If you had a trillion dollars and a year to spend it for the good of the world and the advancement of science, what would you do? It's an unimaginably large sum, yet it's only around one per cent of world GDP, and about the valuation of Google, Microsoft or Amazon. It's a much smaller sum than the world found to bail out its banks in 2008 or deal with Covid-19. But what could you achieve with $1 trillion? You could solve the problem of the pandemic, for one, and eradicate malaria, and maybe cure all disease. You could end global poverty. You could settle on the Moon and explore the solar system. You could build a massive particle collider to probe the nature of reality like never before. You could build quantum computers, develop artificial intelligence, or increase human lifespan. You could even create a new life form. Or how about transitioning the world to clean energy? Or preserving the rainforests, or saving all endangered species? Maybe you could refreeze the melting Arctic, launch a new sustainable agricultural revolution, and reverse climate change? How to Spend a Trillion Dollars is the ultimate thought experiment but it is also a call to arms: these are all things we could do, if we put our minds to it - and our money.

The development and exploration of space are scientific and engineering pursuits. However, politics determine which space programmes and projects are pursued, and establish cost, performance and schedule parameters for these ends. The goal of this volume, The Politics of Space: A Survey, is to provide an overview of the politics of space with regard to national space efforts, and national and international organizations. Contents include: * essays, written by experts in the field, which explore a variety of issues, including National Security Space, Developed Space Programmes, Moderate Space Powers, Commercial Space Actors, International Organizations in Civil Space Affairs, Non-governmental Space Organizations and Public Sector Actors. * a comprehensive A - Z Glossary of cross-referenced entries on space organizations, including national space agencies, governmental organizations with a role in space, intergovernmental organizations, space and aerospace companies, satellite communications service companies, and non-governmental organizations * illustrations and documentation, comprising figures, tables and documentation on key issues of space politics. Important figures include: models of space political processes; issues related to national security space management, challenges and environment; geopolitics of space; and the dynamics of relations between the governmental and commercial space sectors. Tables of significance highlight programmatic attributes of national security space, comparisons in the development of space programmes among states world-wide, and the functions and roles of international organizations that deal with space.

Space exploration has fascinated us since the launch of the first primitive rockets more than 3,000 years ago, and it continues to fascinate us today. The data gathered from such exploration has been hugely instrumental in furthering our understanding of our universe and our world. In Space Flight: History, Technology, and Operations, author Lance K. Erickson offers a comprehensive look at the history of space exploration, the technology that makes it possible, and the continued efforts that promise to carry us into the future. Space Flight goes through the history of space exploration, from the earliest sub-orbital and orbital missions to today's deep-space probes, to provide a close look at past and present projects, then turns its attention to programs being planned today and to the significance of future exploration. Focusing on research data gleaned from these exploration programs, the book's historical perspective highlights the progression of our scientific understanding of both the smallest and largest entities in our universe, from subatomic particles, to distant stars, planets, and galaxies. Both the novice and the advanced student of space exploration stand to profit from the author's engaging and insightful discussion.

The two most fascinating questions about extraterrestrial life are where it is found and what it is like. In particular, from our Earth-based vantage point, we are keen to know where the closest life to us is, and how similar it might be to life on our home planet. This book deals with both of these key issues. It considers possible homes for life, with a focus on Earth-like exoplanets. And it examines the possibility that life elsewhere might be similar to life here, due to the existence of parallel environments, which may result in Darwinian selection producing parallel trees of life between one planet and another. Understanding Life in the Universe provides an engaging and myth-busting overview for any reader interested in the existence and nature of extraterrestrial life, and the realistic possibility of discovering credible evidence for it in the near future.

This critical study of NASA's space shuttle program provides an in-depth examination of the events, decisions, and policies that may have contributed to the horrific destruction of the shuttles Challenger and Columbia. It first traces the early development of NASA's shuttle program, specifically examining the problems associated with the designs of shuttles OV-099 (which was to become Challenger) and OV-102 (which was to become Columbia). The reader is then taken through a detailed look at the first successful flights made by Challenger and Columbia and the cancellation of top-secret Shuttle flight 51-C (which would have launched under nearly identical weather conditions as the ill-fated Challenger). An in-depth assessment of the shuttles' disastrous final launches follows, including detailed accounts of the post-flight search and rescue operations, the official investigations into each accident, and the impact of each disaster on the future of NASA's manned space program.

