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Spaceflight: The Complete Story from Sputnik to Shuttle - And Beyond
Honoring the fiftieth anniversary of the first space flight, a visual study of human ventures into outer space covers the U.S. and Soviet space race, as well as the efforts of other countries around the world, chronicling the development of space technology, future planned space missions, and key accomplishments, ranging from the first satellite launch to the moon landing.
320 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 2007
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184 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 24, 2019
A big honkin’ coffee table book on space exploration. 12 year old me would have carried it around with him everywhere, and slept with it under his pillow. 34 year old me enjoyed reliving that feeling. Get it for your space nerd niece or nephew. They’ll thank you for it.
December 4, 2020
Beginning with Rocket Dreamers, “Spaceflight” looks at the pioneering efforts such as Wu Han’s rocket chair, Congreve’s rockets, and Kepler’s laws of planetary motion and how they influenced visionaries such as Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Konstantin Tsiolkovskii, Robert Goddard, Hermann Oberth, and Wernher von Braun. The development of missiles such as the A4 [renamed the V-2 and sent to war], and, ultimately, Operation Overcast, which brought the German rocket program to the United States.
The Cold War Space Race had begun, with von Braun and the rocket scientists from Peenemünde settled in Huntsville, Alabama and Sergei Pavlovich in the forefront of the Soviet space efforts. This led to a race to develop more powerful, longer-range missiles and the development of X-planes, which ultimately became the first to break the sound barrier. With the space race in high gear, the first Redstone lifted off from the launch pad in 1953.
The Dawn of the Space Age chronicles the space race, beginning with Sputnik, Laika, and Explorer I. Then the increasingly-ambitious early satellites such as Sputnik 3 and Pioneer 1 sought to establish the potential future uses of space. The Soviet Luna probes reached the Moon while Pioneer V became the first spacecraft deliberately launched into interplanetary space and Mariner 2 headed toward Venus. Meanwhile, both Britain and France recognized the importance of having an independent launch capability and set about developing their own space programs.
Determined to be the first to put man into space, the Soviets developed Vostok and set about training cosmonauts while NASA established Project Mercury and selected seven astronauts.
The Race to the Moon begins with President Kennedy’s challenge and examines the Voskhod and Gemini programs, the first spacewalks, and plans for Apollo. Despite the tragedy of Apollo 1, which grounded NASA’s space program for some twenty-one months, Apollo 7 flew with a redesigned spacecraft in a mission that was a shakedown cruise for a trip to the moon and included, for the first time, a NASA broadcast of a television feed from space.
A series of setbacks and development problems in the Soviet program virtually ensured that, despite their ongoing efforts, the Soviets would not reach the Moon before the Americans. The Soyuz program had some setbacks, including the loss of a cosmonaut on re-entry, but by the end of the 1960s, the Soyuz rendezvous and docking in space finally took place while NASA continued the Apollo missions in preparation for a July 1969 landing on the moon. Apollo flights 12 through 17 continued, with the drama and successful return of Apollo 13 after an oxygen tank explosion.
After Apollo, with the moon race behind them, both the Soviets and the Americans turned to orbiting labs and space stations, including Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, and Salyut. As with the earlier missions, there were both triumphs and tragedies, including the death of the crew during the re-entry of Soyuz 11.
Working in Space looks at spaceplanes, the Space Shuttle missions, Spacelab, satellite servicing, the Challenger disaster, and the Mir space station. Buran, the Soviet shuttle, pushed the Soviet space program to the limit, ultimately foundering; the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a series of Shuttle-Mir missions before Mir’s demise. The loss of Space Shuttle Columbia again brought home a reminder of the danger inherent in space exploration; a hiatus in the program ultimately delayed progress on the International Space Station and, after twenty-one more missions, the shuttles were retired.
Meanwhile, the European Space Agency, Japan, China, and Israel all conducted space missions and their space programs led to a corps of international astronauts.
Satellites and Spaceprobes examines communications, astronomy, orbiting observatories, moon probes, exploring the planets, Voyager, Galileo, comets and asteroids, the Mars exploration rover, and Cassini-Huygens all of which expanded man’s view of the solar system and propelled exploration to the boundaries of technology.
Into the Future takes a closer look at the International Space Station and the work conducted there. But what is next? Spaceplanes, large and small, are on the drawing board as China looks toward manned spaceflight and spaceprobes explore uncharted corners of the solar system. Will man return to the Moon? Travel to Mars? With commercialism may come space tourism, and technological advances may one day propel mankind into the colonization of space.
