Jay Chladek

As it stands, this is probably the best study of the topic at hand, and will probably be the best available study into the foreseeable future. For me, once one gets past how Werner von Braun had the initial concept of the space station as a jumping-off point for interplanetary exploration, I found the very early origins of technical development to be the most interesting portions of the book. This means examining the USAF's "Manned Orbital Laboratory" program, and the parallel Soviet "Almaz" project, which both mostly aimed at getting a sustained strategic reconnaissance capacity into space. From there, Chladek examines how the post-Apollo period saw the respective American and Soviet station station programs (Skylab and Salyut/Mir) conceptually merged into the International Space Station, which now exists as a monument to the brief period of concord following 1989. This book is recent enough that Chladek can end on the note of how conflict over Ukraine makes another project such as the ISS unlikely in the extreme.… (más)