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About this book
One day humankind may find a planet that appears to be much like the Earth. This discovery can reignite the lure of interplanetary travel. Will we be up to the task? This book tackles such seemingly fanciful questions with scholarship and disciplined imagination. It also outlines the space programs in the United States and other nations.
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Biography
Roger D. Launius is a member of the Division of Space History at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and the former Chief Historian of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He has authored and coauthored several books on space exploration, most recently Space: A Journey to Our Future. Howard E. McCurdy is a professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University and the author of Faster, Better, Cheaper: Low-Cost Innovation in the U.S. Space Program and Inside NASA: High Technology and Organizational Change in the U.S. Space Program, both published by Johns Hopkins.
Out of Print
By: Roger D Launius and Howard E McCurdy
296 pages, 2 line drawings
Entertaining reading. Commercial Dispatch 2008 Excellent, eye-opening, horizon-broadening reading! Highly recommended. Choice 2008 Noted space historians... breathe new life into the subject by examining its history as well as its possible future. They call for a new vision of human spaceflight-a 'transhuman' program that takes into account current trends in robotics, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering and other fields that are rapidly changing the nature of both humans and machines. Air and Space Magazine 2008 This short volume manages to capture the history of U.S. space flight, to explain the underpinnings of U.S. space policy and to plot out the possibilities for our future in space in a style that most anyone can enjoy. -- Andrew McMichael Park City Daily News 2008 A timely and thought-provoking read, no matter what side of the humans vs. robots debate one is on. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in where our species is ultimately headed in space. Liftoff 2009 Should interest any intelligent reader with an interest in the history and future of space exploration, whatever technology is applied. Its mix of historical background and social context, entirely due to the authors' long experience, takes the reader well beyond the usual issues of technical challenge and budget limitations, while numerous selected quotations accentuate the human element. -- Mark Williamson Space Times 2009