Disasters And Accidents In Manned Spaceflight

Here, Dave Shayler examines the hurdles faced by space crews as they prepare and embark on space missions. Divided into six parts, the text opens with the fateful, tragic mission of the Challenger crew in 1986. This is followed by a review of the risks that accompany every space trip and the unique environment in which the space explorer lives and works. The next four sections cover the four parts of any space flight (training, launch, in-flight and recovery) and present major historical incidents in each case. The final section looks at the next forty years beyond the Earth's atmosphere, beginning with the International Space Station and moving on to the difficulties inherent in a manned exploration of Mars.

The very first book on space systems failures written from an engineering perspective. Focuses on the causes of the failures and discusses how the engineering knowledge base has been enhanced by the lessons learned. Discusses non-fatal anomalies which do not affect the ultimate success of a mission, but which are failures nevertheless. Describes engineering aspects of the spacecraft, making this a valuable complementary reference work to conventional engineering texts.

Discusses the people and events surrounding the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

To Slip the Surly Bonds--NASA, The Shuttle Disasters and the Demise of the U.S. Manned Space Flight Program" enters into the world of NASA and tells the story of not just why the shuttle disasters happened, but exposes NASA's inner workings. NASA has been gutted by various Presidential administrations. Congress has also had a field day with budget cuts, devastating the program with pork barrel projects and confusion regarding the United States and its place in the Space Program. NASA too, has been its own worst enemy due to its static, bureaucratic way of doing internal business. China, North Korea, Japan and other nations are forging their way to the stars while NASA sits on an empty launch pad waiting for the next crumb to be tossed its way. The U.S. commercial aerospace sector has had some success with reaching the space station with robotic cargo flights, but there is nothing for reaching past the lower earth orbit. "To Slip the Surly Bonds" explores the intricacies of how and why NASA was created, the Manned Space Program, how the shuttle disasters happened and why and why and the United States' place in the space frontier, along with the loss of our most precious resource, the space program and manned space flight.

Space travel is a familiar concept. Such was not the case in the early 20th century, when the United States and the former Soviet Union were locked in a race to send humans into orbit. This book details the history of manned spaceflight, from the development of rockets to the advent of space tourism. Readers also are introduced to the men and women who have been willing to soar into the great unknown.

In March 2005, the NASA History Division and the Division of Space History at the National Air and Space Museum brought together a distinguished group of scholars to consider the state of the discipline of space history. This volume is a collection of essays based on those deliberations. The meeting took place at a time of extraordinary transformation for NASA, stemming from the new Vision of Space Exploration announced by President George W. Bush in January 204: to go to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This Vision, in turn, stemmed from a deep reevaluation of NASA?s goals in the wake of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident and the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. The new goals were seen as initiating a "New Age of Exploration" and were placed in the context of the importance of exploration and discovery to the American experiences. (Amazon).

“Manned Spaceflight Log” discusses over 40 recent spaceflights from September 2006 through September 2012, a time of great change in human spaceflight history. Following on from “Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006,” the authors continue the story until the end of September 2012, with new chapters detailing the development and accomplishments of human spaceflight, expanded tables and additional photographs, many in color, throughout. The book opens with a new foreword by Colonel Alfred M. Worden, USAF Retired, NASA Astronaut and CMP of Apollo 15, which reflects on the changing history of human spaceflight and the prospects for future operations. The first chapter explains how human spaceflight has approached the different challenges of exploring space and provided the hardware to meet those challenges. This chapter also describes the various attempts to reach orbital flight and the often confusing distinction between ballistic, sub-orbital, and so-called ‘astro-flights’ of the X-15 rocket research aircraft program. Chapter 2 recalls key historic moments and missions across five decades of human spaceflight. Each decade has provided useful lessons for the next and a foundation for future achievement. The new mission entries are collected in the third section in chronological order. A review of the next steps in human spaceflight, including plans to occupy the International Space Station well into the 2020s and the growth of the Chinese manned space program including a large space station and planned base on the Moon, is discussed in Chapter 4. The tables provide a complete up-to-date overview of human spaceflight operations and experience from April 1961 to September 2012 and a selected chronology of important milestones from those years. Completing the book is a comprehensive bibliography that lists all the major Springer-Praxis human spaceflight titles and other important works that provide the reader with a resource to continue further research.

This flagship work charts a complete chronological log of orbital manned spaceflight. Included are the X-15 "astroflights" of the 1960s, and the two 1961 Mercury and Redstone missions which were non-orbital. There is an image depicting each manned spaceflight, and data boxes containing brief biographies of all the space travelers. The main text is a narrative of each mission, its highlights and accomplishments, including the strange facts and humorous stories connected to every mission. The resulting book is a handy reference to all manned spaceflights, the names of astronauts and cosmonauts who flew on each mission, their roles and accomplishments.