Ad Astra
The magazine of the National Space Society
Volume 28, Number 3 Fall 2016
Cover image courtesy SpaceX: The successful Pad Abort Test was the first flight test of SpaceX’s revolutionary launch abort system, and the data captured here will be critical in preparing Crew Dragon for its first human missions in 2017.
Featured Articles:
12
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS: ISDC 2017
By Gloria Lloyd
16
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON—TO LAND ON MARS
By John F. Kross
20
DIPPING INTO THE FUTURE
Looking for Life in the Universe
By Lance Frazer
24
CAREFUL, BABY ON BOARD! ROCKETING THE CRADLE TO MARS
By John F. Kross
28
SPACE IN THE SWAMPLANDS
By Mark Williamson
32
U.S. SPACE WALK OF FAME MUSEUM
By Mark Williamson
34
NEW TO FLIGHT: REDUCING THE COST OF ACCESS TO SPACE
By Dale L. Skran
38
THE ESSENTIAL SPACE LIBRARY
By
Clifford R. McMurray
42
CISLUNAR EXPLORERS:
WATER-PROPELLED CUBESAT TO LUNAR ORBIT
By Kyle Doyle
44
SPACE INGRASTRUCTURE FOR LUNAR TOURISM
By Dave Dietzler
Departments:
8
NSS CORRESPONDENCE
National Space Society Chapters Impact Thousands in 2015
By Claire McMurray
9
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
By Pat Silver
10
NSS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Enterprise in Space Program Sparks Visitor Interest at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum
By Lynne Zielinski
46
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR
Space Colonization and the Space Movement
By Mark Hopkins
47
SPACE SETTLEMENT COLUMN
Jeff Bezos and the Settlement of Space
By Bruce Pittman
48
BOOKS
Breaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight before NASA, by Amy Shira Teitel
Reviewed by Robert A. Lee
No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons from a Man Who Walked on the Moon, by Buzz Aldrin and Ken Abraham
Reviewed by Mike White
50
CHAPTER LISTINGS
55
SIGNING OFF
Expedition 47 Soyuz Landing