Synopses & Reviews
This flagship work charts a complete chronological log of orbital manned spaceflight. Included are the X-15 "astroflights" of the 1960s, and the two 1961 Mercury and Redstone missions which were non-orbital. There is an image depicting each manned spaceflight, and data boxes containing brief biographies of all the space travelers. The main text is a narrative of each mission, its highlights and accomplishments, including the strange facts and humorous stories connected to every mission. The resulting book is a handy reference to all manned spaceflights, the names of astronauts and cosmonauts who flew on each mission, their roles and accomplishments.
Review
From the reviews: "This hefty (829 pages!) volume is a chronicle of every human space mission launched from Yuri Gagarin's Vostok 1-in-April 1961 to the Soyuz TMA-9 flight to the ISS in September 2006 - 250 flights in all. It is thus an extremely useful quick-reference for any space enthusiast. ... Each entry includes the basic flight statistics, the names and flight history of the crews, a summary flight log, and a box giving the flight's key milestones. ... . A very useful volume!" (David Maclennan, Liftoff, Issue 242, 2007)
Review
From the reviews:
"This hefty (829 pages!) volume is a chronicle of every human space mission launched from Yuri Gagarin's Vostok 1-in-April 1961 to the Soyuz TMA-9 flight to the ISS in September 2006 - 250 flights in all. It is thus an extremely useful quick-reference for any space enthusiast. ... Each entry includes the basic flight statistics, the names and flight history of the crews, a summary flight log, and a box giving the flight's key milestones. ... . A very useful volume!" (David Maclennan, Liftoff, Issue 242, 2007)
Synopsis
Praxis Log of Manned Spaceflight 1961-2006 will open with a section entitled: Quest for Space, which will provide an explanation of the methods employed to get in and out of orbit and brief overviews of the different international space programmes. It will be a complete chronological log of all attempted orbital manned spaceflights, including the X-15 "astroflights" of the 1960s that only achieved an altitude of c. 50 miles and the two 1961 Mercury and Redstone missions which were non-orbital. There will be an image depicting each manned spaceflight, and data boxes containing brief biographies of all the space travellers and basic flight data. The main text will be a narrative of each mission, its highlights and accomplishments, including those strange facts and humorous stories that are connected to every mission.
By targeting publication in September 2006, the return to flight of the Shuttle, two more Soyuz TMA launches and, quite possibly, a second Chinese manned mission. The resulting book will be a handy reference to all manned spaceflights, the names astronauts and cosmonauts who flew on each mission, and their roles and accomplishments. Recent announcements of a return to the Moon and eventual manned flights to Mars, as new hardware and procedures are developed to support these long-range programs, emphasizes the case for future updates of this book.
Synopsis
This flagship work charts a complete chronological log of orbital manned spaceflight. It contains superb images depicting each manned spaceflight, and provides a wonderful insight into those strange facts and humorous stories that make every mission unique.
About the Author
Tim Furniss is a well known author of 35 popular space science books including the bestselling Jane's Manned Spaceflight Log, published in 1983 and updated in 1987, which sold 16,000 plus copies, but is now out of print. Dave Shayler has authored and co-authored 7 successful Space Science Springer-Praxis books and has a further 3 under contract for publication in 2004. We therefore have the ideal team of authors for this flagship book.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents (Specimen):
FOREWORD by a flown Astronaut or Cosmonaut
Dedication
Foreword by a flown astronaut or cosmonaut
Authors preface
Acknowledgements
Glossary & Abbreviations
List of tables
List of illustrations
Prologue
1. The profile of manned spaceflight
Methods of leaving Earth
Methods of spaceflight
Methods of returning to Earth
This section briefly documents the methods of leaving Earth and entering space; the techniques of moving in space, rendezvous and docking and landing on the moon; and how crews are recovered either on the sea or land or, as with the shuttle on a runway.
2. Manned Spaceflight Programmes
X-15 Rocket Research aircraft and the X-20 Dyna Soar
Vostok and Voskhod
Mercury
Gemini and the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory
Apollo and Skylab
Soyuz and Zond
Salyut and Almaz
Mir
Shuttle and Spacelab
Buran and Hermes
International Space Station
Each manned space programme is summarized in this section, including the elements of hardware comprising up the spacecraft and the launch vehicle or systems used to put them into space. There is also a description of how the role of the crew member has changed over the decades - Astronaut or Cosmonaut; pilot, engineer or scientist ; passenger or tourist?
3. Quest for Space
X-15 Astro Flights 1962-1968
Mercury Sub Orbital missions 1961 Mercury 3 and Mercury 4
Apollo 1 Pad Fire in January 1967
Launch Pad Aborts including the 1983 Soyuz Pad explosion and various
Shuttle Pad Aborts
These are the missions that reached space but not orbit, or those who encountered serious problems aborting the launch prior to leaving the pad. Apollo 1 was a fatal spacecraft fire on the launch pad two weeks prior to the planned launch.
4. Manned Spaceflight Log
1961 - 2006
Each successful manned orbital spaceflight listed in chronological order also includes the 1975 Soyuz launch abort, and the 1986 Challenger accident both classified as orbital missions in progress when they encountered launch difficulties. When resident space station resident crew are launched on the Shuttle (1 x Mir; 5 to date for ISS these have a separate entry in the book].
Conclusion The next 45 years?
The future of manned spaceflight perhaps provided by a flown astronaut or cosmonaut
Appendix
World Manned Space Missions 1961-2006
World Space Explorers 1961-2006
World Spaceflight Experience 1961-2006
Bibliography and references
Index