Customer Reviews

Virtual Apollo: A Pictorial Essay of the Engineering and Construction of the Apollo Command and Service Modules

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a strange concept that sounds like it might not work - Scott Sullivan did a ton of research on the Apollo command and service modules, from blueprints and other sources, and then plugged it all into a computer program and made CAD drawings and incredible cutaways from every system. The results are truly phenomenal; every page of this full-color book is glossy and of the quality usually reserved for high-end art books costing ten times as much.

As far as detail, I felt I had enough info to start building one of these things in my back yard if the local hardware store sold all of the titanium I'd need! I don't think the original space program had blueprints as detailed and colorful as those within the pages of this book. I am a big techno-geek, always wondering how things work and are put together, and I have spent hours and hours gawking at these drawings, looking at how heat shields are made or how astronauts stored their gear. There's also a lot of text per page telling you what you're looking at and how things were assembled.

This is not only a well-executed book, but a great idea for other similar books for other parts of the space program. If Mr. Sullivan announced a large-format set of plans for the Space Shuttle or Skylab, I would be the first in line, no matter what they cost!

Scott Sullivan has produced the book I was waiting for! I have been desiring a book about Apollo CM/SM details and construction, and this was the one that was worth waiting for.

Though I have been an Apollo addict for years, and have read all the NASA Mission Reports (also available from Apogee Books) some things were difficult for me to actually visualize without Scott's CAD drawings. Part of the problem with previous books, even well illustrated books, was the uniqueness and density of the CM design. For instance in space, there is no up, so it becomes sometimes difficult by reading accounts the interrelationship between the LEB and associated spaces. Now it is crystal clear.

I hope that Scott Sullivan will come out with a LM book to accompany this brilliant work. Thank you, Scott!

This book could have been mistaken for NASA official design plans. Includes 3d images to give an idea of where things are within the CSM. Detailed descriptions of CM and SM as well as docking port. Has instrument panel diagrams and cockpit control layout designs. Includes abort checklists, etc. and everything you need to learn how to build and fly your very own Apollo 18, which was aborted due to budget cuts. NOTE: Does not include description or diagram of of Saturn V or 1B booster rockets or details of missions except an in-depth description of the Apollo 1 tragedy.

WOW! This book is a treasure trove of visual information on the Apollo Command and Service Module. Scott Sullivan is a professional engineer who used Pro/E, a high-end mechanical engineering CAD package, to dissect the CSM in astonishing detail. The resulting images are as close as you can get to being on the factory floor at North American Aviation - exploded diagrams of service module intertanks, windows, hatches, docking probe detail, BPC, RCS quads, electrical wiring, and on and on. There are also excellent views of the CM interior from the astronaut's perspective. Think of this as Gray's Anatomy for Apollo junkies.

This would be a fantastic resource for an Apollo scratch kit builder!

Scott - please make a LEM version!

I mean it, NASA should read this and learn how to build spacecraft again. I believe that this book was a labor of love for Sullivan taking him ten years to complete. When you look at the detail included here you can easily believe it. Full color with renderings so clear you could build your own Apollo from this. (Maybe the Chinese will use this as a blueprint for their moon ship?)
Sullivan should be praised for his attention to detail and the excellent workmanship in this amazing book. The only thing missing is the CD Rom, that would have capped this as complete.

This is easily the most incredible and diagramatic depiction of the Apollo CSM ever created. The illustrations are truley beautiful showcasing a level of detail that is absolutley astounding. Virtually every subsystem is depicted from the inside out in full color renderings that are clear and consiece. Breathtaking cut-away views show the entire command module with every layer of its many inner and outer hulls, as well as all of its internal components plain to see. I highly recommend this fine piece of work to anyone who has ever marveled at what man is capable of creating.

I was entranced with Mercury, Gemini and Apollo as a kid but find myself even more compellingly interested in it as I get older. People familiar with cars and houses can readily gauge the space of a house or the size of a car by looking at pictures. But aircraft, for instance, are difficult to imagine in photographs except for pilots. I was surprised when I finally saw a real B17 that it was not quite as huge and massive as I had imagined.
Spacecraft are very difficult for people to understand because they rarely see a real one. It's impossible for someone to grasp the Saturn V unless they visit one of the few remaining artifcacts on display. The conical and cylindrical design of the Apollo capsule made it hard for people to fathom exactly how it was layed out inside. In addition spacecraft are the most densely packed devices made with an incredible amount of apparatus stuffed inside them.
This ingenious book finally slices open the Apollo Command & Service modules in a colorful and revealing way so that even the average person can quickly grasp it's design and the way it looked.
In addition the book shows in detail exactly how it worked and how it all fitted together.
This book is a must have article for any Apollo buff.

This long awaited volume from Apogee book is a fantastic addition to their ongoing series. The level of detail that Mr. Sullivan goes into is incredible. As one who is considered an expert on the apollo program, I found that you could even find out where the velcro patches were in the cabin so that the crew would not lose their equipment while floating around.
This is an essential book for anyone who wants to know what made Apollo tick!
It gives the reader- for the first time ever a sense of the level of complexity that it took for us to get from the Earth to the Moon-and return safely. I just wish that there was one of the famous Apogee CD's, and a better breakdown between the differences in each spacecraft!

This is such a good, concise and welldone book about the Apollo CSM. For the first time it gives you an idea what it must have been like, going to the moon in this machine, made by the lowest bidder. The drawings are all very clear. I am allready waiting and hoping that the author will make a similar book about the Apollo LM.

I've spent hours researching the Apollo vehicle over the years and always find myself reaching for this book. It's one thing to read about the intricate details of this vehicle, but another to see it in living color. Sullivan did a great job! I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking detailed information on the Apollo design.