Manned Spaceflight: Books - History and Technology (2/2)

How Spacecraft Fly - Spaceflight without Formulae

About 65 years ago a small satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched. The satellite did very little other than to transmit a radio signal to announce its presence in orbit. However, this humble beginning heralded the dawn of the Space Age.
Today literally thousands of robotic spacecraft have been launched, many of which have flown to far-flung regions of the Solar System carrying with them the human spirit of scientific discovery and exploration. Numerous other satellites have been launched in orbit around the Earth providing services that support our technological society on the ground.

"How Spacecraft Fly: Spaceflight Without Formulae" by Graham Swinerd focuses on how these spacecraft work. The book opens with a historical perspective of how we have come to understand our Solar System and the Universe. It then progresses through orbital flight, rocket science, the hostile environment within which spacecraft operate, and how they are designed. The concluding chapters give a glimpse of what the 21st century may hold in terms of human exploration of the Solar System and more futuristic propulsion technologies for interstellar travel.

Graham Swinerd invites you to understand "how spacecraft fly," while becoming a convincing rocket scientist along the way!

Information

Author:	Graham Swinerd
Details:	272 pages, 24 x 16 x 2.2 cm / 9 x 6.3 x 0.87 in, hardback
Illustrations:	60 b&w and 60 colour photos
Publisher:	Springer-Verlag New York Inc. (USA, 2008)
ISBN:	9780387765716

Astronaut Manual (1961 onwards) - all roles and nationalities (Haynes Space Manual)

The Haynes Astronaut Manual provides an insight into what an astronaut does, the experience of space flight, the equipment he uses, and what it takes to become an astronaut.
Although concentrating on contemporary astronaut selection and flight, especially with NASA, ESA and Russia, it also covers astronaut experiences of pioneering missions of the past and some proposed for the near future, such as lunar flight and landing, asteroid rendezvous and travel to Mars.

The engaging text, illustrated with a wide range of photographs and illustrations, and featuring unique insight from astronauts past and present, takes the reader on a fascinating journey through an astronaut's career - from selection and training, through experiences in space, to returning to life on Earth after experiencing the vastness of space.
Essential reading for space enthusiasts and anybody interested in learning about what it takes to become an astronaut.

Author: Dr Ken MacTaggart is Co-Editor (with David Woods) of the Apollo 11 Flight Journal, NASA's official record of the mission, with accompanying technical commentary. He is also a long -standing contributor to NASA's Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.
He has written for national newspapers and magazines about many space topics, including Apollo, the Space Shuttle, the MMU, Yuri Gagarin, Neil Armstrong, the Apollo 13 accident, the Russian Interkosmos programme, etc.

Information

Author:	Dr Ken MacTaggart
Details:	27.5 x 21.5 x 1.5 cm / 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.59 in, hardback
Illustrations:	numerous b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Haynes Publishing (GB, 2017)
Series:	Haynes Space Manual
ISBN:	9781785210617

Mondwärts - Der Wettlauf ins All

2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the moon landing - the first time humans set foot on another celestial body. To this day, it is hard to believe what an incredible technological achievement this represents - especially given the technical capabilities of the 1960s.
The entire computing power of the Apollo rocket (control, navigation, etc.) is now contained in every cheap supermarket calculator; the entire hardware was actually created on the drawing board and with the help of slide rules.

Enriched with the outstanding graphics by Dietmar Röttler, the book adequately describes the events with magnificent pictures.

Information

Author:	Eugen Reichl
Details:	192 pages, 26.5 x 23 cm / 10.4 x 9.1 in, hardback
Illustrations:	220 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2019)
ISBN:	9783613041967

SOS im Weltraum - Menschen, Unfälle, Hintergründe (Raumfahrt-Bibliothek)

The road to space was and is rocky and, despite all the apparent routine, still moves at the technical limits. When something goes wrong when igniting several hundred tons of fuel or at a speed of 27 000 km/h, it usually goes really wrong and, above all, really quickly!
And yet some of these accidents even turned out well - think of Apollo 13. The shuttle accidents of the "Challenger" or "Columbia", on the other hand, were of almost unbelievable tragedy.

Many exciting stories and captivating descriptions, technical information, drawings and photos can be found in this volume by Hermann Woydt.

Information

Author:	Hermann Woydt
Details:	144 pages, 20.5 x 14 cm / 8.1 x 5.5 in, paperback
Illustrations:	23 b&w and 117 colour photos, 25 drawings
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2017)
Series:	Raumfahrt-Bibliothek
ISBN:	9783613039544