Bøger i Springer-Praxis Books in Space serien

This book is the first known work in the west dedicated to revealing the full story of the Vostok space missions, and the first fledgling steps off our planet. In Leaving the Planet authors Rex Hall and Dave Shayler review this Soviet demonstration of technological progress. The text examines both the developmental and operational aspects of the missions, which at the time were clouded in secrecy. This fascinating and important text features a significant amount of new material on the spacecraft, as well as the history, design and development of the launch vehicle. It also includes the full story of the men and women who trained for these missions, some of whom never flew.

The Earth in Context: A Guide to the Solar System tells a tale of scientific discovery, with two interwoven strands - one tracing the development of understanding the Earth's geological history, and the other placing this in the context of processes at work on the other planets of the solar system. Although planetology is assigned half of the text, the primary focus of the book is the Earth. It is discussed in two parts, the first summing up our knowledge of the Earth as it is today and the other considering it as it was long ago.

In Gemini - Steps to the Moon, David Shayler, the author, tells the story of the origin and development of the programme and the spacecraft from the perspective of the engineers, flight controllers and astronauts involved. It includes chapters on flight tests, Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA), rendezvous and docking, as well as information from NASA archives and personal interviews.

A developmental history of the first American manned spaceflight programme and its associated infrastructure, including accounts of space launch vehicles. The book highlights the differences in Redstone/Atlas technology, drawing similar comparisons between ballistic capsules and alternative types of spacecraft. The book also covers astronaut selection and training, as well as tracking systems, flight control, basic principles of spaceflight and detailed accounts of individual flights.

As the most obvious man-made object in the night sky, clearly visible to the naked eye, the International Space Station is of interest to almost everyone. Richly illustrated with around 100 figures this is the first book to describe the technical aspects of its design and construction and details of its day-to-day operation. The text relates the orbital assembly on a flight-by-flight basis, listing all the experiments in NASA's laboratory and explains their objectives. By offering a comprehensive mix of operational work, microgravity, science and future plans, it will satisfy both the space enthusiast, eager for a detailed review of the missions, and the specialist wishing to learn more about this science programme.

The Chinese space program has sometimes been called the last of the secretspace programs. Although it is far less secretive now than formerly,fascinating revelations are still being made.This book is the history of the Chinese space program from its earliesttimes to the historic breakthrough of manned flight. Significant eventsincludeEUR Middle Ages: the inventon of the rocketEUR 1956: the establishment of the space programEUR 1970: the launch of its first Earth satelliteEUR 1975: the launch into orbit and recovery of a satelliteEUR 1984: the first communications satellite is put into 24hr orbitEUR 2003: China's first yuhangyuan, Yang Liwei, orbits the EarthEUR 2007 (planned): first probe to the MoonChina¹s Space Program gives China the prominence it deserves as Asia¹sleading spacefaring nation.

This book explains how the Apollo crews learned to work on the lunar surface. Its lively and informative text draws heavily on transcripts and photographs to illustrate points. It puts the reader on the lunar surface with the astronauts, sharing their observations, excitement, and frustrations. The book describes the challenging yet exhilarating lunar environment facing the Apollo astronauts, and reveals their courageous, sometimes creative and occasionally humorous adaptation to the field conditions on another planet. Recent interviews with the astronauts are included in which they recall their thoughts after more than 25 years of reflection.