Table Of ContentYuri
Shkolenko
UK
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Yuri
Shkolenko
SPMI
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Progress Publishers
Moscow
Translated from the Russian
Designed by Anatoly Tsvetkov
10. A. lllKOJieHKO
KoCMHieCKHH BeK
Ha amnuùcKOM Hibixe
This book provides a comprehensive picture of men's
achievements in the study and conquest of outer space, and
examines the prospects of the development of space explo-
ration, and the use of outer space for the benefit of the hu-
man race.
The author traces the views on the Universe held by
philosophers and scholars in different ages, looks at the place
and role of man in the Universe, and demonstrates the lead-
ing role played by Russian and Soviet scientists in the theo-
retical and practical study and conquest of outer space. He
emphasises the planned, comprehensive and peaceful nature
of Soviet space programmes, and examines the interaction
of men and outer space from the scientific, socio-political
and moral viewpoints. He also criticises the inhumane, idea-
list and mystic interpretations of the space age, and reveals
the lethal danger contained in the US doctrine of the mili-
tarisation of outer space.
© H3naTenbcTBO «Ilporpecc», 1987
English translation © Progress Publishers 1987
Printed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
JU 1705070000-070
014(01) -87
CONTENTS
Page
About the Book 6
Part One. Realities
Chapter One Early History 10
Chapter Two Homo Cosmicus 24
CChhaapptteerr TThhrreeee The Universal Dimensions
of Life 48
Chapter Four Spaceship Earth 64
CChhaapptteerr FFiivvee The Industrialisation of
Space 82
Chapter Six The Heavenly Ecumene . . . 105
Part Two. Reflexions
Chapter Seven The End and Beginning of
Aelita 140
Chapter Eight Anti-Finalism 162
Chapter Nine The 'High Frontier' of the
Individual 176
CChhaapptteerr TTeenn The Cosmic World of Cul-
ture 193
Chapter Eleven The Universe versus Chaps . 213
Chapter Twelve The Shining Hour 227
My main purpose in life is to do
<
spmething useful for my fellow-
men, not to live my life in vain, to
propel mankind forward, if only by
a fraction. That is why I became
interested in that which gave'me
neither bread nor power, but I am
hopes that my work, perhaps
sbi^n, perhaps only in the distant
future, will yield society heaps of
grain and vast power
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
About the book
Epoch-making events in the development of life
and intelligence on earth often occurred gradually
and imperceptibly. It took millions of years for the
coelacanthine fish, crawling from one diminishing
body of water to another, to grow accustomed to
life on dry land, and thereby preparing the way for
land animals, mammals and man. That same dry land
also saw the emergence of technology, the use of spe-
cially devised instruments and means of affecting the
environment, the specifically human method of
existence in the natural environment. It is precisely
this technology, in the form of space-missile faci-
lities, which has enabled life to move out into another
environment, that of outer space. Such is, as one
might put it, the evolutionary significance of the
space age, the age that began on October 4, 1957,
when the USSR launched the first artificial satellite.
Cosmonautics is a multi-faceted branch of science,
the embodiment of the scientific and technological
revolution, drawing into itself the latest achievements
in the development of new materials, fuels, and com-
puters. It is linked with a large number of sciences,
technological trends and social phenomena, from
astronomy and astrophysics to medicine and biolo-
gy, from meteriology to geography, from psychology
to jurisprudence, from navigation to radio and te-
levision broadcasting. It is capable of bringing both
good and evil, from the observation and control of
natural processes and economic activity on the planet
to the militarisation of space and the danger of a
space war, which would be comparable with the
natural cataclysms that occur in the Universe.
A manned spaceship or station, with its life-sup-
port system and relations among the crew, resembles
a miniature earth. And our planet, with its mineral
6
and living resources and almost five thousand million
inhabitants, could be compared to a huge natural
spaceship which began its orbit around the sun more
than four billion years ago.
The space age requires that we ponder over its
complexities in order to harness its advantages for
the benefit of mankind and avert its dangers.
The Universe has always attracted men's attention,
but this previously took the form of passive contem-
plation far removed from the daily cares of men.
The process of reflecting upon the significance of
cosmonautics and space flight follows, naturally
enough, in the wake of the events themselves, but
then it begins to take the lead. The philosophical
and psychological perception of space, the formula-
tion of an integrated concept of the space age, its
benefits and its dangers, is one of the facets of the
science of cosmonautics.
The author, Yu. A. Shkolenko, is a doctor of
philosophy and a journalist. In his book he has com-
bined reflections on the fundamental processes
occurring in the space age with a lively description
of the everyday, practical aspect of cosmonautics.
He takes the reader into the cabin of a spaceship,
into the living module of an orbital station, shows
him the experiments performed by the cosmonauts,
and then offers him a glimpse, through the porthole,
of the earth and other nearby planets, and of worlds
unimaginably remote. As a result, the reader who
has never been in space and is unlikely ever to go
there, has nonetheless the opportunity to acquire
a cosmic view of the world and, rising above his
'earth-bound' daily life, can form a new concept of
his place and role in the Universe and on earth and
appreciate the need for lofty moral principles and
humane forms of social existence.
Vitaly Sevastyanov,
Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR,
twice Hero of the Soviet Union
