Super Structures in Space: From Satellites to Space Stations- a Guide to What's Out There

by Michael H. Gorn

Since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, hundreds of spacecraft--from satellites and probes to space stations--have ventured beyond Earth's atmosphere to orbit the globe, fly to other planets, peer into the depths of the universe, or encounter comets and asteroids. Many have become household names, their missions the focus of popular attention, while others undertake their equally important tasks in relative anonymity. Superstructures in Space is the first book to present pictorially the most important of these man-made objects. Featuring a wealth of breathtaking illustrations, this remarkable volume reveals the exciting story behind each selected its origins and development, its designers and manufacturers, and its launch and objectives.  It represents the first survey of the world's most significant and fascinating spacecraft at the dawn of the twenty-first century.  Superstructures in Space is an authoritative and engaging book written by an eminent aerospace historian that appeals to readers of all ages.

191 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2008

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.