The Geopolitics of Space Exploration (Springer Praxis Books)

Description

This is the tale of the modern Space Age, detailing all the risks, rewards and rivalries that have fueled space exploration over the decades. Jump into a world of ambitious entrepreneurs and determined spacefaring nations, of secret spy satellites and espionage, of all the cooperative and competing interests vying for dominance in ways little known to the public. Written by an Italian aeronautical engineer with over thirty years of experience in government and private industry, this English translation explains how and why the game has fundamentally evolved and where it is headed next. Exploring such topics as GPS and cyberspace, the economics of private and public industry and the political motivations of emerging spacefaring powerhouses like China, this book is an engaging foray into the ongoing battle for our terrestrial home through extraterrestrial means. Contents Foreword Preface 1: Fundamentals of Astronautics Part I: The 20th Century 2: The Space Race: Moondust 3: Rocket Science: Globalization and Missiles 4: Beyond the Movies: The Real War for Space We Never Saw on Screen 5: Rocket Man: From The Space Shuttle to the International Space Station 6: GPS: The Stellar Clock Part II: The 21st Century 7: Technopolitics of Space Between History and Realpolitik 8: Space Economy: A Business On the Launch Pad 9: Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future 10: Mars: Next Stop? Conclusions Afterword by Professor Carlo Pelanda Index