US Spacesuits (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) [Paperback]

Kenneth S. Thomas (Author), Harold J. McMann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 20, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0387279199 | ISBN-13: 978-0387279190 | Edition: 1

* the most accurate and comprehensive work on U.S. spacesuits ever published. *A unique insight into the development of US spacesuits through to the present day. * Presents in context the authors’ unique collection of 172 black and white photographs. * Explains why spacesuits are a last refuge for astronauts for survival. * Details many technically and historically interesting developments, but which never achieved fruition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews: "This excellent book ... presents the basics of the environment in which a space suit must operate, starting with the need for aircraft suit requirements in WW I. Thomas and McMann show the history of the development of suits for in-cabin use, space walking, escape systems, and general life support. ... For readers who seek detailed information on space suits. Summing Up: Recommended. Faculty; researchers; professionals." (W. E. Howard III, CHOICE, Vol. 43 (10), June, 2006) "The authors provide the reader with an appreciation of spacesuits and U.S. suit efforts through development challenges to their role in space exploration. … The book details the technical evolution of U.S. spacesuits from their roots in high-altitude aviation and vacuum tube development to the present day, with an additional look into the future. … It also includes many technically and historically interesting efforts that never reached flight … ." (Quest, Vol. 13 (4), 2006) "The authors describe in detail the development of the various spacesuits developed in the US … . In the process they provide a fair amount of ‘spacesuit technology’ by drawing our attention on the design requirements. … useful appendices of the book provide a summary of the actual operational suits that were produced as well as a detailed listing of the EVAs that were performed with these suits. The book is clearly aimed at spacesuit specialists, making it a unique and wonderful source of information." (Jos Heyman, Tiros Space Information, April, 2006) "In his introduction, astronaut and spacewalker Storey Musgrave describes this book as ‘historical, massively comprehensive, precise, informative, relevant and readable’. I completely agree: everything you ever wanted to know about US spacesuits is here, well illustrated, well set out and, for such a specialist topic, quite readable too. Strongly recommended for die-hard spaceflight enthusiasts, historians, or aerospace engineers with a professional interest." (John Davies, The Observatory, Vol. 126 (1195), December, 2006) "Authors have been heavily involved in US spacesuit development, which ensures that this book is as technically accurate as it is historically interesting. … There are a great number of illustrations of the various suit types and their components … . There have been one or two other books on this subject published over the years, but nothing as detailed or as thorough as this one." (Liftoff, Issue 233, May/June, 2006) "The authors helpfully describe the basic principles of space suits and the challenges that must be overcome. … Overall this is a book, which gives a fascinating mixture of historical and technical outlook on a vital piece of space history. … it is a well-written and researched piece of work, which would be of interest to space enthusiasts and engineers … . The armchair astronauts will find it interesting and easy to dip into." (Sharon Hough, Astronomy and Space, June, 2007)

About the Author

Kenneth Thomas’s and Joe McMann’s careers mirror the story of US spacesuit development. As a second generation space engineer, Ken Thomas grew up with the U.S. advanced aviation and space programs. Having worked as a task-manger/engineer on the Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU, NASA's current going-out-in-space suit-system) program and as principal investigator on next generational suit efforts, this background grew to in-depth experience. The experience was further supplemented by extensive personal research into spacesuit system developments. The result is a unique set of qualifications in the arena of spacesuit history. Joe McMann's career has spanned over 40 years in the area of spacecraft environmental control and space suit systems. He joined NASA during Project Mercury, and has participated in every United States manned space endeavor, including the assembly of the International Space Station. He has been a project engineer, Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suit life support system manager, vacuum chamber test subject, real-time flight support console engineer, and overall EVA hardware manager in NASA's EVA Project Office. Following his retirement from NASA in 1997, he joined Hamilton Sundstrand as a technical specialist in the area of failure analysis and resolution. He retired from Hamilton-Sundstrand in 2002, and acts as consultant to NASA and the aerospace industry. The authors, therefore, are unparalleled in their experience of US spacesuit development and have a unique set of photographs that will illustrate the book. This should make an excellent sister book to ABRAMOV/SKOOG: Russian Spacesuits which, since publication in June 2003, has sold 679 US and 209 ROW, total sales to date of 888.

Product Details

• Paperback: 427 pages
• Publisher: Praxis; 1 edition (December 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387279199
• ISBN-13: 978-0387279190
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,468,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spacesuit Information, February 18, 2006

By 

M. F. Thomas (CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: US Spacesuits (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (Paperback)

For a book on a techncial subject, it appears to be well laid out and easy to read. I liked that it took the time to explain the basics surrounding spacesuits. Finding accurate information on spacesuit, their development, use and program history is difficult. This book, like "Russian Spacesuits" from the same publisher, was written by career spacesuit engineers and the text seems to reflect that depth of knowledge.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reference!!!!, March 10, 2006

By 

Wilfred A. Roberge "rocketdude1979" (Wareham/Fort Devens, MA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: US Spacesuits (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (Paperback)

This book is a great book and a Great companion to Springer-Praxis other space books, especially the volume on Russian Spacesuits and "Spacewalks". It has taught me so much that I never knew and I loved the many pages written about conceptual designs.

3.0 out of 5 stars Thorough But Impenetrable, November 7, 2010

By 

Greg Goebel (Loveland, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: US Spacesuits (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) (Paperback)

Thomas & McCann's US SPACESUITS provides an extremely thorough historical survey of the evolution of US spacesuits. In terms of the sheer detail and intensity of research, it is hard to see how anyone could better it, and given the obscurity of the topic, it's a blessing that some folks decided they wanted to take on the job before all the details were lost to history.

Unfortunately, the thoroughness of this book is also its worst feature, since the authors simply lacked the ability to organize all the detail in a coherent fashion; it's written at the level of a rough draft, notes crammed together as best as possible and then rolled out the door. Admittedly the complexity of the subject makes organization a challenge, and I've certainly seen much more poorly written books, but US SPACESUITS still ends up an opaque read, a packed tangle of details, with no roadsigns to determine which are more significant than others and where the narrative is going.

It would have greatly helped to have had an overview as the first section in a chapter and then a chapter summary at the end. I ended up regarding this book as a reference, but even then it leaves something to be desired, since I find it very difficult to track down any one detail I'm after -- the index leaves something to be desired as well. Five stars for research, two stars for writing; give it three stars overall, because it just can't be rated at four.