chalicotherex's review against another edition
3.0
Hard to tell if this is naïve or way ahead of its time. I mean, there's nothing that I know of that's strictly impossible in here, but it's almost forty years since publication and our one fully functional space station is nowhere near the Islands or Bernal Spheres that the author outlines. I think the big thing stopping us is the sheer cost of getting a payload out of our gravity well, something O'Neill doesn't really address and that a lot of people mistakenly thought would just get easier as time moves on. I think the shuttle program was probably a huge setback for the space program in this regard.
In the news today, a Canadian (!) firm announced they'd patented a mini-space elevator (space tower?) which could be the answer. Though a large amount of skepticism is necessary. It probably won't work. But wouldn't it be something to try?
In the news today, a Canadian (!) firm announced they'd patented a mini-space elevator (space tower?) which could be the answer. Though a large amount of skepticism is necessary. It probably won't work. But wouldn't it be something to try?
More...