Creating the International Space Station [Paperback]

As the most obvious man-made object in the night sky, clearly visible to the naked eye, the International Space Station is of interest to almost everyone. Richly illustrated with around 100 figures this is the first book to describe the technical aspects of its design and construction and details of its day-to-day operation. The text relates the orbital assembly on a flight-by-flight basis, listing all the experiments in NASA's laboratory and explains their objectives. By offering a comprehensive mix of operational work, microgravity, science and future plans, it will satisfy both the space enthusiast, eager for a detailed review of the missions, and the specialist wishing to learn more about this science programme.List of illustrations.- List of tables.- Foreword.- Author's Preface.- Acknowledgements.- Apollo Applications.- The world's first space station.- Skylab.- NASA makes plans.- Success with Salyut.- Reagan's go-ahead.- Salyut 7's jinx.- Space Station Freedom.- Mir.- An International Space Station.- Shuttle-Mir.- Building hardware.- Orbital assembley.- Postscript.- Acronyms.- Appendix 1 Launch Vehicles.- Appendix 2 ISS hardware.- Index.

From the reviews:

The first part deals with the history of Space Stations, starting with Apollo/Skylab, passing through Soyuz and finishing with Mir. The Russian missions are dealt with very well& Tables scattered throughout summarize Progress, Soyuz and Space shuttle missions. All the EVA missions carried out by astronauts are also listed& The reader is able to get a flavour of the hard work and dedication required [to create the ISS]&. Would make a valuable addition to the space enthusiasts collection&

-- ASTRONOMY NOW

Harland and Catchpole provide a fascinating account of the scientific, technological and political roots and development of the international space station from its early designs post-Skylab through to the first space station utilisation flight lS]