Astronautics: summary and prospects

The monograph by A.I.Kiselev, A.A. Medvedev and Y.A.Menshikov, Astronautics: Summary and Prospects, aroused enthusiasm both among experts and the public at large. This is due to the felicitous choice of presentation that combines a simple description of complex space matters with scientificsubstantiation of the sub­ jectmatter described. The wealth of color photos makes the book still more attractive, and it was nominated for an award at the 14th International Moscow Book Fair, being singled out as the "best publication of the book fair". The book's popularity led to a second edition, substantially revised and enlarged. Since the first edition did not sufficiently cover the issues of space impact on ecology and the prospective development of space systems, the authors revised the entire volume, including in it the chapter "Space activity and ecology" and the section "Multi-function space systems". Using the federal monitoring system, now in the phase of system engi­ neering, as an example, the authors consider the basic principles of building and the likely principal features of the future multi-role space systems capable of fulfilling a wide range of missions. Nowadays, space activity increasingly criticized by dedicated ecologists. This is not unfair. The development and utilization of space, like any other human activity, is invariably accompanied by such an untoward effect as envi­ ronmental pollution. This criticism, however, is often prejudiced and opinion­ ated.The authors attempt to look into the matter impartially and without bias.