Spacefaring: The Human Dimension [Paperback]

Albert A. Harrison (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520236777 | ISBN-13: 978-0520236776 | Publication Date: October 7, 2002 | Edition: 1

The stars have always called us, but only for the past forty years or so have we been able to respond by traveling 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 and authoritative treatment of its subject, this book combines statistical studies, rich case histories, and gripping 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 behavioral 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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The title of this book really ought to be Spacefarers, because unlike many space travel authors, Harrison, a professor of psychology, focuses primarily on the people doing the traveling. 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 behavioral 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 behavior 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 travelers, and it creates a vivid picture of what daily life may be like for those lucky adventurers. --J. B. Peck --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

From the author of Living Aloft: Human Requirements for Extended Spaceflight (1985) and After Contact: The Human Response to Extraterrestrial Life (1997) comes this look at what human beings need to be able to live in space. With the U.S. poised to begin launching people into space on longer, more complicated voyages than ever before, Harrison argues that more emphasis needs to be placed on what he calls the "human dimension" of space travel (not just survival techniques but dealing, for example, with issues of loneliness and isolation). In addition to psychological issues, Harrison addresses some vital practical matters such as how space voyagers will communicate with those on Earth and how "multigeneration" missions, in which people are born, live, and die on board a space vessel, will require us to rethink many of our notions of what constitutes a society. This is an intelligent, challenging book, perhaps too technical for some general readers but ideal for those with an interest in space travel and a desire to explore the cutting edge. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (October 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520236777
• ISBN-13: 978-0520236776
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #522,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars must-have for space scientists and sci-fi authors, May 10, 2001

By 

John McKnight (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spacefaring: The Human Dimension (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:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review by Pascal Lee, SETI Institute, June 1, 2001

By 

Dr. Pascal Lee, SETI Institute (NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spacefaring: The Human Dimension (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:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and important, April 14, 2001

By 

David Darling, science writer and astronomer (Dundee, Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spacefaring: The Human Dimension (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!