The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-Launch Vehicles, 1926-1991 (Centennial of Flight Series) [Hardcover]

J. D. Hunley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1585445886 | ISBN-13: 978-1585445882

In this definitive study, J. D. Hunley traces the program's development from Goddard's early rockets (and the German V-2 missile) through the Titan IVA and the Space Shuttle, with a focus on space-launch vehicles. Since these rockets often evolved from early missiles, he pays considerable attention to missile technology, not as an end in itself, but as a contributor to launch-vehicle technology.

Focusing especially on the engineering culture of the program, Hunley communicates this very human side of technological development by means of anecdotes, character sketches, and case studies of problems faced by rocket engineers. He shows how such a highly adaptive approach enabled the evolution of a hugely complicated technology that was impressive--but decidedly not rocket science.

Unique in its single-volume coverage of the evolution of launch-vehicle technology from 1926 to 1991, this meticulously researched work will inform scholars and engineers interested in the history of technology and innovation, as well as those specializing in the history of space flight.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This meticulously researched work will inform scholars and engineers interested in the history of technology and innovation and those specializing in the history of spaceflight. . . There is much to praise and little to criticize in these two fine volumes on the history of U.S. rocket technology."-Quest

(Quest 20080201)

“It fills what is unquestionably a tremendous gap in the literature of space access . . . does a superb job of tracing the main lines of development of the major rocket technologies. . . This work is a benchmark in the process of the invention of spaceflight and its evolution over time.”--Roger Launius, Smithsonian Institution; Chair, Division of Space History, NASA

(Roger Launius, Smithsonian Institution; Chair, Division of Space History, NASA )

About the Author

J. D. HUNLEY’s career as a historian has focused on the history of aerospace technology. He was named a Ramsey Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum for 2001–2002 after serving in history programs for both NASA and the U.S. Air Force. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Now semiretired, he continues to write about the history of America’s space program.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 388 pages
• Publisher: TAMU Press (July 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585445886
• ISBN-13: 978-1585445882
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.D. Hunley, known to his friends as Dill, was chief historian for NASA Dryden Flight Research Center before his retirement in 2001. A Ramsey Fellow at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in 2001-2002, he has written widely about German history, the life and thought of Friedrich Engels, and aerospace history. Among other prizes, he was the winner of the 2006 History Manuscript Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for what became "The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-Launch Vehicles, 1926-1991," published by Texas A&M University Press and now available as an e-book at http://books.google.com/ebooks?as_brr=5&q=J.+D.+Hunley&as_sub=. He received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 2010 Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Award for his two volume set: "Preludes To U.S. Space-Launch Vehicle Technology: Goddard Rockets to Minutemen III" and "U. S. Space-Launch Vehicle Technology: Viking to Space Shuttle," published by the University Press of Florida.
These three books about missiles and rockets not only explain the development of the technologies used in space-launch vehicles and missiles but also contain numerous anecdotes and sketches about the engineers who created the technologies and about the processes they used. For example, in developing the huge F-1 engine for the Saturn space-launch vehicle, with its 1.522 million pounds of thrust, engineers encountered major problems with what was called combustion instability (oscillations in the combustion chamber that could and did destroy the engine). Some 50 engineers and technicians from engine contractor Rocketdyne, NASA, universities, and the Air Force were assigned to a team to solve the problem. They included, among other experts, Rocketdyne's Dan Klute, who "had a special talent for the half-science, half-art of combustion chamber design." They knew from earlier rocket engines that the cause of the problem lay in the injectors for the propellants (kerosene and liquid oxygen), which had to mix precisely for smooth combustion. They tried perhaps 40 or 50 modifications of the design before they found a combination of features that worked, but they were never certain that the problem would not recur. Nevertheless, they went ahead with development, solving other problems as they occurred. The five F-1s in the Saturn first stage performed admirably in the July 16 to July 24, 1969, Apollo 11 mission that placed the first two astronauts on the Moon, a feat that had seemed impossible less than 10 years before that.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb History of Rocket Technology in America, December 25, 2008

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-Launch Vehicles, 1926-1991 (Centennial of Flight Series) (Hardcover)

Every few years a benchmark study appears on some aspect of space history that reinterprets our understanding of the subject. J.D. Hunley, whom I freely admit is a longtime friend and colleague, has published--along with two additional volumes on the history of rocket technology in the United States, "Preludes to U.S. Space-Launch Vehicle Technology: Goddard to Minuteman III" and "U.S. Space-Launch Vehicle Technology: Viking to Space Shuttle"--a major study of the history of U.S. rocketry. "The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-Launch Vehicles, 1926-1991" is Hunley's magnum opus and will hereafter provide the starting point for studying this subject.

This book accomplishes three critically important tasks exceptionally well. First, it fills what is unquestionably a tremendous gap in the literature of space launch. There is no single book or even a small collection of books where anyone may find a comprehensive history of rocket technology. Most of what is available is superficial, such as Frank Winter's "Rockets into Space" (Harvard, 1990), or concentrates on specific launch systems, such as David Stumpf's excellent book, "Titan II: A History of a Cold War Missile Program" (Arkansas, 2000). Hunley's work is a cohesive whole that analyzes that story much more even-handedly and effectively. It will undoubtedly become the standard resource on this subject.

Second, it does a superb job of tracing the main lines of development of the major rocket technologies. Much of the existing literature overemphasizes the contributions of the German rocketeers under Wernher von Braun, and while they were clearly important, almost as important were influences coming out of Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, often through the Aerojet Corporation, along with many other companies, institutions, and universities.

Third, Hunley explores in some detail the process of innovation. We know too little about the origins of these launch technologies, coming as they do from large, anonymous organizations. But he illuminates decisions and direction in technological development that have never been explored before. His work is a benchmark in the process of the invention of spaceflight and its evolution over time. He employs the concept of "engineering science" to the subject of rocket technology, noting that at least until very late in the development of American rocketry, there was fundamentally no body of theory that would allow engineers to predict how new technologies would function in the harsh environment of launch and operations in space. Engineers would design a rocket and encounter problems in static or flight-testing (or both) and then had to undertake cut-and-try methods to correct problems. This happened repeatedly, and the various shuttle accidents, as Hunley demonstrates, points up the magnitude of the problem. In this way what engineers did was hardly science in the sense that they developed a body of knowledge that would allow prediction of how these machines would operate.

There is much to praise and little to criticize in this fine volume on the history of U.S. rocket technology. I am proud that this fine work appeared in the "Centennial of Flight Series" at Texas A&M University Press which I have edited since its inception.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reliable and balanced account, December 3, 2008

By 

J. D. Hunley "J. D. "Dill" Hunley" (Rialto, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-Launch Vehicles, 1926-1991 (Centennial of Flight Series) (Hardcover)

In the October 2008 issue of _Technology and Culture_, Yasuchi Sato wrote about this book: "The first two chapters provide a reliable and balanced account of the development of all major space-launch vehicles, military and civilian, flown up to 1991." He adds: "The rest of the book goes into details of the evolution of specific propulsion technologies. . . . This book," Sato concludes, "is based on Hunley's total mastery of the literature in relevant fields. Both primary and secondary sources are so vast that integrating and synthesizing them is no small feat. Moreover, as Hunley points out, the sources are often inconsistent. Thanks to Hunley's critical examination of the sources, this book will be a valuable reference for historians of American space programs."