Take off on a thrilling journey of space exploration and speculation - to the realm where science fiction becomes science fact - as leading writers, researchers, and astronautic engineers describe a not-too-distant future of interstellar travel and colonization from cable cars that ride "skyhooks" into space to rockets that can refuel out of Martian air, from "terraforming" planets (a process that makes them habitable for human life) to faster-than-light propulsion systems. Islands in the Sky offers an astonishing collection of challenging - and plausible - ideas and proposals from the pages of Analog magazine. Brilliant and provocating, here is fun-filled reading for everyone interested in science, technology, and the future.