The Dream of Spaceflight: Essays on the Near Edge of Infinity

246 Pages·2001·12.22 MB·English

by  Wyn Wachhorst

fire Dream
Essays on the
Near Edge of In
Wyn Wachhorst
A Member of
the Persew Books Group
Copyright 2 Wb y Wjln Wachhorsf
Published by Basic Books,
A Member of the Perseus Books Croup
Ail1 dghts reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part
of this book may be reproduced in any manner whamever with-
out wriEen pemlssion except in the case of brief quotations em-
bodied in c~ticafa rticles and reviews, For information, address
Basic Boolts, 20 East 53" Street, New York, PJV 1W22-5299.
Library of Congrea Catatoging-in-PublicationD ata
Wachhorst, Wyn
The dream of spaceflight I Wyn Wachhorst.
p. cm,
f ncludes bibliographical references and index.
XSBN 0-465-09057-5
1. Manned space Right, I. Title,
TL873,W33 2000
629.454~21 98-086067
CIP
In memory of my father
Nevvtan EdMn Wachh~mt
abiding like the steeple in, the vilIage
and of my mother
Narma Harve-y Mchfitomt
whose passing prekstined tbis book
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The mind of the scientist exploring space and
malter, is dosely related ts the mind of the
poet, whose task is to explore inner space and
the realiv of things, Like the sGientist the poet
is enchanted with an expanding univerx of
howledye; but he keeps insisting that the new
data rnuft be insovomted into a moml
uniwerse, the universe that poetfy originally
created as mph and for which fie must
pepemally seek new metaphors.
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Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreward by Buzz AIdrin
&face: The Inner Reaches of Outer Space
+rtle pler's Children:
The Dream of Spaceflight
2 The Romance of Spaceflight:
Nrrstaigia for a Bygone Future
3 Seeking the Center at the Edge
4 Abandon in Place
Append&: Space CFrronology
PJotczs
Bibliography
h&
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I am indebted to Buzz Aldrin, whose support has
been indispensable; also to Dr. Lee Enright,
Staige Blackford, 1. D. McClatchy, Heidi Downey,
Tom jenks, Michelle Gillett, my agents Michaei
Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, and my editor at
Basic Books, William Fmcht. Nor can I forgo
mentioning two teachers who tower over all oth-
ers in my 28 years of schooling--Crayton Thorup
and Ted Hinckley. But above ail, my wife, Rita,
the rainbow through the gray mists of a writing
life.