“Space In Miniature” offers modelers a new reference booklet on Shuttle payloads

Space in Miniature, led by Michael Mackowski, releases a new digital reference book for space model builders that focuses on payloads flown on the Space Shuttle missions:

Space In Miniature Tech Report 5 – Shuttle Payloads
Reference Book for Model Builders

The fifth installment in the Space In Miniature (SIM) digital-only “Tech Reports” series of reference booklets for spacecraft modelers is now available. This 48-page publication is a combination of material left over after updating the SIM 1.1 Primer and the SIM 3.1 Space Shuttle books, articles recycled from my IPMS Journal columns from the 1980s and early 1990s, and some new material from me and a few of my space modeling associates.

The result is a mix of detailed build articles (e.g., the STS-41C Solar Max repair mission), background material on what potentially could be an interesting build (e.g., the STS-41D Solar Array Flight Experiment), and a few concepts that were made into kits but never actually flew (e.g., Biomedical Experiments Scientific Satellite, aka BESS). This book has 48 pages including the cover and table of contents, with 130 color photos and detailed illustrations.

Here is the table of contents from the book:

Table of Space Shuttle Missions
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite – TDRS
Better Shuttle Astronauts
Spacelab
Buck Rogers of the 20th Century
Shuttle EVA Tools
Building the Solar Max Repair Mission
Long Duration Exposure Facility – LDEF
OAST-1 Solar Array Flight Experiment
Magellan Venus Orbiter
Hubble Space Telescope
HST Servicing Missions
EASE / ACCESS
Power Satellites
Biomedical Experiments Scientific Satellite: BESS

The SIM Tech Reports cover topics that are too short or too narrow in subject matter for full length printed books. These are also distributed only as electronic (pdf) copies, which can be printed by the customer. It allows the use of color illustrations, and customers get their books via a simple download. The pdf download of SIM TR-5 Shuttle Payloads sells for $10.00 and is available at spaceinminiature.com.