This coffee table-sized book includes a foreword by Buzz Aldrin and, filled with photographs and three-dimensional illustrations, celebrates the triumphs of the people, the science, and the hardware as it recounts the history of mankind’s first sixty years of its steps into space. It’s a must-read for any reader interested in the development of manned space programs and the exploration of the solar system.
Highly recommended.
The Cold War Space Race had begun, with von Braun and the rocket scientists from Peenemünde settled in Huntsville, Alabama and Sergei Pavlovich in the forefront of the Soviet space efforts. This led to a race to develop more powerful, longer-range missiles and the development of X-planes, which ultimately became the first to break the sound barrier. With the space race in high gear, the first Redstone lifted off from the launch pad in 1953.
The Dawn of the Space Age chronicles the space race, beginning with Sputnik, Laika, and Explorer I. Then the increasingly-ambitious early satellites such as Sputnik 3 and Pioneer 1 sought to establish the potential future uses of space. The Soviet Luna probes reached the Moon while Pioneer V became the first spacecraft deliberately launched into interplanetary space and Mariner 2 headed toward Venus. Meanwhile, both Britain and France recognized the importance of having an independent launch capability and set about developing their own space programs.
Determined to be the first to put man into space, the Soviets developed Vostok and set about training cosmonauts while NASA established Project Mercury and selected seven astronauts.
The Race to the Moon begins with President Kennedy’s challenge and examines the Voskhod and Gemini programs, the first spacewalks, and plans for Apollo. Despite the tragedy of Apollo 1, which grounded NASA’s space program for some twenty-one months, Apollo 7 flew with a redesigned spacecraft in a mission that was a shakedown cruise for a trip to the moon and included, for the first time, a NASA broadcast of a television feed from space.
A series of setbacks and development problems in the Soviet program virtually ensured that, despite their ongoing efforts, the Soviets would not reach the Moon before the Americans. The Soyuz program had some setbacks, including the loss of a cosmonaut on re-entry, but by the end of the 1960s, the Soyuz rendezvous and docking in space finally took place while NASA continued the Apollo missions in preparation for a July 1969 landing on the moon. Apollo flights 12 through 17 continued, with the drama and successful return of Apollo 13 after an oxygen tank explosion.
After Apollo, with the moon race behind them, both the Soviets and the Americans turned to orbiting labs and space stations, including Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, and Salyut. As with the earlier missions, there were both triumphs and tragedies, including the death of the crew during the re-entry of Soyuz 11.
Working in Space looks at spaceplanes, the Space Shuttle missions, Spacelab, satellite servicing, the Challenger disaster, and the Mir space station. Buran, the Soviet shuttle, pushed the Soviet space program to the limit, ultimately foundering; the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a series of Shuttle-Mir missions before Mir’s demise. The loss of Space Shuttle Columbia again brought home a reminder of the danger inherent in space exploration; a hiatus in the program ultimately delayed progress on the International Space Station and, after twenty-one more missions, the shuttles were retired.
Meanwhile, the European Space Agency, Japan, China, and Israel all conducted space missions and their space programs led to a corps of international astronauts.
Satellites and Spaceprobes examines communications, astronomy, orbiting observatories, moon probes, exploring the planets, Voyager, Galileo, comets and asteroids, the Mars exploration rover, and Cassini-Huygens all of which expanded man’s view of the solar system and propelled exploration to the boundaries of technology.
Into the Future takes a closer look at the International Space Station and the work conducted there. But what is next? Spaceplanes, large and small, are on the drawing board as China looks toward manned spaceflight and spaceprobes explore uncharted corners of the solar system. Will man return to the Moon? Travel to Mars? With commercialism may come space tourism, and technological advances may one day propel mankind into the colonization of space.
This coffee table-sized book includes a foreword by Buzz Aldrin and, filled with photographs and three-dimensional illustrations, celebrates the triumphs of the people, the science, and the hardware as it recounts the history of mankind’s first sixty years of its steps into space. It’s a must-read for any reader interested in the development of manned space programs and the exploration of the solar system.
Highly recommended.
August 2, 2022
Just looked at the start date and realise it took me a year to read this! That is not down to its readability, but that I kept it in the...ahem...smallest room!