The range of solar sailing is very vast; it is a fully in-space means of propulsion that should allow us to accomplish various mission classes that are literally impossible using rocket propulsion, no matter if nuclear or electric. Fast and very fast solar sailings are special classes of sailcraft missions, initially developed only in the first half of the 1990s and still evolving, especially after the latest advances in nanotechnology.
This book describes how to plan, compute and optimize the trajectories of sailcraft with speeds considerably higher than 100 km/s; such sailcraft would be able to explore the outer heliosphere, the near interstellar medium and the solar gravitational lens (550-800 astronomical units) in times significantly shorter than the span of an average career ( 35 years), just to cite a few examples. The scientific interest in this type of exploration is huge.

This book provides a contemporary look at spaceports, not only from relevant technological drivers, policies, and legal perspectives, but also from impacts associated with airspace use and aviation stakeholders. Economic, business, financial, and environmental considerations; issues facing airports transitioning to air and space ports; and spaceport planning are discussed. Through case and event studies, research and analysis, along with information obtained through professional experience, this book provides an overview of the many benefits, unique challenges, and issues facing commercial spaceports and spaceport operators. Each chapter is a standalone key topic such that the reader can focus on the most compelling issues relevant for them or can view the book as an integrated whole for a full perspective. While examples and case studies come largely from the United States, the reader can draw conclusions that are independent of country and situation. Information on other nation-state policies and advancements, among other topics, is provided to give a global perspective, further expanding the relevancy and benefits of the book to both domestic and international audiences. An Introduction to the Spaceport Industry: Runways to Space fills a gap in the literature, providing professionals, government officials, researchers, professors, and students deep insights into the fast-growing commercial spaceport industry.

The year 2007 will see the 50th anniversary of the Space Age, which began with the launching of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in October 1957. Since that time, the development of space technology has revolutionised many aspects of life on Earth, from satellite television to mobile phones, the internet and micro-electronics. It has also helped to bring about a revolution in the use of military force by the most powerful states.

Space is crucial to the politics of the postmodern world. It has seen competition and cooperation in the past fifty years, and is in danger of becoming a battlefield in the next fifty. The International Politics of Space is the first book to bring these crucial themes together and provide a clear and vital picture of how politically important space has become, and what its exploitation might mean for all our futures.

Michael Sheehan analyses the space programmes of the United States, Russia, China, India and the European Space Agency, and explains how central space has become to issues of war and peace, international law, justice and international development, and cooperation between the worlds leading states. It highlights the significance of China and India's commitment to space, and explains how the theories and concepts we use to describe and explain space are fundamental to the possibility of avoiding conflict in space in the future.

This ground-breaking book will be of great interest to students of international relations, space politics and security studies.

All typical and special modal and response analysis methods, applied within the frame of the design of spacecraft structures, are described in this book. It therefore addresses graduate students and engineers in the aerospace field.

A scientist's inspiring vision of our return to the Moon as humanity's next thrilling step in space exploration Just over half a century since Neil Armstrong first stepped foot on the lunar surface, a new space race to the Moon is well underway and rapidly gaining momentum. Laying out a vision for the next fifty years, Back to the Moon is astrophysicist Joseph Silk's persuasive and impassioned case for putting scientific discovery at the forefront of lunar exploration. The Moon offers opportunities beyond our wildest imaginings, and plans to return are rapidly gaining momentum around the world. NASA aims to build a habitable orbiting space station to coordinate lunar development and exploration, while European and Chinese space agencies are planning lunar villages and the mining of precious resources dwindling here on Earth. Powerful international and commercial interests are driving the race to revisit the Moon, but lunar infrastructures could also open breathtaking vistas onto the cosmos. Silk describes how the colonization of the Moon could usher in a thrilling new age of scientific exploration, and lays out what the next fifty years of lunar science might look like. With lunar telescopes of unprecedented size situated in permanently dark polar craters and on the far side of the Moon, we could finally be poised to answer some of the most profound questions confronting humankind, including whether we are alone in the Universe and what our cosmic origins are. Addressing both the daunting challenges and the immense promise of lunar exploration and exploitation, Back to the Moon reveals how prioritizing science, and in particular lunar astronomy, will enable us to address the deepest cosmic mysteries.

