Humans in Space: 21st Century Frontiers

The U.S. has landed men on the moon and the Soviets have kept men on their Mir space station for nearly a year. What's next? NASA consultant and physics professor Shipman here takes a discerning look at the future of humanity in space. He argues persuasively that the future depends on the answers to three questions: Do we have the will to support a space program? Can we find water and air on extraterrestrial bodies? Will space commerce develop? He analyzes these questions and outlines a variety of potential projects attendant on affirmative answers. He dampens the hopes of space purists by stressing that commerce has been the driving force of all exploration and settlement and will certainly be so for space as well. He looks at the possibilities of low earth orbit factories, the exploration of Mars and the mining of asteroids and comets. In his well-written, level-headed analysis, Shipman concludes that there is a slightly less than even chance that settlement of space will begin in the next century. Illustrations not seen by PW. (June)