Synopses & Reviews
Since the lift-off of Sputnik in 1957, over 8,000 satellites and spacecraft have been launched from over thirty countries, costing hundreds of billions of dollars. While only about 350 people have made the incredible journey beyond our atmosphere, we all benefit in countless ways from the missions. An authoriative and accessible source that collects information on man's quest to explore the Universe, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space, provides a global perspective of our occupation and use of space, whether for scientific, industrial, commercial, technical, or military purposes. The authors set the stage by describing the space environment, orbits and ground tracks, launchers and launch sites. Subsequently, they discuss the main space applications (telecommunications, navigation and Earth observation, military), plus science missions, planetary exploration, and space stations. Extensively illustrated with more than 300 illustrations, maps, and graphs, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space will be an invaluable resource for everyone interested in our use of space, and the perfect reference for those working in the space arena. Fernand Verger is Professor Emeritus of Geography at L'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris. Isabelle Sourbés-Verger is a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research and the Foundation for Strategic Research, Paris. Raymond Ghirardi is a cartographic engineer at the CNRS and has worked on many geopolitical projects. Xavier Pasco is a researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research and Associate Professor at the Universite de Marne la Vallee. Pasco is also a Fellow at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Review
"An authoritative, up-to-date reference..." Paper Clips"An authorative, up-to-date reference to space." Forecast
Review
"General and specialist readers alike will find The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space an accessible introduction to space activities conducted by all countries since the mid-20th century...an extraordinarily ambitious accomplishment...[it] will reward anyone interested in the history or contemporary profile of human activities in space." Science"An authoritative, up-to-date reference..." Paper Clips"The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space superbly covers both the mysteries of science and the workings of national politics to present a combined wealth of information ideal for nonspecialist general readers of all backgrounds." The Bookwatch"...If you want to understand the worldwide system of telecommunications satellites, this is the place to go. you also learn about the space programs of countries such as India, Japan and China, as well as the United States and Russia. This book is very detailed, good for the serious space junkie."...Is HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Sunday Dec. 14. 2003
Synopsis
Since the lift-off of Sputnik in 1957, over 8,000 satellites and spacecraft have been launched from over thirty countries, costing hundreds of billions of dollars. While only about 350 people have made the incredible journey beyond our atmosphere, we all benefit in countless ways from the missions. An authoritative and accessible source that collects information on man's quest to explore the Universe,
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space provides a global perspective of our occupation and use of space, whether for scientific, industrial, commercial, technical, or military purposes. The authors set the stage by describing the space environment, orbits and ground tracks, launchers and launch sites. They discuss the main space applications (telecommunications, navigation and Earth observation, military), plus science missions, planetary exploration, and space stations.
Extensively illustrated with more than 300 illustrations, maps, and graphs, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space is an invaluable resource.
Synopsis
Since Sputnik in 1957, over 8000 satellites and spacecraft have been launched, costing hundreds of billions of dollars. Over 350 people have been in space and we all benefit in countless ways from the use of space. This unique Encyclopedia gives a global perspective of our occupation and use of space, whether scientific, industrial, commercial, technical or military. The wealth of full-colour illustrations make the information highly accessible, resulting in an invaluable source for everyone interested in our use of space, and those working in, or studying, the space arena.
About the Author
Fernand Verger is Emeritus Professor of Geography at l'École Normale Supérieure, Paris. He was NASA Principal Investigator for the Landsat-1 and 2 programs, and project director of the preliminary program for assessing the SPOT satellite.Isabelle Sourbès-Verger is a researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, Paris.Raymond Ghirardi is a cartographic engineer at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and has worked on many geographical and geopolitical projects.Xavier Pasco is a researcher at the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, and Associate Professor at the Universitéde Marne la Vallée.
Table of Contents
Foreword; Preface; List of figures; 1. The environment of outer space; 2. Orbits; 3. Ground tracks; 4. The occupation of space; 5. Launchers and launch sites; 6. Political and economic aspects; 7. Near-Earth science missions; 8. Exploration beyond geocentric orbit; 9. Earth observation; 10. Telecommunications; 11. Military applications; 12. Man in space; Bibliography; Internet sites; Index.