1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910460399203321

Titolo

To reach the high frontier : a history of U.S. launch vehicles / / edited by Roger D. Launius and Dennis R. Jenkins

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Lexington, Kentucky : , : The University Press of Kentucky, , 2002

©2002

ISBN

0-8131-4807-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (528 p.)

Disciplina

629.47/5

Soggetti

Launch vehicles (Astronautics) - United States - History

Rocketry - United States - History

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Introduction: Episodes in the Evolution of Launch Vehicle Technology; 1. Rocketry and the Origins of Space Flight; 2. Stage-and-a-Half: The Atlas Launch Vehicle; 3. Delta: The Ultimate Thor; 4. Titan: Some Heavy Lifting Required; 5. History and Development of U.S. Small Launch Vehicles; 6. Minuteman and the Development of Solid Rocket Launch Technology; 7. The Biggest of Them All: Reconsidering the Saturn V; 8. Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Saga; 9. Broken in Midstride: Space Shuttle as a Launch Vehicle

10. Eclipsed by Tragedy: The Fated Mating of the Shuttle and Centaur11. The Quest for Reusability; 12. Epilogue: ""To the Very Limit of Our Ability"":Reflections on Forty Years of Military-Civil Partnership in Space Launch; Notes on Contributors; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Y; Z

Sommario/riassunto

Access -- no single word better describes the primary concern of the exploration and development of space. Every participant in space activities -- civil, military, scientific, or commercial -- needs affordable, reliable, frequent, and flexible access to space.  To Reach the High Frontier details the histories of the various space access vehicles developed in the United States since the birth of the space age in 1957. Each case study has been written by a specialist



knowledgeable about the vehicle described and places each system in the larger context of the history of spaceflight. The technic