Spacefaring: The Human Dimension
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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
--This text refers to the
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First Sentence
For several months during 1997, the world riveted its attention on Russia's Mir Space Station. Successor to a string of Salyut stations, Mir had been launched eleven years before. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
For several months during 1997, the world riveted its attention on Russia's Mir Space Station. Successor to a string of Salyut stations, Mir had been launched eleven years before. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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4 reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
must-have for space scientists and sci-fi authors
10 May 2001
Format:Hardcover
Al Harrison's new book is simply the best resource on the human side of spaceflight ever written. From radiation hazards to ergonomics to sex in space, Harrison provides a readable, comprehensive overview of the state of our knowledge. There are details aplenty, enough brilliant tidbits to add verisimilitude to any novel.
Harrison focuses on NASA's hostility to human-factors research, particularly in contrast to the Russians' long history of interest in crew selection and the effects of long-duration spaceflight. Given NASA's recent objections to the flight of Dennis Tito, this context is extremely timely.
His concluding chapter, on the drive to explore space, why we came so far so quickly, then walked away from human exploration, is well-reasoned, insightful and deeply passionate.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Review by Pascal Lee, SETI Institute
1 Jun 2001
Format:Hardcover
Al Harrison's book "SPACEFARING" has the qualities of an instant classic. It deals brilliantly with the central element in our ventures into space, the human being. It is a book about human factors in space. The work has the thoroughness and completeness of an academic treatise, but still reads easily. It is packed with little-known anecdotes and many cool historical and technical facts. The book's clear organization is particularly helpful, not just for guiding the layreader through a complex subject, but also for serving as a quick reference for space exploration professionals needing to read up on a specific topic. The book offers both a summary of lessons learnt and an analysis of our possible spacefaring future. For planners of a human mission to Mars, this is an ideal synthesis of where we stand on the subject of human factors.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Excellent and important
14 April 2001
Format:Hardcover
Al Harrison, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, is doing some far-reaching and somewhat unique work on the psychological impact of the "high frontier". His previous book, After Contact, explored some of the possible psychological and social implications of contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. Now, in Spacefaring, he tackles these same issues as they apply to long-term human habitation, exploration, and settlement in space. This book is not just for the academic or space specialist. Soon, we shall all be involved and affected in some way with the human migration into the solar system and beyond. Essential - and entertaining - reading for those who want to know what lies on the journey ahead!
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