This select volume of historical documents is organized chronologically, spanning from 1914 to the present. Divided into eight chapters, it includes a narrative introduction to each historical period. This collection of historical documents provides insight into the history of the United States in its pursuit of the peaceful uses of outer space, with emphasis on the manned space program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as well as commercial American activities supporting human spaceflight in the early 21st century. Rocketry and space technology have served varied goals throughout the Space Age: pure research, as well as research applied for national security, national prestige, and commercial profit. There have been varied actors as well, among them individuals supported by philanthropists as well as governments, intergovernmental organizations, international consortiums, and for-profit corporations. This book focuses on space exploration, and in particular, human space exploration, leading to the questions, "Why have humans gone into outer space in the past?" and "Why will they do so in the future?" These documents help readers to examine the variety of fascinating answers to those questions. Provides readers with a broad overview of the U.S. history of human spaceflight from its beginnings to the present, and of the early 20th century rocketry that preceded it Provides a basis for in-depth studies of more specific topics in U.S. space history via source documents Presents the technocratic and commercial development of space technology as a push-pull relationship in which each propels the other into the future

This monograph addresses the legal and policy issues relating to the commercial exploitation of natural resources in outer space. It begins by establishing the economic necessity and technical feasibility of space mining today, an estimate of the financial commitments required, followed by a risk analysis of a commercial mining venture in space, identifying the economic and legal risks. This leads to the recognition that the legal risks must be minimised to enable such projects to be financed. This is followed by a discussion of the principles of international space law, particularly dealing with state responsibility and international liability, as well as some of the issues arising from space mining activities. Much detail is devoted to the analysis of the content of the common heritage of mankind doctrine. The monograph then attempts to balance such interests in creating a legal and policy compromise to create a new regulatory regime.

In this remarkable oral history, Slava Gerovitch presents interviews with the men and women who witnessed Soviet space efforts firsthand. Rather than comprising a "master narrative," these fascinating and varied accounts bring to light the often divergent perspectives, experiences, and institutional cultures that defined the Soviet space program.

Presents an overview of recent research on the original of solar phenomena that affect Earth s technological systems.

This topical issue is based on the presentations given at the 26th National Solar Observatory (NSO) Summer Workshop held at the National Solar Observatory/Sacramento Peak, New Mexico, USA from 30 April to 4 May 2012. This unique forum brought together experts in different areas of solar and space physics to help in developing a full picture of the origin of solar phenomena that affect Earth s technological systems. The articles include theory, model and observation research on the origin of the solar activity and its cycle, as well as a discussion on how to incorporate the research into space-weather forecasting tools.

This volumeis aimed at graduate students and researchers active in solar physics and space science.

Previously published in "Solar Physics," Vol. 289/2, 2014."

The NASA Dawn mission, launched in 2007, aimed to visit two of the most massive protoplanets of the main asteroid belt: Vesta and Ceres. The aim was to further our understanding of the earliest days of the Solar System, and compare the two bodies to better understand their formation and evolution. This book summarises state-of-the-art results from the mission, and discusses the implications for our understanding not only of the asteroid belt but the entire Solar System. It comprises of three parts: Part 1 provides an overview of the main belt asteroids and provides an introduction to the Dawn mission; Part 2 presents key findings from the mission; and Part 3 discusses how these findings provide insights into the formation and evolution of the Solar System. This is a definitive reference for academic researchers and professionals of planetary science, asteroid science and space exploration.

In September 2011, the GRAIL mission launched two unmanned spacecraft to the Moon, which entered into lunar orbit on December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2012. They orbited the Moon until December 17, 2012, when they impacted the surface near the Moon's north pole. This book contains three review articles co-authored by the GRAIL Science Team and Guest Scientists that describe the reasons for the GRAIL mission, the development of the necessary technology, and the design of the mission to acquire the most precise measurements of the lunar gravity field possible today. The book provides a detailed description of the GRAIL mission's scientific objectives, the instrumentation and its required performance, the complex simulation of the measurement system for determining the gravity field, and the innovative education and public outreach of the mission directed toward middle-school students who could select areas of the Moon for imaging with the onboard MoonKam camera system. This volume is aimed at researchers and graduate students active in solar system science and planetology. Originally published in Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 178/1, 2013.

This book provide clear insight into the Internet of Drone for Academicians, Postdoc fellows, Research scholars, Graduate and Post-graduate students, Industry-fellows, and Software Engineers. This work will be useful to professionals who seek information about the Internet of Drones. Experts in Quantum Computing and Physics; Post-Quantum Cryptography; Data Scientists; and Data Analysts are among them. Quantum computing and security for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or Drones are widely useful for applications such as military, government, and non-government systems. Thus, this work explore these applications. The Internet of Drones offers vast prospects to improve everyday living for ordinary people. This work explores similar futuristic aspects.

Emphasizing the importance of the space programme to the scientific, social and cultural history of the last half of the 20th century, this brief history celebrates the almost unimaginable technological leap that the space programme represents, a feat of teamwork, innovation, dedication and mastery unprecedented in the history of mankind. Walsh's narrative begins just before the Mercury programme, covers the original seven astronauts, the Gemini and Apollo programmes, through Skylab and up to the space shuttle. The glories and emotion of space exploration are presented against the backdrop of the Cold War, the presidential administrations of Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford and Carter, and other singificant events in US history. The positive accomplishments of the astronauts are put in context of an increasingly negative domestic situation in the '60s and '70s, the Bay of Pigs, civil rights, assassinations, growing involvement in and dissension about Vietnam, the Watergate scandal, and Nixon's resignation.

