Rocket Science: Rocket Science in the Second Millennium: Apogee Books Space Series 45 [Paperback]

Alfred Zaehringer (Author), Steve Whitfield (Author)

Book Description

Series: Apogee Books Space Series | Publication Date: October 1, 2004

In this book, rocket scientist Alfred Zaehringer calls upon his lifetime of experience to take the mystery out of this intimidating field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...this attractive book will appeal to many. " - New Scientist, December 18th, 2004. "It is informative, has a very good listing of rocket science sources and is very well illustrated." - Spaceflight, April 2005.

From the Inside Flap

This is primarily a book covering rocket science and space flight in the second millennium. In addition to those elements of rocket science based on the classical sciences, it has also been expanded to include quantum mechanics, which are required for an understanding of the "why" and "how" of the state of the art. The book started out simply as a look at the two most cogent aspects of rocket science – energy and economics – which are cornerstones of the US space program. However, it also adresses the space world that is emerging in the new millennium. In addition, you will be able to decipher the money-seeking babble of the various participating governments, ie., the US, Russia, Europe, the Third World, and the emerging Orient. After reading about the human aspects of space, you must decide for yourself whether it is worth your money (and the risk to your safety) to go into space. The limits of propulsion are examined quantitatively. This is followed by a list of sources, both conventional and electronic, should you wish to learn more. Remember, information (communications, weather and Earth surveillance) is the only product now showing a payoff in space. Everything else just costs.

When I originally coined the term "rocket science," it was applied to articles appearing in the Journal of the Detroit Rocket Society in January 1947. You will find that in this book (as in the technical articles in the above journal ) "rocket science" encompasses all branches of modern science, technology and engineering devoted to rocketry and space flight. In the current common usage, however, "rocket science" has come to mean a complex and intellectually demanding activity, and a rocket scientist is a person who is highly intelligent. Therefore, you won’t find a definition for "rocket science" in this book. Nor are confusing equations presented; there are other books which do that. But, you will find that you won’t have to be able to derive the technology to understand and use it.

The numbers presented herein will point out the orbit-in-the-sky fantasies of science fiction, and bring to account those who continually say that the space age is here for everyone! In general, things just don’t add up, because their claims are not quantitative. Therefore, this book serves as a "double whammy," appealing to both the lay person and technical readers. If you can judge the energy and economics numbers, you will be able to understand the true situation with respect to space flight, both today and far into the future (just the facts, man!). And you won’t have to be a "rocket scientist" to benefit from this book. Perhaps, you’ll also be able to decide whether all of this effort is going to be worth it to you. What is it you that are personally going to get out of it? Are you being sold a glorious bill of goods by the politicians, the military, universities and industy, just to get more of your money? What will the role of private enterprise be in all of this? Hopefully, this book will enable you to decide all of these factors, for both the last thousand years and the next thousand. Learn to question. And, more importantly, sit back and enjoy the next thousand years of man’s space flight efforts!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc. (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894959094
• ISBN-13: 978-1894959094
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,846,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disasterously Inaccurate, March 13, 2006

By 

Terry Wilson "aftercolumbia" (Calgary) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rocket Science: Rocket Science in the Second Millennium: Apogee Books Space Series 45 (Paperback)

I've never seen such a work in print as this. I've been able to identify factual errors on almost every page, and often contradictions between technical specifications which are accurate, and in the main text general statements which are not. Captions clash with the text and are also generally incorrect. Even numbers for ascent and maneuver are wrong. On top of that, the author occasionally replaces a fact with his incorrect opinion (i.e. the nature and development history of the RD-107/108 multi-chambered engine.)

... perhaps it should be encouraging to aspiring first-time authors.

(To Amazon: I have sent a much more detailed email to Collector's Guide regarding this volume on 26 February. Unsurprisingly, they have not responded yet.)