Human Spaceflight: Illustrated Books - History and Technology

Astronaut Manual (1961 onwards) - all roles and nationalities (Haynes Space Manual)

The Haynes Astronaut Manual provides an insight into what an astronaut does, the experience of space flight, the equipment he uses, and what it takes to become an astronaut.
Although concentrating on contemporary astronaut selection and flight, especially with NASA, ESA and Russia, it also covers astronaut experiences of pioneering missions of the past and some proposed for the near future, such as lunar flight and landing, asteroid rendezvous and travel to Mars.

The engaging text, illustrated with a wide range of photographs and illustrations, and featuring unique insight from astronauts past and present, takes the reader on a fascinating journey through an astronaut's career - from selection and training, through experiences in space, to returning to life on Earth after experiencing the vastness of space.
Essential reading for space enthusiasts and anybody interested in learning about what it takes to become an astronaut.

Pages of the book "Astronaut Manual (1961 onwards) - all roles and nationalities"

Author: Dr Ken MacTaggart is Co-Editor (with David Woods) of the Apollo 11 Flight Journal, NASA's official record of the mission, with accompanying technical commentary. He is also a long -standing contributor to NASA's Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.
He has written for national newspapers and magazines about many space topics, including Apollo, the Space Shuttle, the MMU, Yuri Gagarin, Neil Armstrong, the Apollo 13 accident, the Russian Interkosmos programme, etc.

Product details

Author:	Dr Ken MacTaggart
Details:	10.8 x 8.5 x 0.59 in (27.5 x 21.5 x 1.5 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	many b&w and color photos
Language:	English (technical dictionaries in 19 languages are available for free download here)
Publisher:	Haynes Publishing (GB, 2017)
Series:	Haynes Space Manual
ISBN:	9781785210617

How Spacecraft Fly - Spaceflight without Formulae

About 65 years ago a small satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched. The satellite did very little other than to transmit a radio signal to announce its presence in orbit. However, this humble beginning heralded the dawn of the Space Age.
Today literally thousands of robotic spacecraft have been launched, many of which have flown to far-flung regions of the Solar System carrying with them the human spirit of scientific discovery and exploration. Numerous other satellites have been launched in orbit around the Earth providing services that support our technological society on the ground.

"How Spacecraft Fly: Spaceflight Without Formulae" by Graham Swinerd focuses on how these spacecraft work. The book opens with a historical perspective of how we have come to understand our Solar System and the Universe. It then progresses through orbital flight, rocket science, the hostile environment within which spacecraft operate, and how they are designed. The concluding chapters give a glimpse of what the 21st century may hold in terms of human exploration of the Solar System and more futuristic propulsion technologies for interstellar travel.

Graham Swinerd invites you to understand "how spacecraft fly," while becoming a convincing rocket scientist along the way!

Product details

Author:	Graham Swinerd
Details:	272 pages, 9 x 6.3 x 0.87 in (24 x 16 x 2.2 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	60 b&w and 60 color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Springer-Verlag New York Inc. (USA, 2008)
ISBN:	9780387765716

Engins Spatiaux

More than half a century ago, the Soviet Union set the world alight with Sputnik 1, which would inspire terror and awe in those who could pick up its radio signals.

As for those who doubted that such a feat was possible, they could simply stand in their backyards and watch the sunset. Today, hundreds of thousands of satellites, rockets, probes, landers and more have followed in Sputnik's footsteps.
We've seen Earthrises from the Moon, we've dug into the soil of Mars, we've raced into orbit aboard the ISS as it silently circles our planet. And we've tested, developed, launched, lost and celebrated the most mind-blowing machines ever to exist.

"Engins spatiaux" tells the story of this epic journey, right up to the current program: how we got here and where we're going. Air and space historian Giuseppe de Chiara and historian Michael H. Gorn have teamed up to produce this vast collection of beautifully illustrated and carefully researched profiles that describe the design, development, and operation of these craft, both manned and unmanned.

Satellites, capsules, rocket planes, launchers, and space stations are drawn from multiple angles, sometimes in cross-section, and accompanied by archival photographs from the time that help place them in their historical context. Expect to be amazed; you're heading for the stars.

