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Hard Space SF after the end of the Space Shuttle
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Mattastrophic
Posted 2011-07-10 2:04 PM (#2500)
Subject: Hard Space SF after the end of the Space Shuttle



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Location: Louisville, Ky		So, with NASA retiring the space shuttle program and the cancellation of the Constellation program, which had the goal of using the ISS to help facilitate space exploration further and further out from near-earth orbit, we're left to ponder the future of manned space exploration. The other day, I read this post from the SF Signal from several years ago, in which numerous SF authors like Scalzi, Schroeder, Brin, and others responded to Buzz Aldrin's accusation that SF is the cause for a lack of interest in real space exploration among young people today (http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2008/10/mind-meld-is-science-fiction-responsible-for-the-lack-of-public-interest-in-space-exploration/). Like the authors who responded to this post, I generally disagree with the sentiment since SF is what made real space exploration more intellectually and emotionally accessible to me as well as to many people who came to work in NASA and similar agencies.

This got me thinking about putting together a book list of hard science fiction that concerns exploration of our solar system in a plausible way. Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars trilogy is an obvious inclusion, and I've also thought to include Ben Bova's "Grand Tour" series (although I've never read any of his works). Books like Gibson's Sprawl trilogy and Adam Roberts' Gradisil, which contain habitats and communities settled in low Earth orbit, could also be included.

These sorts of books that explore the realistic potential of exploring our solar system may be crucial in inspiring the next generation of aerospace engineers and astronauts who may--in our lifetime if we're lucky--push space exploration on to the next level and get us (back) to the moon, Mars, and beyond. I'm interested in what the rest of you can come up with to expand on this list, so thoughts? Suggestions?
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Emil
Posted 2011-07-11 8:57 AM (#2501 - in reply to #2500)
Subject: Re: Hard Space SF after the end of the Space Shuttle



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Location: Grootfontein, Namibia		Alastair Reynolds - "Pushing Ice" and perhaps a few others from him
There's also Ben Bova's Grand Tour saga.
Ken McCleod?
Larry Niven - The Mote In God's Eye?

There doesn't seem to be that many "plausible" ones out there, I guess.

Buzz Aldrin should have been more specific instead of making that gross generalisation - he probably meant space operas and the stuff of (for e.g.) David Weber.
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Wintermute
Posted 2011-07-11 3:00 PM (#2502 - in reply to #2501)
Subject: Re: Hard Space SF after the end of the Space Shuttle



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Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: Space Odyssey explores the solar system.
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gallyangel
Posted 2011-07-12 3:58 AM (#2507 - in reply to #2500)
Subject: Re: Hard Space SF after the end of the Space Shuttle



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Location: The Wilds of Washington		Yeah, a lot of Clarke's early works. They all have that hard SF edge to them. The Sands of Mars. A Fall of Moon Dust. Rendezvous with Rama. All four the Space Odyssey books. The later work, The hammer of god.
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gallyangel
Posted 2011-07-12 4:10 AM (#2508 - in reply to #2500)
Subject: Re: Hard Space SF after the end of the Space Shuttle



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Location: The Wilds of Washington		Frankly I'm not a big fan of NASA for the simple fact that they wear the "civilian space program" very well, but it's still a cheap suit. According to the original NASA charter, they are incorporated under the aegis of the DOD, meaning answerable to the president, meaning, ultimately, if they discover things which threaten national security, the clamp gets put on. Hoagland's Dark Mission makes some sort of sense to me.
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