Spacecraft: 100 Iconic Rockets, Shuttles, and Satellites That Put Us in Space

by Michael H. Gorn, Giuseppe De Chiara (Illustrations)

Spacecraft takes a long look at humankind's attempts and advances in leaving Earth through incredible illustrations and authoritatively written profiles on Sputnik, the International Space Station, and beyond.

In 1957, the world looked on with both uncertainty and amazement as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first man-made orbiter. Sputnik 1 would spend three months circling Earth every 98 minutes and covering 71 million miles in the process. The world’s space programs have traveled far (literally and figuratively) since then, and the spacecraft they have developed and deployed represent almost unthinkable advances for such a relatively short period.

This ambitiously illustrated aerospace history profiles and depicts spacecraft fromSputnik 1 through the International Space Station, andeverything in between, including concepts that have yet to actually venture outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Illustrator and aerospace professional Giuseppe De Chiara teams up with aerospace historian Michael Gorn to present a huge, profusely illustrated, and authoritatively written collection of profiles depicting and describing the design, development, and deployment of these manned and unmanned spacecraft. Satellites, capsules, spaceplanes, rockets, and space stations are illustrated in multiple-view, sometimes cross-section, and in many cases shown in archival period photography to provide further historical context.

Dividing the book by era, De Chiara and Gorn feature spacecraft not only from the United States and Soviet Union/Russia, but also from the European Space Agency and China. The marvels examined in this volume include the rockets Energia, Falcon 9, and VEGA; the Hubble Space Telescope; the Cassini space probe; and the Mars rovers, Opportunity and Curiosity.

Authoritatively written and profusely illustrated with more than 200 stunning artworks, Spacecraft: 100 Iconic Rockets, Shuttles, and Satellites That Put Us in Space  is sure to become a definitive guide to the history of manned space exploration.

Genres: Space, Science, History, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published September 4, 2018

About the author

Hello, I’m Michael Gorn, and I’m a native Californian living in the Los Angeles area with my wife, Christine. My writing specialty is the history of aeronautics and spaceflight, which I’ve been pursuing for nearly 40 years.

I’ve published a number of books in the field. My latest, due out in September 2018, is Spacecraft: 100 Iconic Rockets, Shuttles, and Satellites that Put Us in Space (Quarto Publishing Group, 2018).

Spacecraft is timed to commemorate two of the most historic events of the space age: the 60th anniversary of the founding of NASA in 2018, and in 2019, the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11—the first landing by human beings on the Moon. Illustrated with over 300 beautiful, original artworks by my collaborator Giuseppe de Chiara of Naples, Italy, Spacecraft is an oversize, lavishly illustrated book that depicts the world’s great space vehicles, from Sputnik 1 in 1958 to the massive James Webb Space Telescope in 2020. I contributed concise and, I hope, enlightening historical profiles that accompany the images.

Some of my previous books include NASA: The Complete Illustrated History (Merrell Publishers, 2005, revised 2008) and Expanding the Envelope: Flight Research at NACA and NASA (The University Press of Kentucky, 2001). I also wrote The Universal Man: Theodore von Karman’s Life in Aeronautics (Smithsonian, 1992), Superstructures in Space: From Satellites to Space Stations, A Guide to What’s Out There (Merrell Publishers, 2008), and I was a contributing author for Spyplanes: The Illustrated Guide to Manned Reconnaissance and Surveillance Aircraft from World War I to Today (Quarto Publishing Group, 2016).

I enjoyed a long and fruitful career as a historian in the U.S. civil service. I served for nearly thirty years with the Air Force, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, becoming the Chief Historian of the NASA Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center, at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

I’ve been fortunate to receive several awards for my work, most notably the Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Award for Expanding the Envelope, presented by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. I also received the Alfred V. Verville Fellowship from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum and was selected for the Fellowship in Aerospace History by the American Historical Association.

I have a strong attachment to Southern California, where I grew up (in the San Fernando Valley, a suburb of L.A.) and attended the University of Southern California, where I earned a doctorate in history. Aside from the pleasures of writing about aeronautics and spaceflight, I’ve had a lifelong passion for morning walks, amateur (very amateur!) gardening, and for wood carving birds and other wildlife.

Reviews

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful look at spacecraft, including Russian, European and Chinese, with more than 200 stunning illustrations and engaging detailed text. 5 of 5 Stars.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine. Pub Date 04 Sep 2018. #Spacecraft #NetGalley

[Anet · Rating 1 out of 5]

There’s nothing here that can’t be found on Wikipedia or any reputable space history site.

