Spaceflight Book Thread

[rich_columbia]

OK, some books by engineers and ground people:

_Apollo EECOM_ by Sy Liebergot.

For those interested in computers:

_Journey to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Guidance Computer_ by Eldon Hall.

For aerodynamics:

_From Runway to Orbit: Reflections of a NASA Engineer_ by Kenneth W. Iliff and Curtis L. Peebles.  Lots of good stuff including material I hadn't seen before on the shuttle.

And on on the lunar module (Hey, I grew up right next to Bethpage, NY!) _Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module_
by Thomas J. Kelly (Author)

Rich


And not a space book, but one book that I would strongly recommend reading is: _Skunk Works_ by Ben Rich.

[elmarko]

Oh I was going to get Skunk Works. Definitely worth it, then?

[rich_columbia]

Oh I was going to get Skunk Works. Definitely worth it, then?

I think so.  I've read the book a number of times, it works on a bunch of different levels, and I give it two thumbs up.  :-)

Rich

[MarsMethanogen]

I found a treasure trove of NASA History Series on-line documents when I first started reading material in depth in the late 1990s.  Perhaps you start with this link:

http://history.nasa.gov/series95.html

Scroll down.  If you interested in the NASA programs of the 60s, I suggest that you start with several entries in the (scroll down on the web page) Project Histories (SP-4200 Series):
This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury
On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini
Chariots for Apollo
Stages to Saturn
etc.

I downloaded and then printed these out.  Had them spirial bound.  That will keep you busy for a while and provide you with a huge educational spectrum.

[ericr]

Just read and enjoyed:

The Soviet Space Race with Apollo   by Asif Siddiqi
   (how can such dry material be so riveting?)

Apollo : the epic journey to the moon   by David West Reynolds
   (the color photography is fantastic)


Eric

[elmarko]

The other day I bought Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Klugar and finished it in 3 days. It was that good I couldn't put it down. Get it if you haven't already.

I also bought Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff as I'm lead to believe it's quite entertaining.

[ericr]

Have any of you read the following works?  Thoughts?

The race for space: the United States and the Soviet Union compete for the new frontier / Betsy Kuhn / 2007

Epic rivalry : the inside story of the Soviet and American space race / Von Hardesty and Gene Eisman / 2007
 
A ball, a dog, and a monkey : 1957, the space race begins / Michael D'Antonio / 2007

[Suzy]

...
I also bought Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff as I'm lead to believe it's quite entertaining.

Yes, I'd recommend it... features some memorably gruesome depictions of the accidents of test pilots, including what happens when one's parachute doesn't open (which I can't resist quoting):

Down on the field they all had their faces turned up to the sky. They saw Whelan pop out of the cockpit. With his Martin-Baker seat-parachute rig strapped on, he looked like a little black geometric lump a mile and a half up in the blue. They watched him as he started dropping. Everyone waited for the parachute to open. They waited a few more seconds, and then they waited some more. The little shape was getting bigger and bigger and picking up tremendous speed. Then there came an unspeakable instant at which everyone on the field who knew anything about parachute jumps knew what was going to happen. Yet even for them it was an unearthly feeling, for no one had ever seen any such thing happen so close up, from start to finish, from what amounted to a grandstand seat. Now the shape was going so fast and coming so close it began to play tricks on the eyes. It seemed to stretch out. It became much bigger and hurtled toward them at a terrific speed, until they couldn’t make out its actual outlines at all. Finally there was just a streaking black blur before their eyes, followed by what seemed like an explosion. Except that it was not an explosion; it was the tremendous crack of Ted Whelan, his helmet, his pressure suit, and his seat-parachute rig smashing into the center of the runway, precisely on target, right in front of the crowd; an absolute bull’s-eye. Ted Whelan had no doubt been alive until the instant of impact. He had had about thirty seconds to watch the Pax River base and the peninsula and Baltimore County and continental America and the entire comprehensible world rise up to smash him. When they lifted his body up off the concrete, it was like a sack of fertilizer.

[DMeader]

Gee thanks, I really enjoyed that.....not.....

[Aobrien]

Anyone that can suggest a book from here for a teenager looking for knowledge on his insperation for rocketry? I don't want it to basically be what the movie was. October Sky. It was one of the best movies ever!
http://www.homerhickam.com/books/

Thanks

[Antares]

From the Earth to the Moon, the HBO miniseries, is as good as any book out there - and it draws on a lot of the books published in the 90s as source material.

One of them is Angle of Attack about Harrison Storms.  HIGHLY recommended.

Stages to Saturn, in the NASA history series, is dry, but historically perfect and free off the web.  Some of the technical details are quite fascinating and instructive for current designers.

[Oersted]

The best books I've read about the X-15 and the lifting bodies programs at Edwards Air Force Base are

At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program
http://www.amazon.com/At-Edge-Space-Flight-Program/dp/1588340783/
(Foreword by Neil Armstrong)

and

Flying Without Wings (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight)
http://www.amazon.com/Without-Smithsonian-History-Aviation-Spaceflight/dp/1560988320/

- Both written by Milton O. Thompson, who flew the planes in both programs and also had a managerial role in the flying bodies research. The books are full of salty humour and anecdotes as well as really good behind-the-scenes information.

 

[SW]

Hi, sorry if this is the wrong section, but I was wondering what everyone thought were the best Space Shuttle books were that would help me begin to delve into the Shuttle history.  I've spent the last couple years primarily on Mercury-Gemini-Apollo and have decided that it's time for me to start learning about Skylab and the Shuttle's more in depth. 

Many thanks in advance

[bholt]

My favorites:

1. Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System-The First 100 Missions. By Dennis R. Jenkins.
ISBN 0-9633974-5-1

2. The Space Shuttle Decision 1965-1972. Volume 1. By T.R. Heppenheimer.
ISBN 1-58834-014-7

3. Development of the Space Shuttle 1972-1981. Volume 2. By T.R. Heppenheimer.
ISBN 1-58834-009-0

4. The Voyages of Columbia-The First True Spaceship. Richard S. Lewis.
ISBN 0-231-05924-8 (Probably out of print)

Brent

[DMeader]

Without question, the Jenkins book.