Defending Spaceflight - The Echoes of Apollo (original) (raw)
Related papers
Moral Imperative of Human Spaceflight
0. Preamble 1. The case against civilization 2. The evils of civilization 3. The future of civilization 4. The future of morality 5. The place of consciousness in axiology 6. Axiology after extraterrestrialization 7. Copernican civilization 8. The natural history of value
The struggle for space: Past and future of the space race
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2012
This article is geared toward shedding some more light on what may be the next space race and its contours. Space flight is undoubtedly a human achievement of the second half of the 20th century, and probably the most audacious one of the past century. The space race started suddenly in the 1950s and has grown explosively during the following two decades, but decreased steadily after the 1970s. After the 1990s, however, we have seen a shy rebirth of space-related activities, when many other actors (states) entered the stage, adding up to the agonizing role of the two-actor piece that we have witnessed during the so-called Cold War. The opening years of the 21st century provided a more complex narrative for space exploration. At the start of the new millennium a new technosphere [1] emerged, dominated by what is used to be called as the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), with the Internet playing the leading role among the bandwagon of technological novelties that appeared during the twilight of space activities. In despite of the fact that artificial satellites represent the very backbone of the global communications system, space activities seem to play a secondary role amidst the apparently accelerated rate of change concerning the technological systems of the present technosphere. But, as it is demonstrated in this paper, things are changing, and very probably a renewed space race will unfold in the coming decades. A question may be placed: what happened? Why the Earth stood still with regard to the race toward the cosmos? Answer: futurists, even prestigious ones like Herman Kahn and Arthur Clarke, did not consider the existence of socioeconomic long waves (Kondratieff waves, or K-waves for short) with their two decades long economic downturn, which has contributed to the deceleration of space-related activities. Analyzing the worldwide evolving scenario of space-related activities during the last eighty years under the framework of the succeeding K-waves and applying some technological forecasting tools, namely the logistic analysis, technological surveillance and intensive data mining, scrutinizing more than 7500 events occurred in the period 1930-2010 related with space activities, it is demonstrated that the space race like the one that we have witnessed until now is a natural growth process that has saturated at the dawn of this century. The same analysis demonstrates that a new growth process in this field might be nowadays under way with contours very different from that imagined by futurists and science fiction writers sixty years ago. Also the main trends in the usage of launching vehicles and satellites are framed and discussed in this paper.
THE PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE
The Oxford Handbook of United Nations Treaties, 2019
The creation of space law is rooted in the aftermath of the Second World War. The two world powers of the time – the USA and the USSR – joined forces in the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to introduce law to outer space and ensure that the use and exploration of this domain was conducted for peaceful purposes. Against this backdrop, the negotiations underlying the drafting of the Magna Carta of outer space – the Outer Space Treaty – demonstrate how these two world powers set aside various political differences in order to reach a legal compromise for the benefit of the world as a whole. Today, half a decade after this milestone, the landscape of the use and exploration of outer space has changed dramatically, particularly in terms of the technology involved. As a result, the question is whether international space law and UNCOPUOS are still able to provide a relevant framework within which the peaceful use and exploration of outer space can progress. This work is published in: Simon Chesterman, David M. Malone, and Santiago Villalpando, "The Oxford Handbook of United Nations Treaties" (OUP 2019).
But what is the true rationale for human spaceflight?
Space Policy, 1994
Human interest in spaceflight is ancient. It is therefore ironic that, at a time when humans finally have the capability to travel in space, the notion that we should do so is being questioned. The author analyses the reasons for this-the historical/political and technological contingency of the Space Age and the sudden falling away of the conditions which drove space activity-and in the process provides a critique of the forgoing article and the tendency to search for utilitarian justifications of human spaceflight. He argues rather that space programmes will thrive only when driven by nonmaterial cultural and political forces. US-Russian cooperation, which has principally been undertaken for geopolitical reasons is a model for the future.
Space Renaissance International web site, 2016
Two months ago, the SRI 2nd World Congress updated our analysis of the status of civilization, and defined our program for the next four years, toward 2020. This paper aims to focus our priorities within the current global perspective, as the space renaissance continues to unfold. We may face unavoidable turmoil and dramatic events, challenging established routines and customs, and extending public opinion as perceptions move forward. Looking towards our immediate future, even events perceived as far distant, will become immanent, as a fast paced process of global engagement for space begins to emerge. We have identified, three essential developments, which SRI will support with immediate outreach actions: Establishing Low Cost Access to Earth Orbit, addressing the issues of the protection of civilian life and health in space, and advocating for a suitable set of laws for the global governance of activities in Outer Space, i.e. to collate, and extend international civilian rights in space. Some key technological advances, including fully reusable rockets and additive manufacturing, will allow the inception of comprehensive manned activities in Earth orbit, and the first steps for industrialization of the space surrounding the Earth and Moon space region. SRI will promote and support such an on going process: establishing the paradigm shift from military space exploration to civilian expansion in Outer Space. In the “Military and civilian space” section of this ocument, we include a brief note about our anthropologic analysis of the paradigm shift.
Space Science as a Cradle for Philosophers
Astropolitics
Not only astronauts, but also many space-related scientists have made remarkable contributions to the development of a more philosophical view of society. These contributions are illustrated by numerous works produced by famous space pioneers at the end of their careers. The link between science and philosophy is well acknowledged, but the two disciplines suffered a schism some 350 years ago. Now one could ask the question of whether the time has not come to merge both disciplines again. This precise theme can be found in many works and papers written by space scientists. In attempting to create a better understanding of the relation between space and philosophy, it is worthwhile to consider some characteristics of the space workforce. Comparisons have been made between this workforce and so-called ''corporate Ronins''-independent and unconventional thinkers who are attracted by the challenging environment offered by space activities. These individuals' presence in the space workforce could therefore be a viable explanation for the philosophical dimension associated with space activities. After his historical spaceflight, Yuri Gagarin wrote in 1962 on a picture: When I circled the Earth in my space capsule, I saw how beautiful our planet in reality is. People from the planet Earth, I hope together we will manage to preserve or augment this indescribable beauty, but in any case never to destroy it. 1 Certainly, we have to put such a message-which was probably orchestrated-in its correct historical context.