[Ietrio · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures are nice. But the text is disgusting. Another bureaucrat telling you the government has to bleed you dry for some larger than life project. This way "we" have been put into space by the caring hand of the government. So be grateful and raise more money, and who knows? maybe the same government will send "us" to Mars, of course, like with all religions, after your physical body will be long dead.

[Joi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visión general del diseño de las naves espaciales
Destacables ilustraciones de Giuseppe di Chiara para contribuir al entendimiento (de lo mejor que he visto)

Si sos ingeniero o geek, este es tu libro; esta lleno de diagramas y planos de 100 NAVES DIFERENTES, fotos del espacio
Detalla el esfuerzo soviético/ruso y estadounidense completo, desde la búsqueda del hombre por explorar el espacio hasta la fecha de ambos lados.
Me hubiera gustado que hable de actualidad, solo es un recorrido por el pasado.
El libro cumple lo que promete, no es una narrativa adictiva.

Citas:
■ “La nave espacial perfilada sugiere que ambos tienen roles únicos pero complementarios, que los robots continuarán enviados a lugares demasiado inhospitos o demasiado distantes para nosotros, y que las personas irán a donde se puede manejar el riesgo y donde la inteligencia humana no se puede sustituir”. [Pág 332]
■ “
-Sitios web corporativos:
www.spacex.com, www.boeing.com, www.blueorigin.com, www.orbitalatk.com, www.ulalaunch.com
Los sitios de Internet de SpaceX, Boeing, Blue Origin, Orbital ATK y United Lunch Alliance perfilan la nave espacial y los cohetes que se originan en el sector privado.
-Enciclopedia astronautica: www.astronautix.com”. [Pág 4632]

[Amy Harth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a coffee table book that I decided to actually read. It’s not particularly readable. Do you want to know the dimensions and weights of 100 spacecrafts? This is your book. It was helpful for providing an overview of non-NASA projects like the Russian Soyez spacecrafts and European and Chinese space endeavors. It was not focused on national pride, which is an improvement in space books. For what it is, it’s very good. I’m interested in reading actual narrative space history by Michael Gorn now. But I wouldn’t recommend this for more than skimming.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book, I especially enjoyed the cross sections and descriptions of the Soviet craft, since we learn much less about those in the US. I sometimes felt like the book wasn't organized logically. Unfortunately I read it over such a long time that I can't remember exactly how. A few of the details in the written and visual sections about Blue Origin were off as well unfortunately.

[Richard Archambault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the text was repetitive. Also, I wish the drawings of the space vehicles had been labeled (i.e. pointing out the different parts of the vehicles). Still, an interesting overview of rockets, capsules, and probes, including some of the most recent ones (New Horizons, for example).

[Francis Tapon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of me didn't want to give this book five stars because I'm not in love with it.
On the other hand, it delivers exactly what it promises, so it's earned the five stars.
What does it promise?
It's in the subtitle: "100 Iconic Rockets, Shuttles, and Satellites That Put Us in Space"

WHO WOULD LOVE SPACECRAFT:

- Geeks, nerds, and engineers. It's filled with simplified engineering diagrams of 100 spacecrafts.

- You want to know about Soviet/Russian efforts. This is the best part of the book. Most American space books focus on American extraterrestrial accomplishments. You'd think that the US was almost the only player. The truth, as this book clearly shows, is that the Soviets led the way for the first 15 years of the Space Race.

WHY I DIDN'T LOVE SPACECRAFT:

- It's a geeky coffee table book. It's not filled with photos of space in action. There are many photos, but there are far more diagrams/blueprints of the spacecraft. If that's your interest, you'll love this.

- There's no narrative. It's effectively an Encylopedia. Which is fine, but not thrilling.

- It ends abruptly - like an Encyclopedia would.

- There's practically no speculation about spacecrafts in the future. C'mon! This book is great for reviewing the past, but anyone who loves spacecrafts also loves FUTURE spacecrafts!

We're tourists and we want to go!

As a writer, I dislike when critics rate my pan one of my books because it was not what they wanted it to be rather than judging based on what I said it would be about.

For instance, if you bought Bob Woodward's Fear book expecting that it would discuss Donald Trump's childhood, you'd be disappointed. You might give it a one-star review.

That would be unfair to Bob Woodward since he never promised to write about Trump's childhood.

Similarly, just because Gorn didn't publish the Spacecraft book that I wish he had written, doesn't mean that it's bad. Gorn delivers exactly what he promised. He covers 100 spacecrafts. He does that well. Given the book's scope and expectations, it deserves nine out 10 stars for achieving its objective.

However, if you're looking for a space book with a passionate narrative and that delves into the realm of space tourism, then consider other books.