Physics of Fluids in Microgravity provides a clear view of the latest research and progress in the different fields of fluid research in space at the beginning of the International Space Station Era. The topics presented include bubbles and drops dynamics, Marangoni flows, diffusion and thermodiffusion, solidification and crystal growth. The results obtained so far are, in some cases, to be confirmed by extensive research activities on the International Space Station, where basic and applied microgravity experimentation will take place in the years to come.

When the first sputnik was launched and the space era began, few gave thought to the possible negative impact that putting satellites into orbit may have. In fact, man's space activity has led to the formation of a new media named ' space debris', i.e. manmade objects and their fragments launched into space, currently inactive and no longer serving any useful purpose.
Space Debris: Hazard Evaluation and Mitigation will be of interest to readers unfamiliar with the issues as well as experts and designers as it introduces concepts related to the problems of space ecology featuring actual data on the space debris environment, new mathematical models for space debris evolution, production and self-production, description of the existing software, and concepts for shield design. Methods of collision risk assessment depending on attitudes and inclinations of orbits, collision hazard evaluation and suggestions for preventative measures are also covered.

This volume identifies and evaluates the relationship between outer-space geography and geographic position (astrogeography), and the evolution of current and future military space strategy. In doing so, it explores five primary propositions. First, many classical geopolitical theories of military development are fully compatible with the realm of outer space. Second, how geographical position relates to new technology. Such evolution has developed through sea, rail and air power. Space power is the logical and apparent heir. Third, the special terrain of solar space dictates specific tactics and strategies for efficient exploitation of space resources. Fourth, the concept of space as a power base in classical, geopolitical thought will easily conform to the use of outer space as an ultimate national power base. Finally, a thorough understanding of the astromechanical and physical demarcations of outer space can prove useful to planners, and will prove critical to military strategists in the future. An optimum deployment of space assets will be essential on the current terrestrial and future-based battlefield.

This volume identifies and evaluates the relationship between outer-space geography and geographic position (astrogeography), and the evolution of current and future military space strategy. In doing so, it explores five primary propositions. First, many classical geopolitical theories of military development are fully compatible with the realm of outer space. Second, how geographical position relates to new technology. Such evolution has developed through sea, rail and air power. Space power is the logical and apparent heir. Third, the special terrain of solar space dictates specific tactics and strategies for efficient exploitation of space resources. Fourth, the concept of space as a power base in classical, geopolitical thought will easily conform to the use of outer space as an ultimate national power base. Finally, a thorough understanding of the astromechanical and physical demarcations of outer space can prove useful to planners, and will prove critical to military strategists in the future. An optimum deployment of space assets will be essential on the current terrestrial and future-based battlefield.

This book discusses all spacecraft attitude control-related topics: spacecraft (including attitude measurements, actuator, and disturbance torques), modeling, spacecraft attitude determination and estimation, and spacecraft attitude controls. Unlike other books addressing these topics, this book focuses on quaternion-based methods because of its many merits. The book lays a brief, but necessary background on rotation sequence representations and frequently used reference frames that form the foundation of spacecraft attitude description. It then discusses the fundamentals of attitude determination using vector measurements, various efficient (including very recently developed) attitude determination algorithms, and the instruments and methods of popular vector measurements. With available attitude measurements, attitude control designs for inertial point and nadir pointing are presented in terms of required torques which are independent of actuators in use. Given the required control torques, some actuators are not able to generate the accurate control torques, therefore, spacecraft attitude control design methods with achievable torques for these actuators (for example, magnetic torque bars and control moment gyros) are provided. Some rigorous controllability results are provided. The book also includes attitude control in some special maneuvers, such as orbital-raising, docking and rendezvous, that are normally not discussed in similar books. Almost all design methods are based on state-spaced modern control approaches, such as linear quadratic optimal control, robust pole assignment control, model predictive control, and gain scheduling control. Applications of these methods to spacecraft attitude control problems are provided. Appendices are provided for readers who are not familiar with these topics.

This famous and practical handbook for Space Mission Engineering draws on leading aerospace experts to carry readers through mission design, from orbit selection to ground ops. SMAD III updates the technology, provides greater emphasis on small spacecraft design and the cost-reduction process, and includes more detail on multi-satellite manufacturing, space computers, payload design and autonomous systems.