Product Description

The stars have always called us, but only since the 1960s have we been able to respond by travelling in space. This book explores the human side of spaceflight: why people are willing to brave danger and hardship to go into space; how human culture has shaped past and present missions; and the effects of space travel on health and well-being. A comprehensive treatment of its subject, this book combines statistical studies, rich case histories, and anecdotal detail as it investigates the phenomenon of humans in space - from the earliest spaceflights to the missions of tomorrow. Drawing from a strong research base in the behavioural sciences, Harrison covers such topics as habitability, crew selection and training, coping with stress, group dynamics, accidents and more. In addition to taking a close look at spacefarers themselves, "Spacefaring" reviews the broad organizational and political contexts that shape human progress toward the heavens. With the ongoing construction of the International Space Station, the human journey to the stars continues, and this book will surely help guide the way.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1137407 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 342 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The title of this book really ought to be Spacefarers, because unlike many space travel authors, in Spacefaring: The Human Dimension Harrison, a professor of psychology, focuses primarily on the people doing the travelling. On the technological side, he explores astronaut selection and training, medical and environmental hazards and issues of life support and habitation. He pays equal attention to "soft" science aspects of human space travel, such as the stresses that arise from working and surviving in space, group dynamics among astronauts, and even off-duty time (and it is here that Harrison boldly goes where few space authors have gone before--into the realm of sex in space).

Harrison notes that while NASA has gathered heaps of physiological data about astronauts, the agency makes little effort to collect psychological and behavioural information. In fact, such research has been discouraged. This may come from the idea that in the past NASA astronauts were presented as "flawless individuals" and that any hints of emotional instability could possibly decrease funding. Conversely the Russian space program, with its emphasis on long-duration flights, has always studied human behaviour in space. Which leads us to one of the book's best "didjaknows": Did you know that cosmonauts only played chess against groundside opponents, to avoid in-group competition and friction?

In the final chapters Harrison does address the nuts and bolts of spacefaring, surveying prospects for lunar and Martian colonies, and even interstellar travel. The chapter on space tourism is quite comprehensive and contains a startling insight: tourism could create a push into space stronger than science or exploration. Says Harrison:

Not only would making space accessible to a broad segment of the population give people exciting and new experiences, it would encourage many different kinds of human activities in space. Thus, the space tourism industry could develop both the technology and the popular support required to accelerate human progress in getting off our planet.

All told, Spacefaring is a broad and readable review of the hazards and issues that will confront future space travellers, and it creates a vivid picture of what daily life may be like for those lucky adventurers. --JB Peck

Review
"Fascinating.... this is a book that could broaden your horizons in the widest possible sense."-New Scientist "An intelligent, challenging book...ideal for those with an interest in space travel and a desire to explore the cutting edge."-David Pitt, Booklist "Marvelous reading...will be invaluable to aerospace engineers and future space travelers. Read this wonderful book and you too will learn to fly."-Cliff Pickover, Leonardo Digital Reviews "An informed and upbeat appraisal of the human dimension of spaceflight, coupled with a cautious and wistful rumination on its prospects."-Alex Roland, Issues in Science and Technology "Spacefaring addresses in a powerful, cogent, and scholarly manner topics long ignored or swept aside in official reports and planning documents about space flight. It is a good, powerful and needed work."-Edgar Mitchell, Astronaut, Apollo 14

About the Author
Albert A. Harrison is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. He is coauthor of Living Aloft: Human Requirements for Extended Spaceflight (1985) and From Antarctica to Outer Space: Life in Isolation and Confinement (1991), and author of After Contact: The Human Response to Extraterrestrial Life (1997).