Review by Choice Review
Seedhouse's book is an enthusiastic foray into the "adventurpreneurial" world of space tourism. Today, about a dozen companies are vying to be the first profitable commercial "spaceline." As during the barnstorming airplane days of a century ago, the sky's the limit, and technology is advancing faster than governing standards can be worked out. The book begins with an exciting account of the flight of SpaceshipOne, the X Prize-winning 2004 flight that ignited the current frenzy of private space ventures. Subsequent chapters provide fairly technical discussions of factors a would-be space tourist should consider before plunking down $200,000 or more for the adventure of a lifetime. Topics include current space tourism companies, which types of space planes or rockets are likely to be safest, the variety of training regimens that may be required, and what to expect during suborbital and orbital flights. Seedhouse is a self-proclaimed astronaut wannabe. This, his personal operator's manual, will interest anyone with the money and aspiration to join the elite club of fewer than 500 humans who have soared above an altitude of 100 kilometers. It is a good read for armchair astronauts, too. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers/libraries. T. D. Oswalt Florida Institute of Technology
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
