Outsiders' Guide to Understanding Outer Space Development

About the Book

This book is the first of its kind. It bridges two worlds: the general public and the space development community. An introduction to what is happening is important and necessary because outer space colonization is not far off. Hundreds of space companies exist, earning billions annually. Spaceports are popping up all over the world. Space tourism companies are selling trips to space. Public perceptions about space travel are changing. Activities are underway to develop the final frontier for human visitation and extended habitation, and most people, around the globe, know nothing about it. At the beginning of the space age, the public viewed space travel as a government enterprise for highly trained astronauts. The race to space was a race between two nations - the US and the former Soviet Union. This competition was for the sake of national prestige and in the interest of science. Today space is the source of everyday goods and services: cell phones, the Internet, cable television - to name a few examples. Established space industries have already taken a foothold in the everyday lives of most people. This was the result of concerted efforts within the outer space development regime. Space scientists, space engineers, space lawyers and space policymakers have been meeting and making plans for space development for over 40 years. Recently, many nations have drastically increased their spending on space programs, and many have pledged to go to the Moon and to Mars. Moreover, discoveries have been made on these two celestial bodies and on various asteroids and comets. New industries involving space stations, space tourism, space mining and space settlement are impending. Development plans and the technological capability to develop outer space are very real and very concrete.

About the Author

E. E. Weeks currently lectures at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in the US, and is writing a dissertation entitled The Politics of Space Law, in a Post Cold War Era. Weeks has published several articles and presented several papers at international conferences. After completing a Juris Doctors degree in Law from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1987, Weeks worked in a number of laws firms and corporations performing legal research. After years of working as a professional, Weeks decided to pursue the unrealized goal of attaining a Ph.D. in international relations and becoming a lecturer, writer, author and academic.