Space Faring by Mike Moldeven

This is what Gatz has to say:
Mike Moldeven has published a futuristic fictional novel on future space tavel and where technology can take us. He has been a student of this subject for years. This is his guest blog on Gatz Sez. Enjoy!

The Shapes of Things to Come

'Space faring,' a term recently added to the world's dictionaries is an
approaching reality and deserves recognition by humankind generally.
'Space faring' is analogous to 'seafaring', defined as: 'the use of the
sea for travel or transportation.' Thus, a simple definition for
'space faring' would be: 'the use of space for travel or
transportation.' The phrase 'space faring nation' appears, however, to
imply much more. It is used to describe societies or nations capable
of building and launching vehicles into Earth orbit. Some use a more
strict criteria, defining space faring nations as those that can build,
launch and return manned space vehicles. Space faring requires space
vehicle assembly and launch facilities, as well as advanced
astronautics, and a program to train astronauts. The problems of life
support must be solved in proportion to the distance traveled. There
has still not been a manned mission outside of the Earth-Moon system.
The ambition of a space venture to Mars and return is persistent and
considered achievable, even inevitable, by many of the world's
scientists and philosophers.

An associated and vital term to 'space faring' is 'space logistics.'
‘Space Logistics:’ is the science of planning and carrying out the
movement of humans and materiel to, from and within space combined
with the ability to maintain human and robotics operations within
space. In its most comprehensive sense, space logistics addresses the
aspects of space operations both on the earth and in space that deal
with:

‘- Design and development, acquisition, storage, movement,
distribution, maintenance, evacuation, and disposition of space
materiel

‘- Movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of people in space

‘- Acquisition or construction, maintenance, operation, and
disposition of facilities on the earth and in space to support human
and robotics space operations

‘- Acquisition or furnishing of services to support human and robotics
space operations.’

Why is 'space' and 'space logistics' literally vital to the destiny of
humankind? Scientists, engineers, philosophers and other experts
speculate on humankind’s future in the light of Planet Earth’s
diminishing reserves of nonrenewable ‘industrial-base’ resources
combined with an increasing threat of significant changes in the
Earth’s climate. Vigorous leaders and their technologies in aerospace
industries and industrialized nations generally are well into
proposing options, including eventual replenishment of our
diminishing, nonrenewable substances from beyond our existing
frontiers in interplanetary space, and, by technical writers, in time
on to the interstellar realm.

I've updated my future history blogs, based on the above, a few times
over the years. The current versions are online in two blogs:

Part One (context) 'Space faring and Resources, a future history' is at:
http://spacefaringandresources.blogspot.com/

Part Two: (a novel) The Interstellar Slingshot Revisited' at:
http://slingshotrevisited.blogspot.com/