Showing titles in Aeronautics & Astronautics

How does a troubled boy from California come to be one of the world's most renowned aviators? How does a group of brothers who were high school dropouts from New Hampshire go on to build some of the most advanced aircraft of the time? How do these men become forever linked to one of the greatest air races in history? This is the story of Jimmy Doolittle, the Granville Brothers, and the amazing Gee Bee R-1 Racer.

The airplane changed the course of history. Above all, it changed the history of the United States. When the Wright brothers invented their flying machine, Americans lived in a nation of two dimensions, circumscribed by lines drawn on a conventional map. A century later, their nation existed - in fact, reigned - in three dimensions. Two million Americans slipped the surly bonds of earth daily, carried aloft by aircraft operating in every part of the world.

An in-depth story of the astronaut love triangle that shocked America. This captivating account casts light on Lisa Nowak's groundbreaking fall from grace. She was accomplished, successful, and heroic - one of the first astronauts to fly a space shuttle mission after the 2003 Columbia tragedy. Then a primitive attack of jealousy led to a fateful confrontation with her romantic rival that destroyed her reputation, ended her career and left a victim dazed and confused.

Is the human body built for Mars? NASA's studies on the International Space Station show we need to fix a few things before sending people to the Red Planet. Astronauts go into space with good vision and come back needing eyeglasses. Cognition and DNA expression could be affected for years. And then there's the discomfort of living in a tight space with crewmates, depression, and separation from the people you love.

Rockets and Revolution offers a multifaceted study of the race toward space in the first half of the twentieth century, examining how the Russian, European, and American pioneers competed against one another in the early years to acquire the fundamentals of rocket science, engineer simple rockets, and ultimately prepare the path for human spaceflight.

In November 2002, U.S. astronauts Donald Pettit and Kenneth Bowersox, and Russian flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, left on what was to be a routine 14-week mission to maintain the International Space Station. But then, on February 1, 2003, the Columbia exploded beneath them. With the launch program suspended indefinitely, these astronauts had suddenly lost their ride home.

Travelling at almost 18,000 miles per hour—10 times faster than a rifle bullet—Gagarin circles the globe in just 106 minutes. While his launch begins in total secrecy, within hours of his landing he has become a world celebrity—the first human to leave the planet. Beyond tells the thrilling story behind that epic flight on its 60th anniversary. It happened at the height of the Cold War as the US and USSR confronted each other across an Iron Curtain.

The next frontier in space exploration is Mars, the Red Planet - and human habitation of Mars isn't much farther off. In October 2015, NASA declared Mars "an achievable goal"; that same season, Ridley Scott and Matt Damon's The Martian drew crowds into theaters, grossing over $200 million. Now the National Geographic Channel fast forwards years ahead with Mars, a six-part series documenting and dramatizing the next 25 years as humans land on and learn to live on Mars.

In Eisenhower's Sputnik Moment, Yanek Mieczkowski examines the early history of America's space program, reassessing Eisenhower's leadership. He details how Eisenhower approved breakthrough satellites, supported a new civilian space agency, signed a landmark science education law, and fostered improved relations with scientists. Offering a fast-paced account of this Cold War episode, Mieczkowski demonstrates that Eisenhower built an impressive record in space and on earth.

The First Space Race reveals the inside story of an epic adventure with world-altering stakes. From 1955 to 1958, American and Soviet engineers battled to capture the world's imagination by successfully launching the world's first satellite. The race to orbit featured two American teams led by rival services - the US Army and the Navy - and a Soviet effort so secret that few even knew it existed. This race ushered in the Space Age with a saga of science, politics, technology, engineering, and human dreams.

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite into orbit around the Earth. Little more than a month later, the Soviets launched Sputnik II. News of Sputnik created panic in Washington, D.C. Within days, the U.S. military began a madcap race to space full of crashes, skullduggery, and backstabbing - until Eisenhower's secret civilian program surpassed the Soviets by putting the first American, a hero monkey named Gordo, into orbit.

George Churchill Kenney (1889-1977) was a United States Army Air Force general during World War II. Kenney's work narrates the remarkable life of Paul Irvin “Pappy” Gunn and his exploits during the Second World War. Gunn was an integral part of the war effort in the Pacific during WWII. Besides being a brilliant pilot, he was a formidable aviation engineer, a mechanical genius who could rebuild anything from an electric razor to an airplane engine or any of the plane’s hundreds of accessories.

Nowadays, people always use airplanes to get to their destinations. Instead of spending several days taking the bus or train, they prefer a flight that will take three hours at most. In an era when every minute of our day is precious, we can’t afford to waste time on ground transportation. But how did planes first came into being? Who came up with the idea of sticking some wings to a frame to make them fly? How did they manage to fly in the first place? There are so many questions that we want answered – which is exactly what this book is planning to do for you. Here, you will discover:...

Since astronauts first ventured into space in the early 1960s, the human race has been thinking about the bigger picture: Could we ever live in space? Where would we plant our new roots? Explore the ways engineers, researchers, and astrophysicists are pushing our scientific limits every day to get us closer to living on another planet.

Come Fly with Us is the story of an elite group of space travelers who flew as members of many space shuttle crews from pre-Challenger days to Columbia in 2003. Not part of the regular NASA astronaut corps, these professionals known as “payload specialists” came from a wide variety of backgrounds and were chosen for an equally wide variety of scientific, political, and national security reasons.

Space exploration is as much a story of leadership and teamwork as it is a story of exploration and discovery. Leadership Moments from NASA delves into the organizational culture, leadership styles, and insights of NASA senior executives spanning five decades of human spaceflight, to share the lessons they learned from critical moments where they took on seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Be an instant expert on Rocket Science and Bluff Your Way with explosive effect. No primer required, just a sense of humour. From 'weightlessness' to 'wild rockets', and from 'space shuttle' to 'shock diamonds', here's everything you need to know to ignite any conversation.

Get ready to skyrocket your knowledge of rocketry with the ultimate guide: Rocketry! Packed with everything you've ever wanted to know about the fascinating world of amateur rocket science, this eBook will propel your understanding and passion to new heights! Dive deep into the intriguing history of rocketry and learn the basics of rocket science in this comprehensive resource. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced rocket enthusiast, this guide will captivate you from start to finish with its incredible blend of theory and practical applications. Explore the different types of amateur ...

Humans have dreamed of travelling to the stars for as long as we knew that those points of light in the sky were stars like the Sun. Now, in the 21st century, there are actual studies and plans to send interstellar space probes to the nearest stars. Probably to Alpha Centauri which is only 4.3 light years away. Only! What is the history of plans to get to the nearest star? And what are the plans today to make these ideas a reality?

Introducing the ultimate guide to navigating the cosmos with CubeSats! Are you fascinated by space exploration? Do you dream of launching your own satellite into orbit? Look no further! Our newest eBook, Navigating the Cosmos with CubeSats, is your comprehensive guide to CubeSat technology and its impact on the future of space exploration. With tons of expert advice, this guide is perfect for anyone looking to build or operate a CubeSat. Each chapter is packed with valuable information, covering topics such as understanding orbital mechanics, satellite ground stations and antennas, and ...