Does manned space travel have a future?: Debate in London 6th December

People living in the UK may be interested in a debate taking place in
London in December. ‘To Boldly Go…?' looks at the state of the current
discussion about space travel. How did we get from space being the
final frontier in the 1960's to the situation today, where in the wake
of the Columbia disaster manned space travel is deemed too risky? What
is the way forward now? This debate is part of the Future Vision:
Future Cities conference that takes place at the London School of
Economics on Saturday 6th December 2003. More details can be found at
http://www.transportresearch.org.uk/FutureCities.htm


To Boldly Go…?
After the Columbia disaster, has space travel had its day? In the 60s
we dreamt of space colonies, or interstellar vacations, (and Electric
Sheep). But back then - in an era of Mutually Assured Destruction –
did this reflect something of a survivalist mentality? Were Gerard K
O'Neill's Island One, or even the terrestrial versions of Buckminster
Fuller's Spaceship Earth or Paolo Soleri's Arcosanti, positive
aspirations?
Is space travel just another way to get away from it all? Is space the
final frontier or just the preserve of rich tourists? Is space an
irrelevance, an escape or an ambition? Is it a thing of the past?
After all, what is space travel for?

Suggested Readings:
"Rocket Dreams: How the Space Age Shaped Our Vision of a World
Beyond," Marina Benjamin, Chatto and Windus. 2003
"The Case for Mars," Robert Zubrin, Pocket Books. 1998
"The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky technology, culture and
deviance at NASA," Diane Vaughan, University of Chicago Press, 1997
"Our Final Century: The 50/50 Threat to Humanity's Survival," Martin
Rees FRS, Heinemann. 2003
"2081: A Hopeful View of the Human Future," Gerard K O'Neill, Jonathan
Cape, 1981
"The First Men in the Moon," H.G. Wells, Gollancz. (1895) 2001 edition
"High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space," Gerald K O'Neill
(introduction by Freeman Dyson), Apogee Books. (1975) 2001 edition