Frontiers of Space Exploration - Hardcover

Launius, Roger D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0313299684 ISBN 13: 9780313299681

Publisher: Greenwood, 1998

Synopsis

From the first experimentation with rocket technology in the early 20th century to the Mir space station and the Mars Pathfinder mission of 1997, this one-stop guide to space exploration provides a wealth of information for student researchers. Combining narrative description, analytical essays, a timeline, biographical profiles, and the text of key primary documents, Roger D. Launius, Chief Historian of NASA, provides the latest information and analysis on all aspects of space exploration. Four essays give a historical overview of space exploration and up-to-date examinations of the race to the moon, exploration of the solar system, space stations and space shuttles, and U.S.-Soviet cooperative ventures. Ready reference features include: a timeline of key events; biographical profiles of 24 American and Soviet space pioneers; the text of 20 key primary documents relating to space exploration initiatives; a table of American space flight since 1961; and an annotated bibliography of works on space history.

The essays are designed to be understandable and to capture the human drama as well as the scientific accomplishments of space exploration. Biographical profiles include not only astronauts and cosmonauts, but also American and Soviet pioneers in the science of space exploration, NASA leaders, and the Challenger crew. Key documents include presidential speeches and directives on the creation of the space program and the decision to go to the moon, official statements on U.S.-Soviet cooperation in space, the text of the Apollo crew's radio broadcast from space on the first moon landing, recollections of Apollo astronauts who first landed on the moon, policy directives on the decision to build the space shuttle, the radio transcript of the last words from the space shuttle Challenger disaster, and a speech from Robert Zubrin, member of the National Space Society Board of Directors, addressing the promise of space exploration in the 21st century. A selection of photos complements the text.

About this title

About the Author

ROGER D. LAUNIUS is chair of the Division of Space History of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. He has written or edited several books on aerospace history, including Space Stations: Base Camps to the Stars (2003)

Reach the High Frontier: A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles, with Dennis R. Jenkins (2002)

agining Space: Achievements, Predictions, Possibilities, 1950-2050, with Howard E. McCurdy (2001)

d Innovation and the Development of Flight (1999).

Reviews

This reference work provides a basic introduction to the history of space exploration at a time when the two former antagonistsAthe United States and RussiaAare embarking on the multinational Space Station program. Organizing the book in four sections, Launius (chief NASA historian) presents a chronology of major events, four essays that provide a historical overview of space exploration, biographies of major space pioneers, and dozens of primary documents relating to major space policy decisions. Additionally, two appendixes list all manned spaceflights from 1961 through 1997, and an annotated bibliography covers major space history titles. Despite several minor errors in the chronology section, Launius does an excellent job summarizing the early history of spaceflight with his essaysAthe real meat of the bookAand the inclusion of the primary documents provides interesting insights into how major policy decisions were reached, from Kennedy's Apollo decision to the building of the space shuttle. Recommended for public and academic libraries.AThomas J. Frieling, Bainbridge Coll., GA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwood
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0313299684
• ISBN 13: 9780313299681
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256