Product details

Author:	Collectif
Details:	224 pages, 10.8 x 9.25 in (27.5 x 23.5 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	many b&w and color photos
Language:	French
Publisher:	ETAI (F, 2019)
ISBN:	9791028303396

Raumfahrt-Geschichte - Die 100 wichtigsten Ereignisse

On October 4 1957, space travel officially began with the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik. But the foundations go back several centuries and began with the first primitive solid-fuel rockets: in 1232, a black powder rocket was launched for the first time in the Chinese Empire.
Since then, events have been unfolding rapidly and today man-made objects have already left our solar system.

Eugen Reichl compiles the 100 groundbreaking events in this richly illustrated and excitingly written volume. A standard work for every space travel fan.

Product details

Author:	Eugen Reichl
Details:	352 pages, 9.8 x 8.5 x 1.06 in (25 x 21.5 x 2.7 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	300 b&w and color photos
Language:	German
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2022)
ISBN:	9783613043961

101 Dinge, die man über die Raumfahrt wissen muss

Welche war die stärkste Rakete? Welche die größte? Wie landet man ein Space Shuttle? Und wie geht man im All eigentlich aufs Klo? Die technischen Errungenschaften der Raumfahrt: Rekorde, Unbekanntes, Extremes and Kuriositäten werden vorgestellt.

Wagen Sie eine Reise durch die Besonderheiten and Geheimnisse aus der Geschichte der Raumfahrt, and erhaschen Sie einen Blick auf die Zukunft. Informativ and unterhaltsam erleben Raumfahrt-Interessierte 101 Aha-Erlebnisse.

Product details

Author:	Albert Mößmer
Details:	192 pages, 7.3 x 4.7 x 0.79 in (18.5 x 12 x 2 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	120 b&w and color photos
Language:	German
Publisher:	GeraMond Verlag (D, 2019)
ISBN:	9783964530554

Mondwärts - Der Wettlauf ins All

2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the moon landing - the first time humans set foot on another celestial body. To this day, it is hard to believe what an incredible technological achievement this represents - especially given the technical capabilities of the 1960s.
The entire computing power of the Apollo rocket (control, navigation, etc.) is now contained in every cheap supermarket calculator; the entire hardware was actually created on the drawing board and with the help of slide rules.

Enriched with the outstanding graphics by Dietmar Röttler, the book adequately describes the events with magnificent pictures.

Product details

Author:	Eugen Reichl
Details:	192 pages, 10.4 x 9.1 in (26.5 x 23 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	220 b&w and color photos
Language:	German
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2019)
ISBN:	9783613041967

Raketen - Die Internationale Enzyklopädie

There are many uses for launch vehicles: they transport satellites, components for space stations or astronauts and food into space. Without rockets, there would be no access to space, and our world with its global communication would be unthinkable!

As a proven expert, Eugen Reichl presents all the important rocket systems from the beginnings of space travel to the present day and introduces the types that will shape space travel in the future.
In addition to the data and facts about the carrier systems, the reader also learns the history of the individual space-faring nations. Unique graphics by Dietmar Röttler round off the volume.

Product details

Author:	Eugen Reichl, Dietmar Röttler
Details:	400 pages, 9 x 8.25 in (24 x 21 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	700 b&w and color photos
Language:	German
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2020)
ISBN:	9783613042605

SOS im Weltraum - Menschen, Unfälle, Hintergründe (Raumfahrt-Bibliothek)

The road to space was and is rocky and, despite all the apparent routine, still moves at the technical limits. When something goes wrong when igniting several hundred tons of fuel or at a speed of 27 000 km/h, it usually goes really wrong and, above all, really quickly!
And yet some of these accidents even turned out well - think of Apollo 13. The shuttle accidents of the "Challenger" or "Columbia", on the other hand, were of almost unbelievable tragedy.

Pages of the book "SOS im Weltraum - Menschen, Unfälle, Hintergründe"

Many exciting stories and captivating descriptions, technical information, drawings and photos can be found in this volume by Hermann Woydt.

Product details

Author:	Hermann Woydt
Details:	144 pages, 8.1 x 5.5 in (20.5 x 14 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	23 b&w and 117 color photos, 25 drawings
Language:	German
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2017)
Series:	Raumfahrt-Bibliothek
ISBN:	9783613039544