Books Everyone Should Read

  The Sky Below: A True Story of Summits, Space, and Speed The Sky Below: A True Story of Summits, Space, and Speed OTHER ARTICLES “Scott Parazynski’s drive, curiosity, inventiveness, and great humor shine through the pages of The Sky Below and will certainly inspire future generations to pursue their dreams with every fiber in their being.” —John Glenn, NASA astronautAn epic memoir from a man whose life is defined by exploration and innovation, The Sky Below re-creates some of the most unforgettable adventures of our time. From dramatic, high-risk spacewalks to author Scott Parazynski’s death-defying quest to summit Mount Everest—his body ravaged by a career in space—readers will experience the life of an elite athlete, physician, and explorer.This intimate, compelling account offers a rare portrait of space exploration from the inside. A global nomad raised in the shadow of NASA’s Apollo missions, Parazynski never lost sight of his childhood dream to one day don a spacesuit and f...

  Apollo Expeditions to the Moon: The NASA History 50th Anniversary Edition (Dover Books on Astronomy) Apollo Expeditions to the Moon: The NASA History 50th Anniversary Edition (Dover Books on Astronomy) OTHER ARTICLES This special edition of Apollo Expeditions to the Moon, an official NASA publication, commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the July 20, 1969, Moon landing with a thrilling insider's view of the space program.  Essays by participants — engineers, astronauts, and administrators — recall the program's unprecedented challenges. Written in direct, jargon-free language, this compelling adventure features more than 160 dazzling color photographs and scores of black-and-white illustrations. Insights into management challenges as well as its engineering feats include contributions from Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Shepard, and other astronauts NASA administrator James E. Webb Christopher C. Kraft, head of the Mission Control Center and engineer Wernher von Braun...

  Spacecraft Structures and Mechanisms : From Concept to Launch Spacecraft Structures and Mechanisms : From Concept to Launch OTHER ARTICLES Spacecraft Structures and Mechanisms describes the integral process of developing cost-effective, reliable structures and mechanical products for space programs. Processes are defined, methods are described and examples are given. It has been written by 24 engineers in the space industry, who cover the themes of (1) ensuring a successful mission, and (2) reducing total cost through good designs and intelligent risk management. Topics include: Introduction and requirements (development process, requirements documentation, requirements definition, space mission environments) Analysis (statics, dynamics and load analysis, fatigue and fracture mechanics, mechanics of materials, strength analysis, heat transfer and thermal effects) Verification and quality assurance (verification planning, structural, mechanical and environmental testing, quality a...

  NASA Voyager 1 & 2 Owners' Workshop Manual - 1977 onwards (VGR77-1 to VGR77-3, including Pioneer 10 & 11): An insight into... NASA Voyager 1 & 2 Owners' Workshop Manual - 1977 onwards (VGR77-1 to VGR77-3, including Pioneer 10 & 11): An insight into... OTHER ARTICLES Voyager 1 has recently crossed the boundary of our solar system and passed into interstellar space, and Voyager 2 is likely to follow suit, on a different path, between 2016 and 2017. The two Voyager probes will continue to transmit details of discoveries beyond our solar system until at least 2020.

  Understanding Aircraft Structures Understanding Aircraft Structures OTHER ARTICLES This book explains aircraft structures so as to provide a basic understanding of the subject and the terminology used, as well as illustrating some of the problems. It provides a brief historical background, and covers parts of the aeroplane, loads, structural form, materials, processes, detail design, quality control, stressing, and the documentation associated with modification and repairs. The Fourth Edition takes account of new materials and the new European regulatory system.

  Orbital Motion in Strongly Perturbed Environments: Applications to Asteroid, Comet and Planetary Satellite Orbiters (Sprin... Orbital Motion in Strongly Perturbed Environments: Applications to Asteroid, Comet and Planetary Satellite Orbiters (Sprin... OTHER ARTICLES The investigation of minor solar system bodies, such as comets and asteroids, using spacecraft requires an understanding of orbital motion in strongly perturbed environments. The solutions to a wide range of complex and challenging problems in this field are reviewed in this comprehensive and authoritative work.

  Schaum's Outline of Finite Element Analysis Schaum's Outline of Finite Element Analysis OTHER ARTICLES Confusing Textbooks?Missed Lectures? Tough Test Questions? Fortunately for you, there's Schaum's Outlines. More than 40 million students have trusted Schaum's to help them succeed in the classroom and on exams. Schaum's is the key to faster learning and higher grades in every subject. Each Outline presents all the essential course information in an easy-to-follow, topic-by-topic format. You also get hundreds of examples, solved problems, and practice exercises to test your skills.This Schaum's Outline gives youPractice problems with full explanations that reinforce knowledgeCoverage of the most up-to-date developments in your course fieldIn-depth review of practices and applicationsFully compatible with your classroom text, Schaum's highlights all the important facts you need to know. Use Schaum's to shorten your study time-and get your best test ...

