1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910300421703321

Autore

Bainbridge William Sims

Titolo

The Meaning and Value of Spaceflight : Public Perceptions / / by William Sims Bainbridge

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2015

ISBN

3-319-07878-X

Edizione

[1st ed. 2015.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (229 p.)

Collana

Space and Society, , 2199-3882

Disciplina

629.4

Soggetti

Science—Social aspects

Cultural studies

Aerospace engineering

Astronautics

Social sciences

Communication in politics

Societal Aspects of Physics, Outreach and Education

Cultural Studies

Aerospace Technology and Astronautics

Methodology of the Social Sciences

Political Communication

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.

Nota di contenuto

Part I Factors -- The Space Race -- The General Social Survey -- Goals in Space -- Part II Correlations -- Events -- Sciences -- Technologies -- Part III Culture -- Literature -- Popular Media -- Simulation -- Conclusion -- The Final Frontier.

Sommario/riassunto

This book presents the most serious and comprehensive study, by far, of American public perceptions about the meaning of space exploration, analyzing vast troves of questionnaire data collected by many researchers and polling firms over a span of six decades and anchored in influential social science theories.  It doesn't simply report the percentages who held various opinions, but employs sophisticated statistical techniques to answer profound questions and achieve fresh



discoveries. Both the Bush and the Obama administrations have cut back severely on fundamental research in space science and engineering. Understanding better what space exploration means for citizens can contribute to charting a feasible but progressive course. Since the end of the Space Race between the US and the USSR, social scientists have almost completely ignored space exploration as a topic for serious analysis, and this book seeks to revive that kind of contribution. The author communicates the insights in a lucid style, not only intelligible but interesting to readers from a variety of backgrounds. .