After Columbia disintegrated during entry on February 1, 2003, NASA grounded the entire Space Shuttle fleet until it could ascertain what had gone wrong and fixed the problem. Whenever an aerospace program is grounded for a prolonged period, the first flight after the grounding is often called the Return-to-Flight. After 30 months of work, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Program's Return-to-Flight, STS-114, using Discovery. This flight was the most photographed Space Shuttle flight ever, with numerous cameras on the ground, ships, and aircraft tracking the vehicle during ascent, and the crew of the International Space Station taking a series of detailed photographs as the Orbiter approached the ISS. In addition, the crew of the Discovery used cameras in the cockpit and on a long, robotic arm to examine almost every inch of the Orbiter. The result was some stunning photography that shows the Space Shuttle in ways that have never before been seen. It is presented here, in full color, as the program readies to fly the second Return-to-Flight launch, STS-121, also using Discovery.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Air/Power Wings, August 2006, reviewed by Mike Machat
"Although most of us will never have a chance to fly aboard the Space Shuttle, looking at these intimately detailed photos will be about as close as we'll ever come."
"Although most of us will never have a chance to fly aboard the Space Shuttle, looking at these intimately detailed photos will be about as close as we'll ever come."
Starship Modeler, July 2006, reviewed by John Lester
"Return to Flight: Space Shuttle Discovery is well worth picking up simply for the in-depth look at a Shuttle mission. For scale modelers interested in space subjects (or sci-fi subjects that operate in space), it's a must-have addition to the reference library. I've read through the book three times now and I'm still finding neat stuff. Very highly recommended!"
"Return to Flight: Space Shuttle Discovery is well worth picking up simply for the in-depth look at a Shuttle mission. For scale modelers interested in space subjects (or sci-fi subjects that operate in space), it's a must-have addition to the reference library. I've read through the book three times now and I'm still finding neat stuff. Very highly recommended!"
Internet Modeler, July 2006, reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl
"This book is one which all aviation buffs should have in their library. You would be hard pressed to find a more thorough photo examination of a Shuttle mission anywhere outside of NASA."
"This book is one which all aviation buffs should have in their library. You would be hard pressed to find a more thorough photo examination of a Shuttle mission anywhere outside of NASA."
About the Author
Dennis R. Jenkins spent 30 years as an engineer and manager on the Space Shuttle Program and other space-related programs incuding the X-33, Orbital Space Plane, and the Crew Exploration Vehicle. Most recently he has served as an advisor and investigator on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, and as technical staff to the president's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy and the Space Shuttle Return to Flight Task Group. He is currently the Verville Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. Jenkins has written more than 40 books on aerospace subjects.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A "Must Have" for any Shuttle enthusiast!,
This review is from: Return-To-Flight Space Shuttle Discovery (Photo Scrapbook) (Paperback)
After Columbia's breakup in 2003, NASA began a major rework of the shuttle program resulting in the launch of STS-114, the first of two space shuttle "Return to Flight" missions, in July of 2005. The mission was ultimately a success and it became probably the most photographed mission of the entire space shuttle program. The main reason for the photography is NASA wanted to obtain clear imagery of the shuttle both during ascent and on orbit to see if the modifications made to the external tank to prevent foam loss had worked and to see if any damage had been sustained by the orbiter. After the mission, the shuttle fleet remained grounded due to foam loss from a PAL ramp on STS-114s external tank, but subsequent modifications lead to successful launch of Discovery on STS-121 on July 4th, 2006.
Practically all of the official imagery taken of STS-114 is available online at the NASA websites. But, Dennis Jenkins and Jorge R. Frank have compiled as many pictures as they could find into this 108 page book and provided them in a high quality format. Dennis Jenkins is no stranger to the shuttle program as his "Space Shuttle, the First 100 Missions" hardcover is an excellent resource and history text about the shuttle program. In addition to the photographs on display, Dennis and Jorge also provide additional tidbits and facts about the shuttle program. In here you see pictures of Atlantis and Discovery during orbital processing, STS-114s original patch design (prior to STS-107s breakup), pictures of the ET, SRB and station hardware that flew on this flight and diagrams of the modifications made to the External Tank. The on orbit pictures of Discovery are the real gems in this book though as you get to see excellent imagery of what a shuttle looks like in orbit. The shuttle's thermal protection system truely is a work of art to look at in orbit. Pictures of the ISS during Discovery's inspection fly around are also provided in these pages. Now it is possible to download all these pictures and print them out from the NASA websites. But in the process, you would be using A LOT of paper, burning up several ink cartridges in the process and devoting many hours to doing this. Plus, since many computer programs and printers can interpret colors differently, the results can vary. In this book, the color correction and printing has already been done for you and there are some nice tidbits about the shuttle program presented in these pages at the same time. Plus it is provided at a very affordable price. Short of somehow being able to get into an Orbiter Processing Facility to shoot pictures of a space shuttle orbiter (which is still almost impossible to do, even for a member of the press) or fly on one (even more difficult to do), this book provides the next best thing. It is the perfect companion to Jenkins' previous hardcover on the subject and makes an excellent photo resource for the space shuttle program.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating book about the space shuttle,
By Kris (Cape Canaveral, FL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Return-To-Flight Space Shuttle Discovery (Photo Scrapbook) (Paperback)
This book captures all the fascinating details of Discovery's long journey to the launch pad, launch and time at the Space Station. Dennis Jenkins and Jorge Frank have done a wonderful job of putting these amazing pictures together and creating a great book about Return to Flight. I would highly recommend this book to any space shuttle enthusiast of any age.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best format of its kind,
By
This review is from: Return-To-Flight Space Shuttle Discovery (Photo Scrapbook) (Paperback)
The format presented by the authors of this book is really unique. STS 114 was one of the most photo- documented spaceflights of all time. The book presents every aspect of the flight in some of the best photographs taken whether on the ground, or taken in space by the astronauts themslves. NASA is the repository for some of the best pictures of manned spaceflight. The authors have done a magnificent job of compiling the many thousands of pictures taken of this mission and presenting them in a truly awe inspiring way. The photos in the book taken of Discovery while engaged in the "pitch manuever" were as breath taking as when the manuever was actually performed.
All space enthusiast will relish the idea of being able to acess in book form the photographs taken during this mission. My congratulations to the authors for doing what should have been done a long time ago. The adventure is for "all mankind". I can't think of a better way to enjoy the ride other than by actually doing it! The authors should seriously think about follow on volumns which document the remaining shuttle spaceflights. Michael H. Cooper
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