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The space station: An idea whose time has come
Books
Wise and brave decision? THE SPACE STATION: AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME Theodore R. Simpson, ed
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc, New York, USA, 1985, 220 pp, $20 This book consists of 16 articles dealing with various aspects of the US decision to undertake the development of a space station. Appended are several more or less historic declarations on manned space flight, ending with the US President's so-called 'Space Station' speech in January 1984. The advantage of this sort of compendium is that, if they are carefully chosen, it allows a competent editor to assemble contributions from real specialists. Dr Simpson has exploited this possibility, and there is an impressive list of authors with first-hand knowledge of the subject. He has also managed to avoid the inclusion of representatives of the aerospace lunatic fringe who so often spoil productions of this kind. Dr Simpson has also contrived to reduce overlap between the articles to an acceptable minimum. At first sight, however, the books suffers - as do so many with nearly a score of different authors - from the lack of a consistent theme. Such a criticism would be churlish in view of the clearly defined aim of the book: to record events leading up to the President's decision. Indeed the publishers have included on the dust cover an assessment from Charles Sheffield (a former President of the American Astronautical Society) that the book provides 'a detailed look at the logic and political considerations that lay behind the decision to build space station. This volume is a mine of i n f o r m a t i o n . . . ' I fully agree. The strength and the weakness of this book, therefore, is that it catalogues the evolution of the decision to go ahead with a space station, but is does not look to the events of the following six or nine months which - internationally in particular - were equally
SPACE POLICY February 1986
fascinating. The subject of a second volume, you may think. The standard of the contributions is commendably high, and I particularly enjoyed Marcia Smith's chapter entitled 'The evolving role of man 'in space' - it deserves to be widely read. The book is in general stronger in the parts dealing with the historical background and the decision-making process. It would be difficult to conceive of a more scholarly and yet thoroughly readable treatment. My interest flagged somewhat in the other two parts dealing with space station concepts and uses and with the station's longterm potential. It was, of course, difficult to deal adequately with the concepts and uses, for the inputs appear to have been limited to events up to the end of the first half of 1984. There is a certain value in seeing how user requirements shyly developed, but I missed an account of the contribution of the Banks Committee, which really brought the scientists on board. The treatment of the international aspects are a little thin, and I would have welcomed an account of the Canadian and Japanese interests in addition to the article on European
interest contributed by Collet and Mellors. The book would have gained from an examination of the way in which the President's offer came to be made to friends and allies to participate in the programme. My own reservation is over his book's sub-title, ' A n idea whose time has come', and the impression it seeks to convey of the inevitability of this momentous decision to move to a p e r m a n e n t l y manned presence in space by, say, 1992 or 1993. It may indeed prove to be both a wise and a brave decision, but it would be wrong for future generations to have the impression that this programme was generated by popular demand of a wide user community. In the U S A there was - and still is - considerable doubt that this is a viable step at the present time, and this opposition will continue to manifest itself in the coming years. The same is, of course, true in Europe, although there is little doubt that the President's invitation to participate in space station helped the European space community to emerge from the doldrums with some badly needed policy and financial decisions.
Roy Gibson, Director General British National Space Centre Millbank Tower Millbank, London, SWl, UK.
