Foreword by Steve Squyres. Deep Space Craft opens the door to interplanetary flight. It surveys the broad landscape of engineering and scientific disciplines that contribute to deep space flight, providing plenty of references for delving into any one of them. This highly focused guide to interplanetary space exploration uses many examples of previous and current endeavors. It enables the reader understand and research almost any topic related to spacecraft and to seek the latest scientific findings, the newest emerging technologies, or the current status of a favorite flight. Appendix A gives illustrated descriptions of spacecraft and ground facilities to reinforce the classification framework. Appendix B contains illustrated detailed descriptions of a dozen scientific instruments, including some ground-breaking engineering appliances, which have either been in operation or are poised for flight. Appendix C has annotated illustrations to clarify regions and structures in the solar system and the planets' ring systems, and places the solar system in context with the local interstellar environment. Appendix D details the electromagnetic spectrum. Appendix E lists a chronology of space exploration. Appendix F lists units of measure and abbreviations. The Glossary is extensive, and the Index is thorough. Hardcopy and paperback available.
This book opens the door to the intriguing world of interplanetary flight. It provides a highly focused, insider’s view of current and recent interplanetary space exploration, describing all the different aspects of the many individual space-exploring machines that operate throughout our Solar System. The book:
- Illuminates the ‘science pipeline’, enabling readers to follow any specific interplanetary mission(s) and access the science datastream;
- Covers concisely the space-related fields of specialization and how they interrelate in interplanetary flight;
- Provides an insider’s guide of what is involved in the conduct of robotic interplanetary mission;
- Gives a snapshot of what has been going on in interplanetary flight in the last 25 years of the Space age.
Deep Space Craft shows how, in order to make sense of all the scientific data coming back to Earth, the need for experiments and instrumentation arises, and follows the design and construction of the instruments through to their placement and testing on a spacecraft prior to launch. Examples are given of the interaction between an instrument’s science team and the mission’s flight team to plan and specify observations, gather and analyze data in flight, and finally present the results and discoveries to the scientific community.
