Wayne Hale

Wings In Orbit is a comprehensive overview of the Space Shuttle, as well as the various technologies that brought it into being, as well as the technologies that resulted from it. The book has full color illustrations and images, all pertaining to the Shuttle in one way or another, and features a plethora of testimonials from former NASA people, as well as notable people from NASA contractors, the government, and other affiliates.

My biggest problem with this book is that it reads just like every other NASA document, only with a little bit of color. All the metrics are in metric (English), even when it's completely irrelevant, e.g. "can detect x for kilometers (miles)." Also, the constant, redundant definition of acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations tends to get annoying.

This book is recommended for those who want some sort of memorobelia to recollect the Shuttle, who are avid about space technology, or who need something to keep a door open. While I enjoyed it, for the most part, from a technical standpoint, I found continuous reading of it to be trying. Good in small portions.… (más)