Review - Extraterrestrial Imperative

Krafft Ehricke's Extraterrestrial Imperative by Marsha Freeman; Apogee Books; Burlington, Ontario, Canada; (paper) $27.95; 2009.

There is no doubt that the late Krafft Ehricke was a space visionary - a person steeped in rocketry but also a renaissance man.

Ms. Freeman has written an excellent overview of Ehricke's pioneering view of where an expansive space program can take humanity. A former rocket researcher from the Peenemunde days in Germany, Ehricke's expertise helped shape the formative years of America's space program.

Upon moving to the United States, he became an American citizen in 1954, later working with General Dynamics to help develop the Atlas missile and then the Centaur, the first liquid-hydrogen rocket stage. Later, he carried out advanced studies at Rockwell International while also working independently on schemes for the commercialization and colonization of space.

At the age of 67, Ehricke passed away in 1984 - but thanks to this book, his legacy of how best to colonize and industrialize the solar system has been captured.

Krafft Ehricke was a philosopher, anthropologist... and more. The reader will find a selection of his works here: From thoughts on nuclear propelled space vehicles to space stations and space tourism.

One of his more seminal works is a wonderful read called "The Extraterrestrial Imperative – From Closed to Open World."

The book includes a foreword by Apollo 17’s Harrison Schmitt, a nicely written introduction that underscore&'s Ehricke's place among the intellectual and philosophical elite of our time.

For more information on this book, go to:
http://www.cgpublishing.com/Books/9781894959919.html