Customer Reviews

Satellite!

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Though this book is old, it contains a really good description of the manifold and still very salient difficulties involved in getting a satellite into orbit. Reading it has also significantly improved my understanding of the various types of orbits and their pros and cons. Also included, is an overview of the early history of the US space program--from the V2, to the Redstone, to much cheaper but still informative balloon experiments. In the latter case, quite gruesomely, they once sent up a severed human head, in order to see how cosmic rays might affect the brain: no change was observed. Perhaps due to the balloons, there is also a fair description of the various layers of the atmosphere, which goes so far as to explain the shape of a mushroom cloud.

On the negative side, the descriptions of the planets are obsolete, and one of the authors weirdly claims the sun's UV rays never make it into the trophosphere. Perhaps, I'm just being tautological, but, as a redhead, I disagree. However, all in all, there are few such lapses. In fact, I was rather surprised about the scope of their understanding. For instance, while realizing the benefits of a pure oxygen atmosphere, by way of total weight, they also were well aware of the danger involved, which 11 years later, tragically resulted in the deaths of three astronauts aboard Apollo 1. They were also aware of the benefits of step-launching from airplane platform, as was done in the case of SpaceShipOne.

Offered, as well, is an interesting '50s prospectus about space: rocket-man job descriptions; communication, weather, and hubble-type satellites; the war and peace potentialities of space, the possibility of shining a mirror on the ocean to prevent droughts. Distinctly, there is a charming naivety about space. For instance, they thought schoolchildren would be counting in planets and moons, that useful mutant varieties of crops could be made by exposure to cosmic rays, and that the weather would be predicted weeks in advance. Yet, somehow, I think the authors were probably surprised when man finally landed on the moon.