Goals In Space

Download or read book Goals in Space written by William Sims Bainbridge and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1991-01-01 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Goals in Space draws upon a detailed sample of 4,000 Americans to discover what values this society attaches to the space program. Systematic survey procedures identify 125 specific goals of the space program, and Bainbridge examines how these represent the perceived general values of spaceflight, including economic, industrial, environmental, social, spiritual, emotional, and military benefits. While the most popular justifications for spaceflight offered immediate gain for the current society, many Americans have a clear image of the revolutionary transformations that spaceflight may accomplish in the long run, notably colonization of the solar system. The findings of this study clarify the ideological bases for space technology and set the terms for the future debate on investment in space exploration.