Otago associate professor has been awarded the annual Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Literature Award from the American Astronautical Society for his book about the first global satellite communications system that allowed people all over the world to watch the event in real time.
"I was about 9 years old at the time and it was a big deal," he said.
"That was one of the first major global media events. It wasn’t until later in my life that I appreciated just how big that was."
It was one of many Nasa events that inspired him to write the book.
Beyond Sputnik and the Space Race reveals how the United States established the first global satellite communications system — the International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (Intelsat) — to project geopolitical leadership during the Cold War.
Assoc Prof Slotten said he spent years researching for the book, which drew on detailed archival records to examine the full range of decision makers involved in the Intelsat system. It also shone a light on mid and lower-level agency staff usually ignored by historians.
It is one of the few works to analyse the establishment of a major global infrastructure project.
He decided to focus on the satellite network after writing a previous book on the history of radio and TV while he worked in the history of science department at Harvard University.
"It was clear that the introduction of satellite communications during the 1960s had important international implications for television broadcasting and I was very interested in exploring this in the new book."
Assoc Prof Slotten said he was "thrilled and honoured" to win the award, named for Nasa’s first historian.
It recognises outstanding books that advance public understanding of astronautics.
