Imagining Space Achievements, Predictions, Possibilities 1950-2050

by Launius, Roger; McCurdy, Howard; Bradbury, Ray

• ISBN13: 9780811831154
• ISBN10: 0811831159
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-07-01
• Publisher: Chronicle Books

Summary

Space travel has gone from fantasy to reality in just fifty years where will we be fifty years from now? This breathtaking book follows our projections for space exploration in the 1950s to our actual accomplishments today and goes on to predict the spacecraft, commerce, ecology, and manned explorations yet to come in the next 50 years. Lavishly illustrated, with a visionary foreword by Ray Bradbury as well as an adventurous text by NASA's chief historian and an expert on the U.S. space program, Imagining Space will inspire science fiction enthusiasts, pop culture fans, and anyone who has ever looked up at the stars in wonder.

Author Biography

Roger D. Launius >NASA's chief historian for more than 10 years, is vice-president of publications of the American Astronomical Society, editor of the magazine Space Times, and author of numerous books on aerospace history. He lives in Maryland.

Howard E. McCurdy is professor of public affairs at American University in Washington, D.C., and the author of three previous books on the U.S. space program. He lives in Maryland.

Ray Bradbury is the author of more than 30 books, including The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451. Recipient of a National Book Award for his lasting contribution to American literature, he lives in Los Angeles, California.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Going A'journey	13	(18)
Ray Bradbury
Preface	18	(3)
Wondrous Visions	21	(16)
The Search for Extraterrestrial Life	37	(18)
Lure of the Red Planet	55	(16)
Getting There	71	(16)
The Human Element	87	(18)
The Commercial Space Frontier	105	(16)
Space Warfare	121	(14)
The Greening of Space	135	(18)
Understanding the Universe	153	(13)
Epilogue: A Hopeful Future	166	(3)
Acknowledgments	169	(1)
A Library of Basic Books on Space	170	(3)
Credits	173	(1)
Index	174