George Torres

With the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on September 29, 1988, the United States once again returned to space following the tragic loss of Space Shuttle Challenger nine hundred seventy-five days earlier.

Along with examining the Space Shuttle program, the author examines at the beginning of our nation’s space program, the legacy of Apollo, and considers the future where work in space will likely include manufacturing, scientific observation, space stations, and, perhaps, lunar colonies. What will be the future of our space exploration?

In Part One, Introduction, the chapters in this book include The Quest and The Shuttle Era. Here the Shuttle Program objectives and the Space Shuttle program discussion focuses on the return to space following the Challenger tragedy.

Part Two, An Era Begins, includes The First Steps, Apollo: Mankind’s Greatest Adventure, and The Decade of the 1970s. Here readers will find the beginning of the space program, the selection of the first seven astronauts, and the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Then it's on to Skylab and the development of the Space Transportation System.

Part Three, Growing Space Activities, includes Why Space?, the Military Use of Space, manufacturing in Space, and Scientific Exploration of Space. What effect could the space program have on communications? Or video teleconferencing? How about search and rescue? Or meteorology? What can we learn by observing Earth from space? How will the military use space? What military programs are other nations planning for space? Why is space conducive to manufacturing? What about the commercial aspect of space travel? Will we have space tourists? What scientific breakthroughs might come from scientific observation and experimentation in space?

And, finally, Part Four, The Feasible Dream, includes Space: The Future Beckons. What lies ahead? Space Stations? A Space Plane? Lunar settlements?

The Appendices include Becoming a Shuttle Astronaut, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research Facilities, and Space Shuttle Mission Profile.

For readers interested in the history of the space program in the United States, or for readers interested in the Shuttle program, there is much of interest here. Photographs, diagrams, and charts all complement the narrative, which is part of the Airpower Series. A Glossary, provided at the beginning of the book, lists and explains the acronyms used throughout the book.

Recommended.… (más)