Creating the International Space Station (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) [Paperback]

David M. Harland (Author), John E. Catchpole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1852332026 | ISBN-13: 978-1852332020 | Edition: 1st Edition.

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

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 enthusiast’s 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 with Expedition 4. … this book is relevant for all space engineers and scientists, as a clear example of the need to work with political and financial groups and to express technical and scientific need in clear and compelling terms to achieve success." (Dr. Franz Newland, Space Operations Communicator, July-September, 2004)

"This book consists of nearly 400 pages split into thirteen chapters and a couple of appendices. It is illustrated throughout with black and white photographs that are reproduced well. … This book would make a valuable addition to the Space enthusiast’s collection, and be useful in an astronomical society’s library for loan to members who have … interest in manned space flight." (Nick Quinn, Astronomy Now, February, 2003)

"This is a comprehensive account of the events leading to the creation of the ISS, beginning in 1959 when NASA started to lobby for a space station and missions to the Moon, with the space station being the priority. … The authors have produced an objective, thorough and minutely detailed account of the creation of ISS, written in a clear, detached style." (Helen Close, Astronomy & Space, February, 2003)

"Generally, a very readable, and in places exhilarating, account. … I found the series of photographs documenting ‘the state of the ISS’ after successive construction flights to be very helpful … . The comprehensive list of ‘ISS hardware’ in Appendix 2, is also very useful. … such an impressive, and potentially important, undertaking as the ISS fully deserves a lucid and comprehensive account … . Creating the International Space Station admirably achieves this end, and deserves a correspondingly wide readership." (Ian Crawford, The Observatory, Vol. 122 (1170), 2002)

"Now for the first time, here is a comprehensive and highly readable account of the creation of the International Space Station. … it provides a good read for the general reader and can be enjoyed on that basis." (Richard Taylor, Spaceflight, Vol. 44 (11), 2002)

"The recent release of Creating the International Space Station is a superb account of both American and international efforts … to have a permanent human presence in low Earth orbit. The book covers in detail the creation of the International Space Station, the constant redesign phases, the politics of space and the human aspects … . The book is profusely illustrated, has detailed appendices … . Creating the International Space Station is an ideal book for anyone who wants to learn about the ISS." (Kate Doolan, CRCSS Space Industry News, Issue 94, 2002)

"The authors set the scene for ISS in the first nine chapters with detailed overviews of earlier space stations … as well as the original US space station Freedom. They also give detailed accounts of the development and construction of ISS itself … . Harland and Catchpole include a list of acronyms and descriptions of ISS launch vehicles and major hardware. … if you are after a detailed history of ISS and what came before it, go for Harland and Catchpole’s." (Liftoff, Vol. 217, 2003)

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1st Edition. edition (March 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852332026
• ISBN-13: 978-1852332020
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,130,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview of the Building of the ISS., July 15, 2002

By 

John R. Keller (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creating the International Space Station (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (Paperback)

I have worked on various aspects of the International Space Station (ISS) from hardware design, maintenance and EVA operations for over thirteen years and I found this book to be an extremely well researched overview of the design and construction of this massive space project. For those readers looking for detailed descriptions of the engineering designs of the ISS, this book does not contain them and only provides the most general of descriptions (at least from my point of view as a NASA engineer). It does, however, provide an excellent summary of the history, on-orbit operations, and construction, of what has been termed "The greatest engineering project in the history of mankind."

As one would expect, the book opens with a historical overview of the world's first space stations: NASA's Skylab and the Russian's Salyut 1, and covers the lessons learned from these early endeavors. After these introductory chapters, the next section examined the successful Russian Salyut series of space stations that set many endurance records and demonstrated that complex on-orbit repairs are possible. In contrast to the Russian effort during this time, the NASA space station efforts were directly primarily at numerous paper studies.

The book next moves into the development of the US Space Station Freedom (SSF) projects, from the go ahead directive given by President Ronald Reagan, through the first George Bush years till its finale during the first year of the Clinton administration and covers all the early designs like the Dual Keel through the various Clinton redesign Options. While many may view the SSF project as mainly a paper study, it is clear that this project had a significant impact on the final design, development and operation of the ISS.

Again, in contrast to NASA's paper studies, the Russian space program had successful on-orbit programs with the Salyut space station and the Mir. These programs continued to show that humans could easily work in space by performing routine maintenance and emergency repairs. It should be noted that the cosmonauts aboard Mir still hold the endurance record over a full and continuous year in space. I should point out, as is documentation here, that a lot more has happen in the Russian space program, both good and bad, than is ever reported in the press.

The final section of the book, which is approximately half of the book, examines the construction of the ISS from the Shuttle-Mir partnership to the final mission of 2001. This portion of the book thoroughly examines the inclusion of the Russians into the NASA project and the various problems that occurred during the early stages of this joint venture including funding and numerous cultural differences. Once these problems had been over come, the book chronicles, in great detail, each ISS construction mission from liftoff to landing (or burn up for the Progress resupply missions). For each mission, the authors cover liftoff and any associated problems, the crew, the Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs), what was added, maintenance, crew rotation, etc. This book is so complete that I expect it will become the standard outlining the construction of the ISS for years to come.

A few final thoughts. As is typical of the Springer-Praxis series of astronomy and space exploration books, this book also contains many numerous high quality photographs and drawings, which I come to expect from this publisher. Furthermore, it avoids most of the NASA-ese use of acronyms to describe just about every piece of hardware. I found only one minor error and that was only related to the naming of an EVA construction tool. And finally, since the ISS is a work in progress, the book only covers those missions completed by the end of 2001 and in the future will either need to be updated or have a second volume.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ISS, and earlier space stations, September 5, 2006

By 

Mark Wahl (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creating the International Space Station (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (Paperback)

As mentioned by the other reviewer, the coverage of this book ends in 2001, and thus does not include the addition of trusses in 2002 (or activities scheduled for 2006 and later). As with similar books on Mir and Soyuz, the focus is on station operations in orbit, rather than construction, engineering, or the science program.

The main downside, however, is that the first half of this book does not actually cover the International Space Station, but instead provides an overview of operations at earlier stations: Skylab, the Salyut stations, and Mir.

There are numerous high-quality black and white photos which illustrate the phases of construction between 1998 and 2001.