Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier
Page 38
Israel
$0.01 billion
Futron estimate
Calendar Year 2010 Estimated Spending
Italy*
$0.44 billion
Government of Italy
Calendar Year 2010
Planned Spending
Japan
$3.83 billion
Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies
Fiscal Year 2010/2011 Appropriation
Russia
$3.04 billion
GlobalSecurity.org estimate
Calendar Year 2010
Planned Spending
South Korea
$0.21 billion
Government of South Korea
Calendar Year 2010
Planned Spending
Spain*
$0.05 billion
Government of Spain
Calendar Year 2010 Appropriation
United Kingdom*
$0.10 billion
United Kingdom Space Agency
Fiscal Year 2009/2010 Appropriation
Emerging Countries
$0.74 billion
[multiple]
Non-US Military Space
$2.30 billion
Futron estimate
Estimated Spending
Total
$87.12 billion
* Excludes ESA spending
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Ann Rae Jonas transcribed most of the speeches contained herein, performing this task with a strong sense of not only what I said but, more important, what I meant. John M. Logsdon, a historian of space exploration without equal, provided valued information and insights. Richard W. Bulliet of Columbia University edited my very first essay on space exploration, “Paths to Discovery,” which launched a subcareer of space commentary that continues to this day. Along the way, I’ve enjoyed conversations on our past, present, and future in space with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Tom Jones, Eileen Collins, and Kathy Sullivan; Congressman Robert Walker; author Andy Chaikin; scientists Steven Weinberg and Robert Lupton; and engineer Lou Friedman. I’ve further enjoyed conversations on national security with US Air Force generals Lester Lyles and John Douglass, US Navy commander Sue Hegg, and aerospace analyst Heidi Wood; and on NASA with space enthusiasts Lori Garver, Stephanie Schierholz, Elaine Walker, Elliott Pulham, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. I further recognize computer scientist Steve Napear for insightful conversations about the era of the great oceanic explorers and its correspondence with the era of space exploration. Lastly, Space Chronicles would not exist without the support and enthusiasm for my work expressed by Avis Lang, longtime editor of my essays for Natural History magazine and editor of this volume.—NDT
Besides wanting to thank Neil Tyson for providing so many unexpected encounters with the cosmos, I am grateful for the literary and culinary assistance of Elliot Podwill; the graph-making skills of economist Anwar Shaikh; the perspective of Canadian space maven Surendra Parashar; the scrutiny of Norton Lang, Nivedita Majumdar, Fran Nesi, Julia Scully, and Eleanor Wachtel; and the troubleshooting of Elizabeth Stachow.—AL
INDEX
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
ABC, 232
Advanced Camera for Surveys, 140
Advisory Committee on the Future of the US Space Program, 221
aerobraking, 163
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, 169
aerospace industry, 73, 199–200, 206, 208–9, 237
technology integration and, 323–24
see also Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry
Age of Exploration, 85
Airbus, 73
Air Force, US, 166
Albaugh, James, 221
Aldrin, Buzz, 14–15, 66, 86, 219
algebra, 205
ALH-84001 (meteorite), 48
Almagest (Ptolemy), 65
Alpha Centauri, 178
American Museum of Natural History, xiii
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 11–12
Ames Research Center, 149–50
ammonia, 30, 92
anchor tenancy contracts, 308–9
Anderson, Carl D., 171
Anderson, John D., 248–49
Andromeda galaxy, 57, 239
Milky Way galaxy and, 118–19
Nebula in, 100
Antarctica, 76
Anti-Deficiency Act, 288
antimatter, 164, 170–71
Antitrust Civil Process Act, 311
Anyone, Anything, Anywhere, Anytime, 146
Apollo program, 6, 8, 11, 15, 25, 109, 111, 133, 151, 154, 162, 168, 179, 195, 214, 219, 245
Apollo 1, 17, 66, 96
Apollo 8, 69–70, 145, 172
Apollo 11, 4–5, 7, 14, 21, 23, 69, 86, 88, 102, 112, 127, 144–45, 149–50, 196, 220
Apollo 12, 5, 198
Apollo 13, 112
Apollo 14, 3
Apollo 16, 198
Apollo 17, 17, 69, 132, 187, 188
Apophis (asteroid), 53
Apple Computer, 136