Whistle-stop tour by a space aficionado THE NEW RACE FOR SPACE by James Oberg
Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA, 1984, $14.95 Almost every week some new advance in the area of space activities grabs the headlines. It may concern the latest Space Shuttle or Spacelab flight, a novel feat by Soviet astronauts aboard their Salyut space station, or plans being hatched for the 1990s in the shape of the Strategic Defense Initiative ('Star Wars') or the envisaged US-led project to build an international space station. James Oberg's new
book takes the reader on a whistlestop tour of some of these developments, providing a useful glimpse at a number of areas of space technology. On the one hand this approach is an advantage, in that, in his somewhat breathless style Oberg has the chance to sketch the outlines of a range of subjects which the reader would not find in the pages of most books on space. A drawback, however, is that he does not give himself room to develop the arguments for the different areas he covers, frustrating the reader who would like a few more details about the more interesting and topical areas of space technology. The basic stance of the book can-
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Wise and brave decision? THE SPACE STATION: AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME Theodore R. Simpson, ed
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc, New York, USA, 1985, 220 pp, $20 This book consists of 16 articles dealing with various aspects of the US decision to undertake the development of a space station. Appended are several more or less historic declarations on manned space flight, ending with the US President's so-called 'Space Station' speech in January 1984. The advantage of this sort of compendium is that, if they are carefully chosen, it allows a competent editor to assemble contributions from real specialists. Dr Simpson has exploited this possibility, and there is an impressive list of authors with first-hand knowledge of the subject. He has also managed to avoid the inclusion of representatives of the aerospace lunatic fringe who so often spoil productions of this kind. Dr Simpson has also contrived to reduce overlap between the articles to an acceptable minimum. At first sight, however, the books suffers - as do so many with nearly a score of different authors - from the lack of a consistent theme. Such a criticism would be churlish in view of the clearly defined aim of the book: to record events leading up to the President's decision. Indeed the publishers have included on the dust cover an assessment from Charles Sheffield (a former President of the American Astronautical Society) that the book provides 'a detailed look at the logic and political considerations that lay behind the decision to build space station. This volume is a mine of i n f o r m a t i o n . . . ' I fully agree. The strength and the weakness of this book, therefore, is that it catalogues the evolution of the decision to go ahead with a space station, but is does not look to the events of the following six or nine months which - internationally in particular - were equally
SPACE POLICY February 1986
fascinating. The subject of a second volume, you may think. The standard of the contributions is commendably high, and I particularly enjoyed Marcia Smith's chapter entitled 'The evolving role of man 'in space' - it deserves to be widely read. The book is in general stronger in the parts dealing with the historical background and the decision-making process. It would be difficult to conceive of a more scholarly and yet thoroughly readable treatment. My interest flagged somewhat in the other two parts dealing with space station concepts and uses and with the station's longterm potential. It was, of course, difficult to deal adequately with the concepts and uses, for the inputs appear to have been limited to events up to the end of the first half of 1984. There is a certain value in seeing how user requirements shyly developed, but I missed an account of the contribution of the Banks Committee, which really brought the scientists on board. The treatment of the international aspects are a little thin, and I would have welcomed an account of the Canadian and Japanese interests in addition to the article on European
interest contributed by Collet and Mellors. The book would have gained from an examination of the way in which the President's offer came to be made to friends and allies to participate in the programme. My own reservation is over his book's sub-title, ' A n idea whose time has come', and the impression it seeks to convey of the inevitability of this momentous decision to move to a p e r m a n e n t l y manned presence in space by, say, 1992 or 1993. It may indeed prove to be both a wise and a brave decision, but it would be wrong for future generations to have the impression that this programme was generated by popular demand of a wide user community. In the U S A there was - and still is - considerable doubt that this is a viable step at the present time, and this opposition will continue to manifest itself in the coming years. The same is, of course, true in Europe, although there is little doubt that the President's invitation to participate in space station helped the European space community to emerge from the doldrums with some badly needed policy and financial decisions.
Roy Gibson, Director General British National Space Centre Millbank Tower Millbank, London, SWl, UK.
Whistle-stop tour by a space aficionado THE NEW RACE FOR SPACE by James Oberg
Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA, 1984, $14.95 Almost every week some new advance in the area of space activities grabs the headlines. It may concern the latest Space Shuttle or Spacelab flight, a novel feat by Soviet astronauts aboard their Salyut space station, or plans being hatched for the 1990s in the shape of the Strategic Defense Initiative ('Star Wars') or the envisaged US-led project to build an international space station. James Oberg's new
book takes the reader on a whistlestop tour of some of these developments, providing a useful glimpse at a number of areas of space technology. On the one hand this approach is an advantage, in that, in his somewhat breathless style Oberg has the chance to sketch the outlines of a range of subjects which the reader would not find in the pages of most books on space. A drawback, however, is that he does not give himself room to develop the arguments for the different areas he covers, frustrating the reader who would like a few more details about the more interesting and topical areas of space technology. The basic stance of the book can-
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