The Science Opportunities of the Warm Spitzer Mission Workshop Book

I regularly follow several science blogs online, most notably the "I Fucking Love Science" weblog and the official NASA websites. I enjoy keeping up with the day to day stuff, and I also regularly comb through selected science articles through other sources as well. One of the more disturbing things I have noticed is that all of these websites get bogged down in the comments sections by trolls of various kinds. Flat-earthers, moon landing hoaxers, religious fundamentalists of all stripes…..they all seem to converge on science sites in order to push their pseudo-scientific or non-scientific viewpoints. What's even more concerning is that even the general layman commenting on a lot of articles doesn't seem to have a real grasp of science. All you have to do is ask the average American to define the word "theory" these days and you will quickly understand that we as a society are in a world of hurt where knowledge of science and technology is concerned. Sure, we can USE the cell phone on a mechanical level, but don't bother trying to ask anyone how a cellular network actually functions.

Now you have to understand that I'm in my mid-50s, and was born into an era when science was considered cool. The first Apollo moon landing occurred when I was 5 years old, and I have vague, fuzzy memories of watching those first steps into a new leap forward for mankind. I have more vivid memories of the later launches, but of course the Apollo project was canceled in 1972. Oh, man…...I'm rambling here, caught up in my frustrations about the current state of science education in the United States. I learned the scientific method in the FIFTH GRADE!! It's not that hard!!

Ok….stop….breathe. Start over. Hello. My name is Michael. I am an advocate for science education. I have a particular love for and interest in space exploration as a topic. As such, I am pleased to introduce you to a series of books from the University of Nebraska Press:



Each book in the series covers a different topic or era within the broader scope of the big picture of man's reach for the stars. This is an excellent set that respects the intelligence of its audience without becoming overly technical or dense. The general science reader will enjoy these just as much as an engineer would. Each title reads like a concise narrative that focuses just as much on the people involved as it does the incredible technology being developed and deployed.

I started my journey through the series with author Chris Gainor's "To A Distant Day: The Rocket Pioneers." I should say right off that there is not really any sort of official recommended reading order for this series. I just began with this title because it seemed like a logical starting point seeing as it focuses on the development of rocket technology from the early days all the way up to the end of the Mercury program. The book's epilogue leaves off with the mighty launch of Apollo 11, with those fateful footprints just a few days in the future.

Chapter one covers the basics of rocketry from the earliest days after the invention of gunpowder. I was particularly interested to learn how much of an influence that the speculative fiction of the day had upon the early rocket pioneers. Jules Verne and H. G. Wells stimulated the imaginations of the public and the scientists who would go on to build the first wave of primitive rockets, many of whom would publish their own tales of fantastic fiction. That trend continues to this day, by the way. Proof positive that a healthy love of science-fiction goes a long way towards actual scientific literacy. My inner geek was left leaping with joy.

From there Gainor writes about the birth of astronautics, profiling scientists such as Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and the little-known Friedrich Tsander. Other chapters focus on Robert Goddard and Hermann Oberth. The German contributions to rocketry are covered in great detail, especially the advances made during World War II. To Gainors credit, he doesn't shy away from controversy where the wartime activities of the German scientists are concerned. Wernher von Braun was an undisputed genius and a key contributor to America's post-war space program, of that there is no doubt. There is also no doubt that von Braun was a member of the SS and oversaw the use of slave labor at the Peenemünde rocket development site during the latter days of WWII. All of this is covered in the book, though Gainor is careful not to make any moral conclusions of his own. He reports the facts and lets the reader make up his or her mind as to how they feel about the information.

The Soviet contributions to rocketry are a key part of the narrative as well. Sergei Korolev is profiled as a giant within the ranks of rocket scientists, and deservedly so. The Russians had a robust space program, though it was not quite as advanced as they made it seem through the veil of propaganda. Gainor had access to many unclassified Russian records that add depth and insight as to the real facts behind the Soviet-U.S. space race in the '50s and '60s. It's worth noting that the Soviets could quite possibly have beaten us to the moon had Stalin not executed a substantial number of rocket scientists during the purges of the Great Terror in the early days of the revolution.

Gainor also discusses the contributions of the balloonists and the test pilots who brought the right stuff with them as they pierced the veil of the atmosphere and rode rockets to ever-increasing speed and altitude records. The chapters on satellite development and deployment are invaluable resource material. It's a useful reminder for this generation to understand just how big a deal it was for the average American to hear the radio transmissions from Sputnik and realize that not only had we been beaten to orbit by the Russians, but they could now deliver nuclear warheads to any point in the continental United States. That was scary stuff back then, and a real wake-up call to the leadership in Washington. The U.S. would eventually win the space-race to the moon, but those Cold War reverberations would echo for decades and dictate policy decisions that would affect international relations for an entire generation.

That historical perspective is where the true value of this series of books lies. I can't stress enough the importance of having a clear and concise history of the space-age available to readers of all ages. If you have an interest in space exploration, then these books should be in your home. If you have an interest in science, then these books should be in your home. At the very least, you should petition your local public library to have set of these books available for check-out. Scientific literacy is at a historical low point at this time in the United States. We have to reverse that trend for us to advance as a society. Exploration begets knowledge, and knowledge in turn begets exploration. The "Outward Odyssey" series is a small step, but it could be a giant leap for that inquisitive young reader who goes on to become the next great rocket pioneer. It's also a gift to those older readers like myself, who crave more knowledge of a program that lifted our spirits and our minds at a time when super-science seemed like it could conquer the universe and bring the human race to the brink of the stars. I can't recommend this book and this series enough.