Arecibo Observatory, 28, 41
“argument from ignorance,” 182–83
Aristarchus, 34, 97
Aristotle, 34
Armstrong, Neil, 5, 14, 66, 69, 86–87, 111–12, 149, 187, 219–20
asteroid belt, 245
asteroids, 45–54, 103, 188, 201, 227, 228, 252, 255, 259
collision rates of, 49–50, 50
composition of, 46
cratering record of, 47–48
detecting and diverting, 52–54, 236
ecosystems and impact of, 51–52
impact records of, 45–46
impact risk of, 46–47, 49–51, 50
keyhole altitude range of, 53
near-Earth, 46–47
planet formation and, 45–46
predicting, 54
shock waves of, 47
Trojan, 117, 176
see also comets
Astronaut Pen, 194
astronauts, 141, 145
Astronomy Explained (Ferguson), 254
Atlantis space shuttle, 147, 162
atomic bomb, 50, 87, 97, 224
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 274–75
Atomic Energy Commission, 274
Augustine, Norm, 146, 221
Australia, 239
aviation, see flight
bacteria, 246–47
ballistics, see orbits
Bean, Alan, 5
Belgium, 7
Bell, Jocelyn, 29
Bell Telephone Laboratories, 92
Bell X-1 (rocket plane), 109
Benz Patent Motorwagen, 213
Berlin Wall, 80
Big Bang theory, 92, 95, 129, 141, 176
biomarkers, 30
black holes, 71, 94, 139, 141, 142
Blériot, Louis, 110
Blob, The (film), 35, 203
Blue Marble, The, 187–88
Boeing, 236
Bolden, Charles F., Jr., 146
Book of Predictions, The (Truax), 218
Brazil, xiv, 7, 23, 73
Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project, 170
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 215
Bruno, Giordano, 217
Bush, George H. W., 7–8, 194
Bush, George W., 13–14, 15, 130, 224–25
administration of, 59, 209
calculus, 115, 247
Callisto (moon), 169
Cambridge, University of, 29, 257
Canada, xiv, 7, 168
Capital Space LLC, 146
carbon, 35–36, 101, 239, 240, 258
carbon cycle research, 325–26
carbon dioxide, 30, 40
carbon monoxide, 92
Cassini spacecraft, 82, 168–69, 198, 210
Huygens probe of, 138–39
Catholic Church, 34, 86
CBS Evening News, 145
centrifugal force, 173, 175
CERN (European Organization for N
uclear Research), 80
Cernan, Eugene, 14
Chaffee, Roger B., 66
Challenger space shuttle, 12, 96
ode to, 242–43
Chandra X-ray Observatory, 139
Cheney, Dick, 13
Chernobyl disaster, 168
Chicxulub crater, 50, 52
China, ancient, 235
China, People’s Republic of, 127, 162, 207, 215, 233
Great Wall of, 87, 207, 233
population of, 235
scientific literacy in, 230–31, 235–36
space program of, xiv, 7, 12–13, 22–23, 59–60, 79–80
Three Gorges Dam of, 22, 233
chlorofluorocarbons, 30
civil rights movement, 66–67, 69, 178–79
Clarke, Arthur C., 166, 175
Classification Act of 1949, 268–69
Clinton, Bill, 6
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (film), 37
Colbert, Stephen, 186–88
Cold War, 5–6, 59, 80, 87, 111, 192, 200, 219
Collier’s, 111
Columbia space shuttle, 12, 15, 60, 96, 130, 142, 156, 199–201, 210
Columbus, Christopher, 8, 87
Comet Halley, 88
Comet Hyakutake, 47
Comet Ikeya-Seki, 88
comets, 103, 116, 255
eccentric orbits of, 115
ecosystems and impact of, 51–52
impact rate of, xi
long-period, 46–47
risk of impact by, 46–47
short-period, 46
water and, 48
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, 52, 88, 102
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008, 289
Commerce, Department of, US, 305
Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984, 5
Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy, 13
Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry, 146, 316–19
appointments to, 316–17
establishment of, 316
personnel matters and, 318–19
termination of, 319
Communist Party, Soviet, 121
Congress, US, xiv, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 73, 79, 81, 82, 143, 191, 192, 228, 314
see also House of Representatives, US; Senate, US
Constellation program, 186
Contact (film), 28
Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space, 310–11
Cook, James, 160
Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRDAs), 303–8
Copernican principle, 34, 36
Copernicus, Nicolaus, 34, 97, 115, 118
Corey, Cyrus, 212
cosmic microwave background, 92, 94–95, 176
cosmic perspective, 258, 259–61
cosmochemistry, 30
Cosmos (TV show), 256
Cosmos 1 spacecraft, 166, 170
Cosmos 954 satellite, 168
Cronkite, Walter, 145–46
culture, 72–74, 147–48, 210–11
