Interested in new space books, check out READING SPACE: NSS Reviews and Recommended Reading .
Recent Review include Space Enterprise by Philip Robert Harris reviewed by David Brandt-Erichsen, How to Live on Mars by Robert Zubrin reviewed by Brian Enke. Saturn for My Birthday by John McGranaghan reviewed by Marianne Dyson.
This long essay defends the NSS Vision against those who, like the author of the book being reviewed, think “we shouldn’t colonize Mars or the Moon, or even vacation there.” Ben Bramble, an Australian philosopher who teaches at Australian National University, has penned a YAASS (Yet Another Anti-Space-Settlement) book. These books are multiplying like flies, so space settlement advocates must be gaining ground to generate such an abundant response.
In HOTOL & Skylon: The Story of Britain’s Spaceplanes, Rob Coppinger covers the story of both in great detail, with the reminiscences of many who played integral roles in these ambitious programs. The book shines when it captures the enthusiasm and excitement of those involved, and there are extensive quotes from many who devoted years of work on these projects.
Anyone seeking a short but comprehensive introduction to human spaceflight would do well to start with this book. It reviews its history, highlights the accomplishments and tragedies, and describes the equipment used. It also looks at living in space, what space travelers experience, and how they work.
Back in 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon. Apogee Books has provided an English-language NASA translation of a detailed report originally released by the USSR Academy of Sciences.
The National Space Society has just released a Position Paper on Selected Space Environmental Sustainability Issues. Below is the Conclusion section. The full paper can...
By Robin Scott NSS Chapter Middle Tennessee Space Society (MTSS) President Chuck Schlemm performs outreach, directly contacting about 560 attendees (STEM teachers, school faculty, students,...
By Burt Dicht NSS Space Coast Correspondent Some weeks in spaceflight are just busy. This one was something more. Over a period of four days,...
By Burt Dicht NSS Space Coast Correspondent A large anvil cloud hanging over Florida’s Space Coast added some uncertainty to the final hours of the...
1 thought on “NSS Book Reviews”
I propose a work for review and discussion here that I think is about as good a resource about space settlements as will be written for a few decades to come. I know of it because Zubrin mentions it. It is, Frederick Jackson Turner, The Frontier in American History.
In Turner the future of space development and settlements is laid out plain to see. Since we haven’t any previous space settlements experience, Turner is practically a plan for how to go about it. Much of the good in Turner is that to apply it, you have to translate it from his 1890’s vocabulary, into the future. It’s a learning experience to do this. I especially liked Turner’s observation of progressive stages of settlement. It can serve as an antidote to the easy projection of future without detail, that certainly won’t go as we’d like it to.
So I think Turner is very much worth mentioning, here, and now.
Cheers — Martha Adams 2009 Mar 02