A developmental history of the first American manned spaceflight programme and its associated infrastructure, including accounts of space launch vehicles. The book highlights the differences in Redstone/Atlas technology, drawing similar comparisons between ballistic capsules and alternative types of spacecraft. The book also covers astronaut selection and training, as well as tracking systems, flight control, basic principles of spaceflight and detailed accounts of individual flights.
Project Mercury
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Editorial Reviews
Review
From the reviews:
"John Catchpole’s new account of this pioneering project is most welcome. Catchpole’s account is not so much a chronological history … as it is a description of the project and its various elements – though of course there is a lot of historical material in it. … So all in all you get a lot for your money in these 485 pages … . this is a very good book … ." (David Maclennan, Liftoff, Issue 219, 2004)
"This book describes the first US manned space program in sufficient detail, using not only NASA sources but also alternative sources. He has gathered all the information from the diverse places, sorted it out for us and has produced a history in sufficient detail … . A number of appendices provide some useful additional information, including … a number of useful tables. … And it contains some quite historic photos which I have not seen before. An extremely useful book, definitely worth the money." (Jos Heyman, News Bulletin of the Astronautical Society of Western Australia, Vol. 27 (2), 2001)
"It’s a good read for the space buff and certainly fills in a lot of interesting background … . The production quality is good, with clear printing, good illustrations some of which I’ve never seen before and about the correct number of them to offset the text. … it’s quite easy to read and … it kept my attention pretty much to the end. … It does fill a gap by providing technical background, and some interesting asides … ." (John Davies, The Observatory, Vol. 122 (1167), 2002)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Project Mercury: NASA's First Manned Space Programme (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (Hardcover)
Like all of Springer Paxis Books I knew I had to have this one and I was not dissapointed in this one. The book covers all aspects of the program from launch vehicles to launch facilities as well as the astronauts themselves!! It goes into the design studies and concepts, as well as the selection process for the astronauts.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Detailed, Intelligent, and Authoritative,
By Kristine (St. Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Project Mercury: NASA's First Manned Space Programme (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (Hardcover)
Catchpole's precise and delightful history of the developments that led to Project Mercury contributes both heat and light on the subject for the jet avation/space buff. Writing with obvious enthusiasm, with a scrupulous attention to detail, and clear descriptions of design principles, Catchpole leads the reader on a journey from the early days of rocket experimentation to the selection of the seven Mercury astronauts. A joy to read - very highly recommended.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Reads like a text book.,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Project Mercury: NASA's First Manned Space Programme (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (Hardcover)
I was looking for more of a story, but there is a lot of information and history in this book.
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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antenna canister, manned satellite vehicle, manned satellite programme, retrograde rockets, prime astronaut, posigrade rockets, boilerplate spacecraft, biomedical harness, landing skirt, degrees negative pitch, beach abort, pressure suit circuit, spacecraft periscope, landing hag, onboard programmer, ballistic spacecraft, prototype spacecraft, bio package, spacecraft hack, periscope screen, climb into orbit, tractor rocket, reefed condition, production spacecraft, booster skirt Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mercury Atlas, Soviet Union, Cape Canaveral, Crew Compartment, Mercury Redstone, Little Joe, Air Force, Liberty Bell, World War, Marman Clamp, Operations Division, Project Apollo, President Eisenhower, Re-entry Module, Atlantic Ocean, Escape Motor, Recovery Section, Jettison Motor, Redstone Arsenal, Indian Ocean, John Glenn, South Vietnam, Canary Islands, Pacific Ocean, Alan Shepard New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
antenna canister, manned satellite vehicle, manned satellite programme, retrograde rockets, prime astronaut, posigrade rockets, boilerplate spacecraft, biomedical harness, landing skirt, degrees negative pitch, beach abort, pressure suit circuit, spacecraft periscope, landing hag, onboard programmer, ballistic spacecraft, prototype spacecraft, bio package, spacecraft hack, periscope screen, climb into orbit, tractor rocket, reefed condition, production spacecraft, booster skirt Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mercury Atlas, Soviet Union, Cape Canaveral, Crew Compartment, Mercury Redstone, Little Joe, Air Force, Liberty Bell, World War, Marman Clamp, Operations Division, Project Apollo, President Eisenhower, Re-entry Module, Atlantic Ocean, Escape Motor, Recovery Section, Jettison Motor, Redstone Arsenal, Indian Ocean, John Glenn, South Vietnam, Canary Islands, Pacific Ocean, Alan Shepard New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 16
books:
See all 16 books this book cites
- The Bay of Pigs: The Leaders' Story of Brigade 2506 by Haynes Johnson on page 272, and page 288
- State of the Union by Douglas Kennedy on page 257, and page 316
- The Mars Project by Wernher Von Braun on page 49
- Cold War by David Brierley in Back Matter
- Space Shuttle (A First Look Book) (First Look at) by Michael Jay in Back Matter
See all 16 books this book cites
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