The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-launch Vehicles
The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-launch Vehicles

Author: J. D. Hunley

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 9781603444538

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In this definitive study, J. D. Hunley traces the program?s development from Goddard?s early rockets (and the German V-2 missile) through the Titan IVA and the Space Shuttle, with a focus on space-launch vehicles. Since these rockets often evolved from early missiles, he pays considerable attention to missile technology, not as an end in itself, but as a contributor to launch-vehicle technology. Focusing especially on the engineering culture of the program, Hunley communicates this very human side of technological development by means of anecdotes, character sketches, and case studies of problems faced by rocket engineers. He shows how such a highly adaptive approach enabled the evolution of a hugely complicated technology that was impressive?but decidedly not rocket science. Unique in its single-volume coverage of the evolution of launch-vehicle technology from 1926 to 1991, this meticulously researched work will inform scholars and engineers interested in the history of technology and innovation, as well as those specializing in the history of space flight.

History of the Space Shuttle, Volume Two
History of the Space Shuttle, Volume Two

Author: T. A. Heppenheimer

Publisher: Smithsonian Institution

Published: 2014-09-30

Total Pages: 552

ISBN-13: 158834441X

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Basing his work on virtually untapped NASA archives, T. A. Heppenheimer has produced the second volume of his definitive history of the space shuttle. Volume Two traces the development of the shuttle through a decade of engineering setbacks and breakthroughs, program-management challenges, and political strategizing, culminating in the first launch in April 1981. The focus is on the engineering challenges—propulsion, thermal protection, electronics, onboard systems—and the author covers in depth the alternative vehicles developed by the U.S. Air Force and European countries. The first launch entailed a monumental amount of planning and preparation that Heppenheimer explains in detail.