Goals in Space - American Values and the Future of Technology

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.

About the author

William Sims Bainbridge is Chairman of the Department of Sociology and Anthroplogy at Towson State University. Goals in Space is his ninth book and his third on the space program.

Product details

• Authors: William Sims Bainbridge
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 06.08.1991
• EAN: 9780791406144
• ISBN: 978-0-7914-0614-4
• No. of pages: 268
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Individual industrial sectors, branches; Soziologie, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Real Estate / General, Business / Economics / Finance