  The Apollo Chronicles: Engineering America's First Moon Missions The Apollo Chronicles: Engineering America's First Moon Missions OTHER ARTICLES The moon landing of 1969 stands as an iconic moment for both the United States and humankind. The familiar story focuses on the journey of the brave astronauts, who brought home Moon rocks and startling photographs. But Apollo's full account includes the earthbound engineers, mounds of their crumpled paper, and smoldering metal shards of exploded engines. How exactly did the nation, step by difficult step, take men to the Moon and back?In The Apollo Chronicles, fifty years after the moon landing, author Brandon R. Brown, himself the son of an Apollo engineer, revisits the men and women who toiled behind the lights. He relays the defining twentieth-century project from its roots, bringing the engineers' work and personalities to bright life on the page. Set against the backdrop of a turbulent American decade, the narrative whi...

  Fundamentals of Astrodynamics (Dover Books on Aeronautical Engineering) Fundamentals of Astrodynamics (Dover Books on Aeronautical Engineering) OTHER ARTICLES Teaching text developed by U.S. Air Force Academy and designed as a first course emphasizes the universal variable formulation. Develops the basic two-body and n-body equations of motion orbit determination classical orbital elements, coordinate transformations differential correction more. Includes specialized applications to lunar and interplanetary flight, example problems, exercises. 1971 edition.

  Space Atlas, Second Edition: Mapping The Universe And Beyond Space Atlas, Second Edition: Mapping The Universe And Beyond OTHER ARTICLES Space Atlas combines updated maps, lavish photographs, and elegant illustrations to chart the solar system, the universe, and beyond. For space enthusiasts, science lovers, and star gazers, here is the newly revised edition of National Geographic's enduring guide to space, with a new introduction by American hero Buzz Aldrin.In this guided tour of our planetary neighborhood, the Milky Way and other galaxies, and beyond, detailed maps and fascinating imagery from recent space missions partner with clear, authoritative scientific information. Starting with the sun and moving outward into space, acclaimed science writer and physicist James Trefil illuminates each planet, the most important moons, significant asteroids, and other objects in our solar system. Looking beyond, he explains what we know about the Milky Way and other galaxies--and how we ...

  Exploring Mars: Chronicles from a Decade of Discovery Exploring Mars: Chronicles from a Decade of Discovery OTHER ARTICLES The Red Planet has been a subject of fascination for humanity for thousands of years, becoming part of our folklore and popular culture. The most Earthlike of the planets in our solar system, Mars may have harbored some form of life in the past and may still possess an ecosystem in some underground refuge. The mysteries of this fourth planet from our Sun make it of central importance to NASA and its science goals for the twenty-first century.  In the wake of the very public failures of the Mars Polar Lander and the Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999, NASA embarked on a complete reassessment of the Mars Program. Scott Hubbard was asked to lead this restructuring in 2000, becoming known as the Mars Czar. His team's efforts resulted in a very successful decade-long series of missions—each building on the accomplishments of those before it—that adhered to the science a...

  Tracking Apollo to the Moon Tracking Apollo to the Moon OTHER ARTICLES One of the wonderful aspects of the US Manned Spaceflight Program was the opportunity for people around the entire globe to participate in one of man's greatest adventures. As we laid out the plans for flying the first manned spaceflight program, it was obvious that we would require exten- sive operations around the earth. One of the most challenging features of this plan was to build a world-wide network of tracking stations to provide communications with the orbiting spacecraft. At the time, about 1958 and 59, the construction of these facilities, in what turned out to be some very interesting pieces of geography, was a tremendous task. Christopher C. Kroft, Jr. Australia is located roughly 180 degrees longitude from the launch site, Cape Canaveral, and so occupied not only a unique position but a very critical one. Determining the position of the spacecraft as it traversed the Australian continent was criti...

  Human Factors for Civil Flight Deck Design Human Factors for Civil Flight Deck Design OTHER ARTICLES Human error is now the main cause of aircraft accidents. However, in many cases the pilot simply falls into a trap that has been left for him/her by the poor design of the flight deck. This book addresses the human factors issues pertinent to the design of modern flight decks. Comprising of invited chapters from internationally recognised experts in human factors and flight deck design, contributions span the world of industry, government research establishments and academia. The book brings together the practical experience of professionals across the human factors and flight deck design disciplines to provide a single, all-encompassing volume. Divided into two main parts, part one of the book examines: the benefits of human engineering flight deck design process head down display design head-up display design auditory warning systems flight control systems, control inceptors and...

