Space Shuttle/an Illustrated History of Space Shuttle, Us Winged Spacecraft: X-15 to Orbiter

by Melvyn Smith

Traces the history of the space shuttle program from its beginnings to the 1984 flights of the Challenger

246 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1986

Reviews

[Ian Chapman]

An excellent overview, substantially illustrated.

The description of the November 1967 X-15 crash is harshly written towards the pilot Major Mike Adams, possibly reflecting the language of the NASA official report. Mike Adams did get the X-15 out of the spin before it disintegrated. Perhaps blaming a pilot no longer there was a way for NASA technical staff to minimise the computer malfunction earler in the flight. I felt the author could have stepped away from official style language describing that fatal incident; putting in that Adams did get out of the spin was something though.

[iain meek]

Highly informative.
Early chapters on getting up to the sound barrier, the X-15 and lifting bodies are very interesting.
Masses of data on the Shuttle obviously- but very little on the decisions which led to the fatal flaws in the design- no escape system and boosters and shuttle strapped to the main tank. The issue of the military requiring such a vast machine is mentioned however.