Spaceport Earth

Spaceport Earth
Author: Joe Pappalardo
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2019-03-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1468315641

“Tackles the ever-changing, twenty-first-century space industry and what privately funded projects like Elon Musk’s SpaceX mean for the future of space travel.” —Foreign Policy Creating a seismic shift in today’s space industry, private sector companies including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin are building a dizzying array of new spacecraft and rockets, not just for government use, but for any paying customer. At the heart of this space revolution are spaceports, the center and literal launching pads of spaceflight. Spaceports cost hundreds of millions of dollars, face extreme competition, and host operations that do not tolerate failures—which can often be fatal. Aerospace journalist Joe Pappalardo has witnessed space rocket launches around the world, from the jungle of French Guiana to the coastline of California. In his comprehensive work Spaceport Earth, Pappalardo describes the rise of private companies and how they are reshaping the way the world is using space for industry and science. Spaceport Earth is a travelogue through modern space history as it is being made, offering space enthusiasts, futurists, and technology buffs a close perspective of rockets and launch sites, and chronicling the stories of industrial titans, engineers, government officials, billionaires, schemers, and politicians who are redefining what it means for humans to be a spacefaring species. “Private companies and rich people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have taken over the exploration of space. Pappalardo explores this new sort of spacefaring at the outer reaches of business and technology.” —The New York Times “For anyone obsessed with how spaceflight grew into what it is today, this book is a must-have.” —Popular Mechanics

Spaceports Around the World, A Global Growth Industry

Spaceports Around the World, A Global Growth Industry
Author: Erik Seedhouse
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 131
Release: 2016-12-31
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3319468464

This brief presents a concise description of the existing spaceport market, the technologies being tested and developed at them, and the private companies that are making them possible. While NASA has its own plan for the future of space exploration, one that includes a new shuttle, an interplanetary spacecraft, and astronauts going to Mars, many people believe that the real future of space exploration is currently centered around dozens of commercial spaceports, financed by entrepreneurs inspired not only by profit but by the dream of creating a new space age, one not limited by bureaucracies or by budget allocations. Commercial spaceports in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia and Alaska, as well as in countries like Curaçao and Sweden, are becoming home to dozens of private aerospace companies and provide a place where cutting-edge technology can be developed, tested and launched into space. Based on original interviews with principles at the various companies involved and on-site observations at the Mojave Air and Space Port, the author traces the early days of the spaceport movement and outlines what lies ahead.

An Introduction to the Spaceport Industry

An Introduction to the Spaceport Industry
Author: Janet K. Tinoco
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 165
Release: 2020-05-26
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1351165828

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.

Spaceports in Europe

Spaceports in Europe
Author: Annette Froehlich
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2022-01-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 3030883116

This book explores how Europe is seeking to enlarge its launching capacities by building additional spaceports on the European continent. Various national initiatives are envisaged resulting in a “space race” in the field of constructing spaceports and building micro launchers. However, right from the beginning when choosing the launch site (land or sea based-rocket launches) there are various factors relating to international space law, European regulations and national rules that must be considered, as spaceports are rarely explicitly addressed in current legal and policy frameworks. While launching sites used to be operated by governments, private commercial initiatives are increasingly entering the field. This paradigm shift must be reflected within regulations relating to various aspects of space liability by enlarging the long-established terms of the United Nations space treaties to accommodate commercial space flights. Questions of permission, supervision and control require special liability regulations to avoid detrimental consequences stemming from the concept of “launching states” in view of the rise of private driven commercial space activities on a global level. Furthermore, not only do environmental aspects need to be thoroughly examined but also the concept of critical infrastructure requires special attention from a security perspective to anticipate, inter alia, cyber-attacks. For these reasons, several European and national regulations may need to be enlarged to apply to the entire space sector, using a harmonized approach that has direct implications for the regulations, programmes, and missions of the European Union and the European Space Agency, bearing in mind that the upcoming spaceports in Europe are an essential asset to substantially boost the European New Space.

Earth, Cosmos and Culture

Earth, Cosmos and Culture
Author: Oliver Tristan Dunnett
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2021-04-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0429631634

This book traces the development of diverse British cultures of outer space, utilizing key geographical concepts such as landscape, place, and national identity. It examines the early visionary ideas of writers H. G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon, the ambitious British space programme of the 1960s, and narrations of British cultural identity that accompanied the space missions of Helen Sharman, Beagle 2 and Tim Peake. The exploration of British cultures of outer space throughout the book helps understand the emergence of the British Interplanetary Society. It also explains its significance in pre-war and post-war periods through an analysis of the roles of influential figures such as Arthur C. Clarke and Patrick Moore. The chapters explore utopian and dystopian representations of space exploration, examine the mysterious phenomenon of UFO culture, and consider plans for humanity’s imagined future across interstellar space. Throughout the book geography is advocated as a home for critical studies of outer space, illuminating its significance in terms of the reciprocal relationships between exploration and the sublime, science and the imagination, Earth and cosmos. As an emergent field of research in the social sciences, this book makes an excellent contribution to the study of the outer space in Britain and abroad developing a distinctive kind of outer spatial geography with major implications for future teaching and research.

Space Tourism

Space Tourism
Author: Erik Cohen
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2019-09-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1789734975

This is the first comprehensive, multi-disciplinary work on the emergent phenomenon of space tourism. It is written by leading specialists and covers a wide spectrum of topics including space history and technology, the environmental, social, and legal aspects of the development of a future space tourism industry, and space tourism marketing.

The Earth Directive

The Earth Directive
Author: Graham McMurtry
Publisher: Graham McMurtry
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2013
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

The year is 5497. Mankind has spread throughout the universe and has colonized thousands of planets. In the Sol system on the 'Day of Peace' someone suddenly attacks Earth fleet unexpectedly. Years later in deep space the crew of the Oregon is awakened from stasis in deep space by a cryptic message from Earth Command. Earth has been attacked. The message is several years old and there has been no further communication from anyone anywhere. The ship turns around and returns to Earth and along with another Earth ship, the Texas. They find the enemy waiting for them surrounding Earth, and a fierce battle takes place in the skies over the planet. Humanity is facing extinction. Captain Steven Jones is forced fight a powerful enemy and unravel a mystery surrounding the fate of Earth and prevent it from happening again.

Burt Rutan's Race to Space

Burt Rutan's Race to Space
Author: Dan Linehan
Publisher: Zenith Press
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2011-07-07
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0760338159

The author of SpaceShipOne chronicles the significant achievements of the Ansari X Prize-winning aerospace innovator, offering insight into his pioneering vision for enabling space exploration and the processes of his history-making designs, including Voyager and SpaceShipTwo.