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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

Even after forty years of public and private effort, developing reliable and efficient launch vehicles is still highly problematic. Civil, military, scientific, and commercial interests in space all depend on reliable and efficient technology that, for now, is beyond the reach of American designers. In this book, editors Roger D. Launius and Dennis R. Jenkins bring together the leading names in space and aeronautics to study major launch vehciles of the twentieth century. From David N. Spires to Ray A. Williamson, contributors present case studies in the history of each of the major rockets built by the United States, placing each system in the larger contexts of the history of space flight.

(Extracted from the press release).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

-Contents.

-Introduction: Episodes in the Evolution of Launch Vehicle Technology. Roger D. Launius.

-1. Rocketry and the Origins of Space Flight. Ray A. Williamson and Roger D. Launius.

-2. Stage-and-a-Half: The Atlas Launch Vehicle. Dennis R. Jenkins.

-3. Delta: The Ultimate Thor. Kevin S. Forsyth.

-4. Titan: Some Heavy Lifting Required. Roger D. Launius.

-5. History and Development of U.S. Small Launch Vehicles. Matt Bille, Pat Johnson, Robyn Kane, and Erika R. Lishock.

-6. Minuteman and the Development of Solid Rocket Launch Technology. J.D. Hunley.

-7. The Biggest of Them All: Reconsidering the Saturn V. Ray A. Williamson.

-8. Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Saga. Virginia P. Dawson.

-9. Broken in Midstride: Space Shuttle as a Launch Vehicle. Dennis R. Jenkins.

-10. Eclipsed by Tragedy: The Fated Mating of the Shuttle and Centaur. Mark D. Bowles.

-11. The Quest for Reusability. Andrew J. Butrica.

-12. Epilogue: "To the Very Limit of Our Ability": Reflections on Forty Years of Military-Civil Partnership in Space Launch. David N. Spires & Rick W. Sturdevant.

-Notes on Contributors.

-Index.