The Next Best Thing to Being There
by Mike Combs, Copyright © 1995 "We're coming up on Darkcrater Base now," the pilot of the moonhopper reported. Eileen Peterson, Ph.D., leaned forward a bit so she could see better out of the window in the front of the lunar shuttle. Her first view of Darkcrater Base...
Space Colonies: The High Frontier by Gerard O’Neill
THE FUTURIST, February 1976 Space Colonies: The High Fronteir book cover An earth-like space colony could be orbiting our world by 1990, says a Princeton University physicist. The colony's 10,000 inhabitants would enjoy green plants, animals, plains, valleys, hills,...
The Bridge to Space Short Story
by Mike Combs, Copyright 1995 To my precious wife Sandra. Thanks for the encouragement. Table of Contents Prologue - 1981: A hopeful view of the future Chapter 1 - Evacuation Chapter 2 - A general disatisfaction with the current state of affairs Chapter 3 - Selling...
Space Settlement and Orbital Space Colonies
By Al Globus "If the dinosaurs had a space program, they'd still be here." Anon Introduction Humanity has the power to fill outer space with life. Today our solar system is filled with plasma, gas, dust, rock, and radiation -- but very little life; just a thin film...
Are We Alone In the Galaxy? The View from the High Frontier
One of the most challenging mysteries facing mankind is this: Are we alone in this vast galaxy in which we find ourselves, or are there other technological civilizations in other star systems? We concern ourselves with technologically-advanced civilizations, for these...
Gerard O’Neill Toothpick puzzle and thinking outside the box
Illustration: Gerard K. O'Neill with Bernal Sphere Space Settlement Model Gerard K. O'Neill, father of the space settlement concept. The model on the desk is a Bernal Sphere, minus the mirrors. What the heck is Gerard O'Neill doing with those pens? I can tell you what...
Space Settlement FAQ
By Mike Combs, Last update: June, 2014 Questions: What is space settlement? What is a space habitat? How is space settlement different from any of the other space colonization proposals? Aren't we going to terraform Mars or Venus? What advantages would orbital...
Journey to Alfahsfere
by Mike Combs , Copyright © 1996 There is another world which lies alongside our own. I know because I have journeyed there. I am Rahbert, of the Caddlemon tribe. We are one of about twenty tribes in the world (but now that I know there is more than one world, I must...
Averting Armageddon with ROI
Figure: A mass driver asteroid tug 2008 saw the centennial of the Tunguska event, which prompted us once again to consider: When will the next major asteroid strike occur? And is there anything we could do about it? Tunguska of that era was a sparsely-inhabited...
Improbable Events
by Mike Combs, Copyright © 2006 I was eating lunch in my favorite restaurant when the word came that it was my responsibility to pluck a tumbling animal out of the sky. "Void Walkers" is easily the most popular restaurant here in Bernal Alpha (yep, that's right; I...