AbstractsAstronomy & Space Science

~e controversy concerning man 1 s· probe into spac·e is very· similar to that which existed when man first began to challenge Earth's gravity and to attempt to fly. Nevertheless, just a~ man struggled .and did.finally conquer flight, he will continue to reach out and conquer space. Along this line, man must provide facilities to train himself in this new effort, just as he finally· did in his conquest of flight. The question yet remains under whose control the space effort in the United States will exist. Should the space effort be controlled by a political-scientific agency, or should it be under the auspices of the military. The effort exerted must be a joint one, but the military must be able t o protect any scientific probes into space. 11The basic mission of the United States Air Force is to provide the best military aerospace power possible for the security of the United States and t he promotion of worl d peace. 111 't'his protection does not end at t he atmosphere or ionosphere but extends to all United States national interests, including ci vilian scientific interest in space. Organized training and the facilities needed for t his training must be provided for any manned space progrBlll. The purpose of this t hesis is to portray a plausible concept of a military astronaut training cent er in which t he character of the structures suggest an idea. of space.