This is meant as a coffee table book and I don't think it was ever thought that someone would read it cover to cover. Having said that, I found it fascinating and pitched at just the right level for me...someone who is interested and has a little bit of background knowledge, but not even a beginner when it comes to understanding the science (also lots of excellent pictures!). I find early space exploration fascinating...this isn't getting to the North Pole, where all you had to do was train to walk further and endure more cold. This is doing something that has never been done before, and about which we have absolutely no clue! I now need to find more in-depth books about exploration of Mars and the history of JPL
Highlight of the book: Discovering that Gemini astronaut John Young smuggled a corned beef sandwich into space. How?!
This is meant as a coffee table book and I don't think it was ever thought that someone would read it cover to cover. Having said that, I found it fascinating and pitched at just the right level for me...someone who is interested and has a little bit of background knowledge, but not even a beginner when it comes to understanding the science (also lots of excellent pictures!). I find early space exploration fascinating...this isn't getting to the North Pole, where all you had to do was train to walk further and endure more cold. This is doing something that has never been done before, and about which we have absolutely no clue! I now need to find more in-depth books about exploration of Mars and the history of JPL
Highlight of the book: Discovering that Gemini astronaut John Young smuggled a corned beef sandwich into space. How?!
May 23, 2008
Not only does this book contain great photographs, it also contains countless facts and figures related to manned and unmanned spaceflight. The book is a great resource for space enthusiasts, such as myself, or someone researching the topic of space flight. The book is both entertaining and informative.
Currently reading
November 30, 2014Michael adores this book....I was nervous he wouldn't like it for a birthday present because it is so wordy. We spend our evenings reading random chapters and Michael gawking about how little space history I know. I retort with "What famous biologists do you know besides Darwin and E.O.Wilson?". Draw.
July 9, 2020
This is a beautifully illustrated, very comprehensive "coffee-table" book covering the entire history of spaceflight starting with Tsiolkovsky and rocket pioneers like Goddard, all the way to the 2010s. What it lacks in depth (compared to similar books such as the Smithsonian History of Space Exploration), it makes up for it in visual appeal and fascinating space trivia throughout the book. While it is suitable for all ages, I wish I had this book as a kid. It would be a great gift for anyone with an interest in space and spaceflight.
December 26, 2023
Dobývání vesmíru mě vždycky fascinovalo. Tahle kniha je pěkným shrnutím toho co se nám jako lidstvu povedlo. Od počátků vzniku raketového pohonu až po dnes vznikající plány vesmírné turistiky. Všechno je doplněno nádhernými velkým ilustracemi. Kniha je velká nejen množstvím informací, ale i svým rozměrem. V knihovničce jsem ji musel umístit do nejširší poličky :-)
Vřele doporučuji všem nadšencům do kosmonautiky.
Vřele doporučuji všem nadšencům do kosmonautiky.
May 14, 2024
More of a conversation and jumping off book. Space exploration is meant to inspire, and after looking at man's previous accomplishments in space, like this book, you'll be inspired to reach for the stars.
June 10, 2019
A nice overview about spaceflight so far, including some great pictures.
December 4, 2021
Good coffee table book. But if you want more details you’re gonna need something more heavy-duty.
January 22, 2023
i keep falling asleep reading it so…not for me, but maybe for ye.
March 5, 2016
Every space flight enthusiast should own this well written reference book. Not only is the epic story of space flight from the first soviet satellite to the launch of NASA's New Horizon probe captured in words, but it is also well supplemented with high quality photos and renderings by graphic artist.
As I'm currently doing a project on the future of space exploration, the concluding segments on commercial space flight and a revival of moon exploration were most useful. Included in this section is information on ISS concepts, next-generation space shuttles, Mars mission, and colonization of future worlds. Although the specific information regarding colonization is sparse in comparison to other subjects, it's highly interesting and thought provoking.
As I'm currently doing a project on the future of space exploration, the concluding segments on commercial space flight and a revival of moon exploration were most useful. Included in this section is information on ISS concepts, next-generation space shuttles, Mars mission, and colonization of future worlds. Although the specific information regarding colonization is sparse in comparison to other subjects, it's highly interesting and thought provoking.
November 21, 2010
A book wonderfully written, with exquisite drawings, sections, diagrams and archive photos. Certainly it is written by an author who understands and loves space and rockets. I think it is one of the best books in its field, both for the text and especially for its graphics. Buzz Aldrin did a beautiful introduction too.
February 6, 2013
Really good despite the introduction. Beautifully illustrated.
September 29, 2020
Great cliff note reference space history book.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews