Smithsonian: Spaceflight, 2nd Edition: The Complete Story from Sputnik to Curiousity

by Giles Sparrow, Giles Sparrow, Smithsonian Institution (Contributor)

This compelling story of exploration charts and celebrates humankind in space, from Sputnik's launch in 1957 through the Apollo Moon landings and the International Space Station to future missions to Mars and beyond.Spaceflight chronicles how, in the half-century that followed Sputnik, the world was revolutionized by space travel and exploration. The opening up of Earth's orbit to satellites led to a revolution in communications, monitoring of the environment, and materials science. For the human imagination, the impact has been even the voyages of robotic space probes have transformed our view of the Solar System, while Earth-orbiting satellites and missions to the Moon have forever changed our view of ourselves.This book is a celebration of human ingenuity and imagination. From the work of pioneers like Wernher von Braun, Yuri Gagarin, and Neil Armstrong to the triumphs and tragedies that followed, it reveals the people, science, and technology that have propelled us into the Space Age.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science

319 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 2, 2019

Reviews

[Steven Mastroyin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a warning review for anyone thinking about the audiobook. I can't speak to the entire content of this book. However, it clearly has a lot of pictures and figures. Not only does this mean you miss a lot of content, but it means the narration is constantly interrupted by descriptions of the photos. While you can still follow along I gave up after an hour or so realizing I was missing half the story.

[Donald Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive survey of the development of spaceflight. As a survey, many details are left out, but as a survey, it covers many developments that other histories of space travel miss out. The first century of spaceflight is truly a remarkable one. The book is worth reading.

I "read" this as an audible book.

[MK · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a historical encyclopedia on the theme of human spaceflight.

Our ancestors' pursuit of space exploration, and their ingenuity and imagination, have given us the advances in sanitary communications and science that we see today.