  100 Facts Flight- Planes, Hot Air Balloons, Modern Travel, Educational Projects, Fun Activities, Quizzes and More! 100 Facts Flight- Planes, Hot Air Balloons, Modern Travel, Educational Projects, Fun Activities, Quizzes and More! OTHER ARTICLES 100 Facts Flight is a non fiction book for kids about planes, bursting with exactly 100 fascinating facts, unbelievable images and fun activities. Children will learn everything they need to know about flying machines both past and present. 100 Facts Flight covers key topics about the world of aviation in easily-digestible, numbered facts. Every page includes fantastic illustrations and photographs that support a child's understanding of the text. A fantastic plane book for kids aged 6+. Essential topics covered in 100 Facts Flight: - The scientific concepts of being lighter than air and flying faster than the speed of sound- The world-altering design for the aeroplane and how to operate one- Other flying machines such as helicopters, spac...

  Picturing the Space Shuttle: The Early Years Picturing the Space Shuttle: The Early Years OTHER ARTICLES Rare views of the beginnings of the historic space program, selected and presented by two leading space flight authoritiesAfter the excitement of the first Moon landing, the U.S. space program took an ambitious new direction closer to home: NASA’s Space Shuttle program promised frequent access to Earth orbit for medical and scientific breakthroughs deploying, repairing, and maintaining satellites and assembling a space station. Picturing the Space Shuttle is the first photographic history of the program’s early years as the world's first spaceplane debuted.Showcasing over 450 unpublished and lesser-known images, this book traces the growth of the Space Shuttle from 1965 to 1982, from initial concept through its first four space flights. The photographs offer windows into designing the first reusable space vehicle as well as the construction and testing of the prototype shuttle...

  Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator OTHER ARTICLES Here is the brief but intense life of Bessie Coleman, America's first African American woman aviator. Born in 1892 in Atlanta, Texas, she became known as “Queen Bess,” a barnstormer and flying-circus performer who defied the strictures of race, sex, and society in pursuit of a dream.

  Star Crossed: The Story of Astronaut Lisa Nowak Star Crossed: The Story of Astronaut Lisa Nowak OTHER ARTICLES The astronaut crime that shocked the world Star Crossed transports readers to the moment the news broke that one of America's heroes, an astronaut who had flown aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery& just months before, had been arrested for a very bizarre crime.Lisa Nowak had driven 900 miles from Houston to Orlando to intercept and confront her romantic rival in an airport parking lot--allegedly using diapers on the trip so she wouldn't have to stop. Nowak had been dating astronaut William Billy Oefelein when she learned that Oefelein was seeing a new girlfriend--U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman. The astronaut love triangle scandal quickly made headlines. The world watched as Nowak was dismissed from NASA, pleaded guilty to a felony, and received an other than honorable military discharge.An award-winning investigative reporter who covered Nowak's crimin...

  Of a Fire on the Moon Of a Fire on the Moon OTHER ARTICLES For many, the moon landing was the defining event of the twentieth century. So it seems only fitting that Norman Mailer--the literary provocateur who altered the landscape of American nonfiction--wrote the most wide-ranging, far-seeing chronicle of the Apollo 11 mission. A classic chronicle of America's reach for greatness in the midst of the Cold War, Of a Fire on the Moon compiles the reportage Mailer published between 1969 and 1970 in Life magazine: gripping firsthand dispatches from inside NASA's clandestine operations in Houston and Cape Kennedy technical insights into the magnitude of their awe-inspiring feat and prescient meditations that place the event in human context as only Mailer could.

  Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo (The MIT Press) Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo (The MIT Press) OTHER ARTICLES How the twenty-one-layer Apollo spacesuit, made by Playtex, was a triumph of intimacy over engineering.

  Airborne Electronic Hardware Design Assurance: A Practitioner's Guide to RTCA/DO-254 Airborne Electronic Hardware Design Assurance: A Practitioner's Guide to RTCA/DO-254 OTHER ARTICLES Written by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) consultant designated engineering representative (DER) and an electronics hardware design engineer who together taught the DO-254 class at the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, Inc. (RTCA) in Washington, District of Columbia, USA, Airborne Electronic Hardware Design Assurance: A Practitioner's Guide to RTCA/DO-254 is a testimony to the lessons learned and wisdom gained from many years of first-hand experience in the design, verification, and approval of airborne electronic hardware.This practical guide to the use of RTCA/DO-254 in the development of airborne electronic hardware for safety critical airborne applications:Describes how to optimize engineering processes and practices to harmonize with DO-254 Addresses the single most ...