Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier

Front Cover
W. W. Norton & Company, Feb 7, 2012 - Political Science - 364 pages
"America's space program is at a turning point. After decades of global primacy, NASA has ended the space-shuttle program, cutting off its access to space. No astronauts will be launched in an American craft, from American soil, until the 2020s, and NASA may soon find itself eclipsed by other countries' space programs. With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson--one of our foremost thinkers on all things space--illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale. For America to maintain its status as a global leader and a technological innovator, he explains, we must regain our enthusiasm and curiosity about what lies beyond our world. Provocative, humorous, and wonderfully readable, Space Chronicles represents the best of Tyson's recent commentary, including a must-read prologue on NASA and partisan politics. Reflecting on topics that range from scientific literacy to space-travel missteps, Tyson gives us an urgent, clear-eyed, and ultimately inspiring vision for the future"--Publisher's website.
 

Contents

Race to Space
121
21
123
2001Fact vs Fiction
128
Launching the Right Stuff
130
Things Are Looking Up
138
For the Love of Hubble
140
Happy Anniversary Apollo 11
144
How to Reach the Sky
152
America and the Emergent Space Powers
203
Delusions of Space Enthusiasts
213
Perchance to Dream
221
By the Numbers
232
Ode to Challenger 1986
242
Spacecraft Behaving Badly
244
What NASA Means to Americas Future
252
EpHogue The Cosmic Perspective
254

26
160
Propulsion for Deep Space
163
Balancing Acts
172
Happy Anniversary Star Trek
178
How to Prove Youve Been Abducted by Aliens
182
The Future of US Space Travel
186
Space Travel Troubles
191
Reaching for the Stars
199
Appendices A National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 As Amended
263
B Selected Statutory Provisions Applicable to NASA
293
45
313
55
332
Federal Government Spending and
335
69
345
Copyright

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About the author (2012)

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History, director of the world-famous Hayden Planetarium, a monthly columnist for Natural History, and an award-winning author. He has begun production of a new Cosmos series, premiering in early 2013. He lives in New York City. Avis Lang is a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium. For half a decade, she edited Tyson's Natural History magazine column, Universe, parts of which became the basis for his Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, and later edited his anthology Space Chronicles. She lives in New York City.