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Book Review
Half a century of space exploration
N. GOPAL RAJ
50 YEARS OF SPACE — A Global Perspective: P.V. Manoranjan Rao — Editor-in-Chief; Universities Press (India) Private Limited, 3-6-747/1/A, 3-6-754/1, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad-500029. Rs. 1995.
In terms of human lifespan, the space age that began with the launch of Sputnik-1, the world’s first artificial satellite, would count as comfortably middle-aged. But in so long term a venture with such promise, space exploration must be considered as being very much in its infancy. It is, nevertheless, a good time to look back on all that has been achieved and what may lie ahead. This book, which the Indian Space Research Organisation was instrumental in putting tog
ether in time for the 58th International Astronautical Congress held at Hyderabad in September 2007, is a compilation of the official viewpoints of the world’s major space agencies, the organisations that had to face the awesome technological and managerial challenges involved in taking human activity into the new frontier.
Space age
The space age was fostered in its early years by the Cold War rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States. But the new technology and its possibilities soon inspired other nations to join in. Currently, “a dozen or so [countries] have substantial and sustained [space] programmes,” according to P.V.Manoranjan Rao, a retired ISRO scientist who acted as editor-in-chief for the volume.
The contributions in the book from the space agencies provide a long, often self-congratulatory, look back. There is doubtless much that they can be proud of. In the space of a single, extraordinary decade, humans went from taking brief jaunts in space to walking on the moon. These days, men and women living and working for several months at a time onboard the International Space Station that orbits the Earth is taken for granted. Spacecraft have travelled to other planets in the solar system and even been despatched to scrutinise comets and asteroids. There have been scientific missions too, like the Hubble Space Telescope whose other-worldly photographs have often captured public imagination.
The years ahead
Rivalry may have abated and greater cooperation now exists between nations in space. But the book indicates that a diversity of approaches, rather than a unified vision, may shape space programmes in the years ahead. The U.S. has clearly set its sights on human exploration of the moon and subsequently Mars. The Europeans, Japanese and the Russians appear to be focusing on exploiting the possibilities afforded by the International Space Stations. China has indicated that it plans to have a manned space station of its own. For India, achieving manned spaceflight is likely to become a key objective.
But a book of this kind is unable to ask and answer certain key questions. Why, for instance, isn’t sufficient importance given to developing reusable space planes of the sort that various space agencies have considered at one time or another?
The Space Shuttle was a marvellous first step in that direction, even though it failed to provide quick turnaround times and reduce launch costs. The Space Shuttles will be retired by 2010, and the expendable launch vehicles that have been the workhorses of the space age are likely to continue to be used for the foreseeable future.
Still, with many colourful photographs and a panoramic perspective of the space endeavours of various countries, this is a book that space enthusiasts can savour.
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