Launch Vehicles: Heritage of the Space Race (Pocket Space Guide) - Softcover

Space junkies and armchair astronauts are provided with comprehensive, handy references for a variety of space-related missions, vehicles, and concepts in this pocket-sized series. Compiled with the cooperation of NASA, each topic-specific reference features relevant statistics, photographs, and the stories behind each project. Books on manned missions include crew photographs, information on patches and equipment, and flight statistics such as time in space, distance traveled, and mission objectives. Photographs and statistics for launch vehicles, orbiters, probes, and experimental equipment are featured in each equipment-specific reference.

Covering such design elements as propellants, tanks, engines, and payloads, this detailed look at the mechanism that gets it all started describes 259 types of launch vehicles developed by China, the European Space Agency, Japan, Russia, and the United States.

Michael Lennick is an acclaimed author and filmmaker whose work often deals with science and society. His award-winning TV series "Rocket Science" detailed the history of humanity's first steps into space and won the Houston Worldfest Gold "Remi" for Best Direction in a Documentary Series. He lives in Bala, Ontario, Canada.