Islands in the Sky: Bold New Ideas for Colonizing Space - From the Supersonic Skyhook to the Negative Matter Space Drive (Wiley popular science) Book

"Let the meek inherit the earthâ??the rest of us are going to the stars! Here's how it's going to be done." â?? Robert Zubrin

"These articles are not 'just science fiction.' They are things we can doâ??and with any luck at all, and vision and determination, we will." â?? Stanley Schmidt

Take off on a thrilling journey of space exploration and speculationâ??to the realm where science fiction becomes science factâ??as leading writers, researchers, and astronautic engineers describe a not-too-distant future of interstellar travel and colonization. From cable cars that ride "skyhooks" into space to rockets that can refuel out of Martian air, from "terraforming" planets (a process that makes them habitable for human life) to faster-than-light propulsion systems, Islands in the Sky offers an astonishing collection of challengingâ??and plausibleâ??ideas and proposals from the pages of Analog magazine. Brilliant and provocative, here is fun-filled reading for everyone interested in science, technology, and the future.