Vuelos espaciales EE.UU.: libros - historia y tecnología

NASA - Space Flight Research and Pioneering Developments

En todo el mundo, la NASA (Administración Nacional de Aeronáutica y del Espacio) es sinónimo de vuelos aéreos y espaciales.

Este libro abarca la investigación aeroespacial de la NASA desde sus inicios como NACA (Comité Asesor Nacional de Aeronáutica) en 1915 hasta la NASA actual.

Se muestran proyectos y avances apasionantes, como el primer vuelo supersónico del X-1 en 1947, los vuelos del avión tripulado más rápido, el X-15 propulsado por cohetes, que alcanzó casi siete veces la velocidad del sonido en 1967, las pruebas de vuelo del módulo lunar para los alunizajes, los aviones de rotor basculante, las pruebas de nuevos conceptos de alas y mucho más.

El libro se centra principalmente en la investigación aeronáutica, pero los límites entre la investigación aeroespacial y la aeroespacial suelen ser difusos, por lo que se ha incluido el desarrollo del transbordador espacial y sus pruebas. Además de la descripción de proyectos y diversas tendencias de investigación, se presentan los centros de desarrollo y el personal clave de la NASA.

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NASA Operations Manual (1958 onwards) - An insight into NASA operations, programmes and field-centre facilities (Haynes Space Manual)

This book provides, for the first time, a comprehensive manual explaining how NASA works and operates its various programmes, opening the door to NASA facilities across the United States.
The down-to-earth text provides a directory of information on the various facilities, what they do, the technical parameters of their equipment and laboratory assets, and how it all fits together.

Páginas del libro "NASA Operations Manual (1958 onwards) - An insight into NASA operations, programmes and field-centre facilities"

A full operations description is provided for each of the 13 primary NASA field centres, moving from a historical introduction to sections on each of the sites, and ending with appendices providing reference information on personnel levels, budgets (as a percentage of total US government expenditure each year), a list of NASA Administrators and relevant information.

A fascinating insight into the US agency responsible for the civilian space programme, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

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SpaceX's Dragon : America's Next Generation Spacecraft

In May 2014 SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, presented the spaceship that will carry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station as soon as 2016.
Dragon V2 is a futuristic vehicle that not only provides a means for NASA to transport its astronauts to the orbiting outpost but also advances SpaceX's core objective of reusability.

Dragon V2, which is a direct descendant of Dragon, can be retrieved, refurbished and re-launched. It is a spacecraft with the potential to completely revolutionize the economics of an industry where equipment costing hundreds of millions of dollars is routinely discarded after a single use.

"SpaceX's Dragon - America's Next Generation Spacecraft" describes the extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement that have placed this revolutionary spacecraft at the forefront of the launch industry and positioned it as the precursor for ultimately transporting humans to Mars.
It describes the design and development of Dragon, provides mission highlights of the first six Commercial Resupply Missions, and explains how Musk hopes to eventually colonize Mars.

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The Birth of NASA : The Work of the Space Task Group, America's First True Space Pioneers

This is the story of the work of the original NASA space pioneers; men and women who were suddenly organized in 1958 from the then National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) into the Space Task Group.
A relatively small group, they developed the initial mission concept plans and procedures for the U.S. space program. Then they boldly built hardware and facilities to accomplish those missions.

The group existed only three years before they were transferred to the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, in 1962, but their organization left a large mark on what would follow.

Von Ehrenfried's personal experience with the STG at Langley uniquely positions him to describe the way the group was structured and how it reacted to the new demands of a post-Sputnik era.
He artfully analyzes how the growing space program was managed and what techniques enabled it to develop so quickly from an operations perspective. The result is a fascinating window into history, amply backed up by first person documentation and interviews.

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U. S. Spacesuits (2nd Edition)

Spacesuits are far more than garments. They are a personalized spacecraft that allows direct contact and interaction with everything beyond our world, and a last refuge for survival in a disaster. Creating safe, reliable, and comfortable spacesuits is an ongoing challenge that has spanned over four decades.

This book details the technical evolution of U.S. spacesuits from their roots in high altitude aviation and vacuum tube development to present day, with an additional look into the future. This primary source of spacesuit information explains the functions, historical development, and use of spacesuits from a worldwide perspective.
In this new edition, the authors update the story of U.S. spacesuit development and efforts, from the design challenges modern engineers face to the latest roles of spacesuits in space exploration. The book also provides a close up look at NASA's new Constellation Space Suit System as well as Apollo prototype configurations that have been discovered since 2005. Also not in the earlier edition is a prototype and model of the Gemini pressure suit and an explanation of its development.

Finally, there are new insights into the suits used for the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle, and International Space Station missions.

Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Reaching upward and outward
3. The basics of spacesuits
4. Launch/entry spacesuits: Past, present, and possibly future
5. Gemini: The first approaches to exploring and working in space
6. Apollo: Mankind starts the exploration of the Moon
7. Advanced development for canceled Apollo missions
8. U.S. Air Force spacesuits
9. Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project suit systems (1969-1975)
10. The Space Shuttle program: Orbital EVA comes of age
11. The quest for future extravehicular activity and planetary exploration
12. Epilogue.

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Die Zukunft der Raumfahrt - Private Projekte

Space travel as we have known it is a thing of the past. Gone are the days when government agencies in the East and West had a monopoly on access to space.
The future began on September 16 2021 at the latest, when the "Inspiration 4" crew set off on a three-day flight into space: a completely privately financed mission, with only amateur astronauts on board.

More space flights will follow; orbits of the moon are already on the agenda. The entire spectrum of private space travel from the beginning to the present day is presented in a professional and exciting manner.

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