The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space: Apogee Books Space Series 12 (Apogee Books Space Series)

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  As others have said, this really is the classic in space advocacy, a must read for optimistic dreamers. The ideas were really developed in the aftermath of the successful Apollo program and before the lackluster mediocrity of the next thirty years of the shuttle program. Every concept in this book is developed with the presumption that launching payloads to space would become drastically cheaper and more frequent. Reality has proved that launching payloads is still prohibitively expensive ... (show more)

  As others have said, this really is the classic in space advocacy, a must read for optimistic dreamers. The ideas were really developed in the aftermath of the successful Apollo program and before the lackluster mediocrity of the next thirty years of the shuttle program. Every concept in this book is developed with the presumption that launching payloads to space would become drastically cheaper and more frequent. Reality has proved that launching payloads is still prohibitively expensive (near $10,000 per pound) and launches are still sufficiently rare as to be considered major events. The shuttle program itself, designed to be a "reusable" system has proven to anything but, as it practically has to be rebuilt before every launch.

  Despite knowing the reality of what happened with the space program going into the book, O'Neill's optimism and ingenuity shine through and truly make you wonder, could we do this, and why shouldn't we try? (show less)

   

  by Nicholas Diorio on Apr 26, 2009 at 03:14AM

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  This classic of space advocacy is a must have but comes with a reality check warning. O'Neil argued for power satellites in the Seventies and worked out all the nuts and bolts of how it could be done. He accumulated a substantial following of folk who believed in the vision of colonies at L5 and the moon, mining, mass drivers and giant photovoltaic arrays in Low Earth Orbit beaming microwave power to the groundhogs below.

  It is a beautiful vision and produced some of the best designs for orb... (show more)

  This classic of space advocacy is a must have but comes with a reality check warning. O'Neil argued for power satellites in the Seventies and worked out all the nuts and bolts of how it could be done. He accumulated a substantial following of folk who believed in the vision of colonies at L5 and the moon, mining, mass drivers and giant photovoltaic arrays in Low Earth Orbit beaming microwave power to the groundhogs below.

  It is a beautiful vision and produced some of the best designs for orbital habitats we have yet. Unfortunately it was all based on producing power cheap enough to have a market. It did not add up though and the power profits would never be there. In fact the power would be gar dearer than then, now or the foreseeable future.

  In the end O'Neil probably just increased the resistance to space ventures in the popular mind and in policy making circles. (show less)

   

  by David Brew on Oct 22, 2007 at 05:43AM

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