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This flagship work charts a complete chronological log of orbital manned spaceflight. Included are the X-15 "astroflights" of the 1960s, and the two 1961 Mercury and Redstone missions which were non-orbital. There is an image depicting each manned spaceflight, and data boxes containing brief biographies of all the space travelers. The main text is a narrative of each mission, its highlights and accomplishments, including the strange facts and humorous stories connected to every mission. The resulting book is a handy reference to all manned spaceflights, the names of astronauts and cosmonauts who flew on each mission, their roles and accomplishments.
Table of Contents (Specimen): FOREWORD by a flown Astronaut or Cosmonaut Dedication Foreword by a flown astronaut or cosmonaut Authors preface Acknowledgements Glossary & Abbreviations List of tables List of illustrations Prologue 1. The profile of manned spaceflight Methods of leaving Earth Methods of spaceflight Methods of returning to Earth This section briefly documents the methods of leaving Earth and entering space; the techniques of moving in space, rendezvous and docking and landing on the moon; and how crews are recovered either on the sea or land or, as with the shuttle on a runway. 2. Manned Spaceflight Programmes X-15 Rocket Research aircraft and the X-20 Dyna Soar Vostok and Voskhod Mercury Gemini and the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory Apollo and Skylab Soyuz and Zond Salyut and Almaz Mir Shuttle and Spacelab Buran and Hermes International Space Station Each manned space programme is summarized in this section, including the elements of hardware comprising up the spacecraft and the launch vehicle or systems used to put them into space. There is also a description of how the role of the crew member has changed over the decades - Astronaut or Cosmonaut; pilot, engineer or scientist; passenger or tourist? 3. Quest for Space X-15 Astro Flights 1962-1968 Mercury Sub Orbital missions 1961 Mercury 3 and Mercury 4 Apollo 1 Pad Fire in January 1967 Launch Pad Aborts including the 1983 Soyuz Pad explosion and various Shuttle Pad Aborts These are the missions that reached space but not orbit, or those who encountered serious problems aborting the launch prior to leaving the pad. Apollo 1 was a fatal spacecraft fire on the launch pad two weeks prior to the planned launch. 4. Manned Spaceflight Log 1961 -- 2006 Each successful manned orbital spaceflight listed in chronological order also includes the 1975 Soyuz launch abort, and the 1986 Challenger accident both classified as orbital missions in progress when they encountered launch difficulties. When resident space station resident crew are launched on the Shuttle (1 x Mir; 5 to date for ISS these have a separate entry in the book]. Conclusion The next 45 years? The future of manned spaceflight perhaps provided by a flown astronaut or cosmonaut Appendix World Manned Space Missions 1961-2006 World Space Explorers 1961-2006 World Spaceflight Experience 1961-2006 Bibliography and references Index
Tim Furniss is a well known author of 35 popular space science books including the bestselling Jane's Manned Spaceflight Log, published in 1983 and updated in 1987, which sold 16,000 plus copies, but is now out of print. Dave Shayler has authored and co-authored 7 successful Space Science Springer-Praxis books and has a further 3 under contract for publication in 2004. We therefore have the ideal team of authors for this flagship book.
From the reviews: "This hefty (829 pages!) volume is a chronicle of every human space mission launched from Yuri Gagarin's Vostok 1-in-April 1961 to the Soyuz TMA-9 flight to the ISS in September 2006 -- 250 flights in all. It is thus an extremely useful quick-reference for any space enthusiast. ! Each entry includes the basic flight statistics, the names and flight history of the crews, a summary flight log, and a box giving the flight's key milestones. ! . A very useful volume!" (David Maclennan, Liftoff, Issue 242, 2007)
