Imagining Space: Achievements, Predictions, Possibilities 1950-2050

by Roger D. Launius, Howard E. McCurdy, Ray Bradbury (Foreword)

Space travel has gone from fantasy to reality in just fifty yearswhere will we be fifty years from now? This breathtaking book follows our projections for space exploration in the 1950s to our actual accomplishments today and goes on to predict the spacecraft, commerce, ecology, and manned explorations yet to come in the next 50 years. Lavishly illustrated, with a visionary foreword by Ray Bradbury as well as an adventurous text by NASA's chief historian and an expert on the U.S. space program, Imagining Space will inspire science fiction enthusiasts, pop culture fans, and anyone who has ever looked up at the stars in wonder.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Space

176 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Dr. Roger D. Launius earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (American frontier and military history).

Dr. Launius was a civilian historian with the United States Air Force, and became Chief Historian for the Military Airlift Command. Since October 1990 he is Chief Historian for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He is also Senior Curator at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

He is also involved in the study of nineteenth century history and the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church).

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at the history and future of space exploration as of the start of the 21st century. Worth a look just for the illustrations.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall a disappointment. Some good paintings and pictures but nothing that has not been seen before. Furthermore too much space is wasted on a pedestrian text- should have made more space for paintings or images or graphs or diagrams. I think the problem was that the authors did not know what audience they wanted to write for… engineers, scientists, artists, history buffs, young people, old people? Bottom line is the lack of focus means it does not appeal strongly to anyone. Also, I believe working against it is the fact that the chapters are arranged by topic, and I think it would have been better to arrange chronologically. Furthermore, the later chapters in particular are boring… especially the Greening of Space. Finally, any book that mentions the Gaia Hypothesis as a serious proposition losses a star- it makes you wonder what the authors were smoking.