To Reach the High Frontier: A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles
Roger D. LauniusDennis R. Jenkinseditors Copyright Date: 2002Edition: 1 Published by: University Press of Kentucky Pages: 528
This is an important book in space history, and not just because I had a hand in it. This is a very handy one-volume collection of the highlights of American launch vehicles up until the publication date. Some of this ground, such as the histories of the Delta rocket and Space Shutttle, had already been fairly well-trod, but even here the authors provide new facts and insights. Roger Launius, former Chief Historian of NASA, provides the Introduction and the first chapter, "Rocketry and the Origin of Space Flight." From there follow chapters by experts on Titan, Shuttle, Saturn V, Atlas, Delta, etc. All are excellent. A few that stood out for me in providing new information included "Minuteman and the Development of Solid Rocket Launch Technology," Andrew J. Butrica's "The Quest for Reusability," and the Epoilogue by David Spires and Rick Sturdevant on military-civilian partnerships in launch.
I left until last, of course, "History and Development of U.S. Small Launch Vehicles." In this 43-page chapter, Dr. Pat Johnson (engineer), Ericka Maurer (nee' Lishock) (engineer), Robyn Kane (cost analyist), and I covered the sounding rockets that predated the orbital launchers and their contributions, the pioneering Vanguard, Jupiter-C, Jupiter, and Thor, the long-working Scout, and the appearance of new and proposed small launchers like Pegasus. Rwecognition is due to Pat for her exhautive survey of Scout and Robyn for her skill in comparing rockets of different eras on a cost-per-kilogram basis, while my frequent collaborator Erika and I, drawing on material that would become our 2004 book The First Space Race, wrote the main narrative, throwing in such interesting bits as 1958's then-classified Project Pilot (call it a prehistoric Pegasus). For the expert and the lay reader, this book, which has plenty of techncial content but avoids equations for accessibility's sake, offers a concise introduction to the American vehicles that that launched and sustained the Space Age. (On Amazon, the new hardcover appears to be is out of print, so the few available command a high price, but sellers of used books have them as low as $20. So get yours while they last!)
I left until last, of course, "History and Development of U.S. Small Launch Vehicles." In this 43-page chapter, Dr. Pat Johnson (engineer), Ericka Maurer (nee' Lishock) (engineer), Robyn Kane (cost analyist), and I covered the sounding rockets that predated the orbital launchers and their contributions, the pioneering Vanguard, Jupiter-C, Jupiter, and Thor, the long-working Scout, and the appearance of new and proposed small launchers like Pegasus. Rwecognition is due to Pat for her exhautive survey of Scout and Robyn for her skill in comparing rockets of different eras on a cost-per-kilogram basis, while my frequent collaborator Erika and I, drawing on material that would become our 2004 book The First Space Race, wrote the main narrative, throwing in such interesting bits as 1958's then-classified Project Pilot (call it a prehistoric Pegasus). For the expert and the lay reader, this book, which has plenty of techncial content but avoids equations for accessibility's sake, offers a concise introduction to the American vehicles that that launched and sustained the Space Age. (On Amazon, the new hardcover appears to be is out of print, so the few available command a high price, but sellers of used books have them as low as $20. So get yours while they last!)
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