Curie, Marie, 96
Curtis, Heber D., 98–101
Cyrano de Bergerac, Savinien de, 217
Daniels, George H., 215–16
dark energy, 255
dark matter, 255
Darwin, Charles, 98
Deep Space 1 spacecraft, 164–65, 169–70
Deep Space Network, 246
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 125
Defense, Department of, US, 271, 274, 309, 312
De Forest, Lee, 218
Democrats, 4–5, 13, 224
Denmark, 7
De Revolutionibus (Copernicus), 115
Descent of Man (Darwin), 98
dinosaurs, 49, 103
Dirac, Paul A. M., 170–71
Discourse Concerning a New World & Another Planet, A (Wilkins), 21
discovery, 84–103
funding for, 87–88
future and, 101–3
human ego and, 97–101
human senses and, 89–95
incentives for, 86–87
rewards of, 88–89
scientific, 98
society and, 95–97
space exploration and, 103
urge for, 84–86
Discovery Channel, 42, 231
Discovery space shuttle, 140
Disney World, 224–25
DNA, 240–41
Drake, Frank, 40
Drake equation, 40–41
Druyan, Ann, 256
Dubai, 5
Dulles, John Foster, 124
Earth, xiv, 26–32, 85–86, 97, 103, 259
asteroid collision rate of, 49–50
life on, 33–35, 47–48
orbit of, 115
risk of impacts to, 49–51, 50
study of, 227–28
viewed from space, 26–28
Earthrise, 69–70
Eddington, Arthur, 107
Education, Department of, US, 326
Einstein, Albert, 94, 97, 101, 161, 195, 248, 251
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 4, 11, 123–25, 200
Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1976, 268
electromagnetic spectrum, 90
Embraer, 73
Endeavour space shuttle, 160–61
Energy, Department of, US, 12
ENIAC, 213
Environmental Protection Agency, 225
ethanol, 158
ethyl alcohol, 92
Europa, 40, 129, 169, 201, 209, 212
European Space Agency, 7, 138–39, 166
European Union, xiv, 127, 226
evolution, 40, 205
religion and, 205
Evolutionary Xenon Thruster, 170
exobiology, 36
exoplanets, 32
biomarkers on, 30–31
search for, 28–30
expenditures, see budgets; NASA, budget of
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, 169
Explorer I satellite, 126
extraterrestrial life, 33–41, 325
chemical composition of, 35–36
Copernican principle and, 34, 36
Drake equation and, 40–41
in Gupta–author interview, 42–44
Hawking’s view of, 42–43
Hollywood portrayals of, 35–38
human self-perception and, 41
intelligence of, 36–39
liquid water and, 39–40
probability of, 33–34
search for, 41, 325
stable orbits and, 40
television signals and, 178
water and, 39–40
eyewitness testimony, 183–84, 204
Fall of Moondust, A (Clarke), 175
Faubus, Orval, 124
Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer, 304–5
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, 269
Ferguson, James, 254
Fisher Pen Company, 194n
flight, 107–11, 216
ballistic missiles and, 110–11
early attitudes toward, 216–17
firsts in, 110, 216–17
sound barrier and, 109
V-2 rocket and, 110–11
Wright brothers and, 109–10, 216–17
flybys, 157
Foch, Ferdinand, 217
formaldehyde, 92
fossil fuels, 30
France, xiv, 7
Freedom 7 spacecraft, 114
free fall, 119
friction, 152, 155
Friedman, Louis, 193
From the Earth to the Moon (Verne), 170
Fukushima Daiichi disaster, 168
Futurist, The, 218
Gagarin, Yuri, 73, 79, 113–14, 122, 192
galaxies, 32, 91, 98
black holes in, 142
elements in, 239–40
expansion of univers
e and, 98, 100–101
orbits of stars of, 115
Galef, Julia, 75–83
Galileo Galilei, 85–86, 97, 147, 169, 213, 225
Galileo navigation system, 208
Galileo space probe, 198
gamma rays, 71, 90, 94, 129, 139
Ganymede, 169
Garbedian, H. Gordon, 110
Garver, Lori B., 146
Gates, Bill, 136
wealth of, 229–30
Gemini program, 7, 162
General Accounting Office, 320
General Dynamics, 236
Genesis mission, 138, 176
Germany, xiv, 7, 200
Ghazali, Al- (theologian), 206
Glenn, John, 5, 10, 66, 146, 193
Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, 168
global warming, 58
Gnedin, Oleg, 194
Goddard, Robert H., 95, 153, 192
Goddard Memorial Dinner, 203–4
Goddard Space Flight Center, 140
Good Morning America (TV show), 232
Gott, J. Richard, 83, 194
gravitation, universal law of, 65, 192
gravitational waves, 94
gravity:
and discovery of Uranus, 247–48
Lagrangian points and, 172–74
Pioneer Anomaly and, 245, 248–51
Great Barrier Reef, 231
Great Britain, 110
Great Wall of China, 87, 207, 233
greenhouse effect, 39–40, 201, 227