Showing titles in Aeronautics & Astronautics

Spaceflight is one of the greatest human achievements of the 20th century. The Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite, in 1957; less than 12 years later, the American Apollo astronauts landed on the moon.

Kelly Johnson designed the Blackbird, a plane that flew non-stop from London to Los Angeles in less than four hours, outracing the sun and landing four hours before it had taken off, a remarkable feat - and this was more than 35 years ago. Johnson was the innovative genius behind Lockheed's "Skunk Works", and played a leading role in the development of more than forty aircraft, including some of America's most sophisticated planes such as the Constellation, Shooting Star, F-104, U-2, and the SR-71 Blackbird.

Our nearest planetary neighbor has been the subject of endless fascination and wide-ranging theories throughout history. Is there life on Mars? Was there ever life on Mars? What was the atmosphere like thousands or millions of years ago? From Percival Lowell, who built his own observatory so he could dedicate himself to studying the red planet, to NASA landing the car-sized Curiosity rover in 2012, this book traces Scientific American's coverage of the observation and exploration of Mars.

Psychologist Richard Wiseman brings together history, psychology, and self-help in this unique and powerful guide to achieving the impossible in work and in life. The result of intensive research, including interviews with surviving members of the Apollo mission-control team, Moonshot delivers eight key lessons on teamwork, leadership, persistence, creativity, and more, each one a vital part of the mind-set for success.

An in-depth story of the astronaut love triangle that shocked America. This captivating account casts light on Lisa Nowak's groundbreaking fall from grace. She was accomplished, successful, and heroic - one of the first astronauts to fly a space shuttle mission after the 2003 Columbia tragedy. Then a primitive attack of jealousy led to a fateful confrontation with her romantic rival that destroyed her reputation, ended her career and left a victim dazed and confused.

Bridging the gap between the history of technology and its geographical and cultural contexts, this book offers an unprecedented reevaluation of the impact of the space program on its surrounding landscape, introducing a new framework for interpreting the agency's legacy.

In 2013, Kate Greene moved to Mars. That is, along with five fellow crew members, she embarked on NASA’s first HI-SEAS mission, a simulated Martian environment located on the slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawaii. For four months she lived, worked, and slept in an isolated geodesic dome, conducting a sleep study on her crew mates and gaining incredible insight into human behavior in tight quarters, as well as the nature of boredom, dreams, and isolation that arise amidst the promise of scientific progress and glory.

Renowned space historian John Logsdon traces the greatest moments in human spaceflight by weaving together essential, fascinating documents from NASA's history with his expert narrative guidance. Beginning with rocket genius Wernher von Braun's vision for voyaging to Mars and closing with Elon Musk's contemporary plan to get there, this volume traces major events like the founding of NASA, the first American astronauts in space, the Apollo moon landings, the Challenger disaster, the daring Hubble Telescope repairs, and more.

There is a lot of interest these days in space exploration. After 50 years, we are looking at going back to the Moon to build a base and planning early for a manned trip to Mars. After that, further exploration and settlement of the Solar System will be on the table. One of the main limiting factors for all of this space exploration are the types of rockets and rocket engines available to get there.

Highlighting men and women across the globe who have dedicated themselves to pushing the limits of space exploration, this book surveys the programs, technological advancements, medical equipment, and automated systems that have made space travel possible. Beginning with the invention of balloons that lifted early explorers into the stratosphere, Ted Spitzmiller describes how humans first came to employ lifting gasses such as hydrogen and helium.

In 1954, the US Air Force launched an ambitious program known as WS-117L to develop the world's first reconnaissance satellite. The goal was to take photographic images from space and relay them back to Earth via radio. Because of technical issues and bureaucratic resistance, however, WS-117L was seriously behind schedule by the time Sputnik orbited Earth in 1957 and was eventually cancelled. Eyeing the Red Storm examines the birth of space-based reconnaissance from the perspective of WS-117L.

On 12th April 1981 a revolutionary new spacecraft blasted off from Florida on her maiden flight. NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia was the most advanced flying machine ever built - the high watermark of post-war aviation development. A direct descendant of the record-breaking X-planes the likes of which Chuck Yeager had tested in the skies over the Mojave Desert, Columbia was a winged rocket plane, the size of an airliner, capable of flying to space and back before being made ready to fly again.

Veteran science journalist Leonard David explores the moon in all its facets, from ancient myth to future "Moon Village" plans. David offers inside information about how the United States, allies, and competitors, as well as key private corporations like Moon Express and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, plan to reach, inhabit, and even harvest the moon in the decades to come. Spurred on by the Google Lunar XPRIZE - $30 million for the first to get to the moon and send images home - the 21st-century space race back to the moon has become more urgent, and more timely, than ever.

Noah Adams's adventure in search of Wilbur and Orville Wright is a journey that takes him across the country as he follows in the footsteps of the famous brothers in an attempt to know them more deeply, not just as inventors and pilots but as individuals as well.

Amelia Mary Earhart, an American aviation pioneer and author, was born on July 24, 1897. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set numerous other aviation records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. The following is a recording of her famous 1935 radio-broadcast speech: A Woman's Place in Science.

This book is about air combat in WWl aircraft. The author's exceptional tally of over 40 air victories contains many vivid portrayals of air combat. The style is light and engaging.

In this one-of-a-kind memoir, Jack Clemons - a former lead engineer in support of NASA - takes listeners behind the scenes and into the inner workings of the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs during their most exciting years. Discover the people, the events, and the risks involved in one of the most important parts of space missions: bringing the astronauts back home to Earth. Clemons joined Project Apollo in 1968, a young engineer inspired by science fiction and electrified by John F. Kennedy's challenge to the nation to put a man on the moon.

This audiobook is about the American moon landings - and about the doubts expressed ever since concerning the reality of these landings. Were the images of men on the moon really just a huge and cleverly executed hoax? Eversberg explains the best-known claims and conspiracy theories

Only 24 human beings have traveled to the moon. Theirs were the most daring voyages in mankind's history, and their view of Earth from the moon changed them and the way we see our home planet. Now in their emeritus years, the 12 remaining lunar explorers for the first time reveal the true source of courage, leadership, and the quiet patriotism that it took to accomplish their missions. Their voyages to the moon led them to the most incredible discovery of all: our home planet and its precious place in the universe.

The summer of 1969 saw astronauts land on the moon for the first time and hippie hordes descend on Woodstock for a legendary music festival. For Neil M. Maher, the conjunction of these two era-defining events is not entirely coincidental. With its lavishly funded mandate to send a man to the moon, Apollo became a litmus test in the 1960s culture wars.