Basing his work on virtually untapped NASA archives, T. A. Heppenheimer has produced the second volume of his definitive history of the space shuttle. Volume Two traces the development of the shuttle through a decade of engineering setbacks and breakthroughs, program-management challenges, and political strategizing, culminating in the first launch in April 1981. The focus is on the engineering challenges—propulsion, thermal protection, electronics, onboard systems—and the author covers in depth the alternative vehicles developed by the U.S. Air Force and European countries. The first launch entailed a monumental amount of planning and preparation that Heppenheimer explains in detail.
- ISBN10 1322176388
- ISBN13 9781322176383
- Publish Date 1 January 2014 (first published 6 July 2010)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 1 April 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Smithsonian Books (DC)
- Format eBook
- Language English