Image by ChadoNihi from Pixabay.
For as long as humans have observed birds winging through the sky or have gazed at the stars sparkling in the heavens, they have sought the means to free themselves of their earthbound restraints and soar through the skies or explore the outer reaches of the universe. Pioneers such as the Montgolfier brothers and the Wright brothers realized that vision and took us airborne, looking at the great expanse of sea and water below our feet. Men like Robert H. Goddard and Wernher von Braun and organizations like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration stretched the human imagination even further and laid the groundwork for not only launching satellites into space but also propelling humans to the moon and beyond. To celebrate the achievements of early luminaries and commemorate the historical milestones in air and space flight, HeinOnline has created the Air and Space Law database, a collection of resources that explores the people and programs that made climbing into the sky and whizzing into outer space a reality.
Organized into two parts, Outer Space (matters on celestial bodies) and Suborbital Space (earthbound air travel), the Air and Space Law database includes books, committee prints, reports, hearings, legislative histories, periodicals, and scholarly articles. Read CRS Reports about the future of space tourism or protection against rogue drones. Pore over committee prints discussing Soviet space programs or the impact of the space age on education in the United States. Leaf through legislative histories of the Antihijacking Act of 1974 or the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. Twenty-nine unique subjects were created to help guide the user through this vast collection of resources. Subjects include air traffic control, drones, the race to the moon, and space commercialization, to name a few. Want to learn more about the database and its contents? When using the database, check out the handy LibGuide, which describes the scope of the subjects and suggests some titles of interest. The LibGuide also offers tips for using the main search bar, performing advanced searches, and using the Venn Diagram Search. There are also links to additional resources, such as the Amelia Earhart Collection at Purdue University, the National Air and Space Museum, and Hubble Space Telescope images.
We librarians here in the Space City of Houston are excited to have the Air and Space Law database added to our HeinOnline collection of resources. We urge our patrons to explore the history of this fascinating universe of innovation, pioneers, and programs.
Don’t forget that you can access HeinOnline remotely. Please see our blog post, Remote Access to HeinOnline, for more information. Also, if you need some assistance locating a resource or article on HeinOnline, you can contact our librarians through the Law Library’s Virtual Reference Desk.