We continue here with various space history resources
and reference materials including links to biographies
of astronauts and others involved with rocketry and
space, to space encyclopedias, etc.
Missile
Index Extensive database on missiles both present and
past. Note that missiles are not always used as weapons
but also as sounding rockets and even orbital launchers.
"provide a general overview of these space missions
to the average reader, not just those fluent in aerospace
geek speak. "
Mark
Wades Encyclopedia Astronautica
Mark Wade created this enormous encyclopedia of space
information including lots of historical data on both
NASA and Soviet programs, rockets, and spacecraft. Sections
include
Jim
Lovell and the Flight of Apollo 13
This unofficial web-biography
of Jim Lovell by Tanny Web Publishing is based generally
on the book Lost Moon - the Perilous Voyage of Apollo
13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. Sections include
Lovell's experiences not just on Apollo
13 but also on his Gemini
missions and Apollo
8.
John
Young Dana Holland
has put together a fine tribute to John Young's long and
varied career in space exploration. The pages include
details of his Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle missions.
Major
Michael Adams became the 27th American astronaut
on November 15th 1967 during a high altitude test
flight of the X-15. Unfortunately, the vehicle experienced
hardware problems during the reentry and he was killed.
Major
Michael Adams Monument Dedication.
Rockets
by Robert H. Goddard , available at Dover
Publications, "comprised of two papers written
by Robert Goddard for the Smithsonian Institution:
"A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" and "Liquid
Propellant Rocket Development." Two of the most significant
publications in the history of rockets and jet propulsion,
these reports--the first published in 1919 and the
second in 1936--were issued at a time when little
was known about rockets and jet propulsion."
Jack Parsons: Sex and Rockets
A Salon.com article,
unfortunately no longer accessible on line, discussed
the amazing life of JPL co-founder and occultist Jack
Parsons. Considered one of the fathers of American rocketry,
Parsons led a bizarre double life that eventually led
to his tragic downfall.
Gene
Schoemaker
Remembrances at the Lunar and Planetary Institute of
the famous geologist who made major contributions to
the understanding of our solar system.
Tsiolkovsky
Museum
This museum in the city of Kaluga, Russia is dedicated
to Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935), considered by
many to be the father of astronautics. While working as
a high school teacher, he developed the basic theories
of multi-stage rockets, liquid fuel rockets, gyroscope
attitude control, and many other techniques for space
travel. [The links for this site are dead but I will keep
this entry in hopes that the site can be found at another
URL.]
Colliers Magazine - 8 issues of the magazine
between 1952-1954 included articles by Dr. Wernher
von Braun, Willy Ley and other space visionaries and
included wonderful artwork by Chesley Bonestell, Fred
Freeman and Rolf Klep. The articles had a big impact
on public perceptions in the US on the feasibility
of space travel.
Abe
Silverstein
An engineer at NACA
credited with many contributions there who later became
an important earlier leader of NASA. He was NASA's first
Director of Space Flight operations. Led planning of
Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. He also was the
one who came up with the Mercury and Apollo program
names.
He promoted the use of liquid hydrogen/oxygen propellants
and took over leadership of the development of the Centaur
RL10 when it was suffering many problems and is credited
with making it a success.
NewSpace Notables
There are many strong and interesting personalities
in the entrepreneurial New
Space arena. Here are articles about people current
and past who have contributed to the New Space industry
and community:
Lowell Wood & Space Exploration - Lowell Wood
is a famous star warrior at Lawrence Livermore Lab
who originated many concepts for the SDI program.
After the Challenger disaster, he came up with some
detailed plans for space exploration that involved
bypassing NASA.
Here we look at the contributions of
space probes, communications satellites, spy satellites
and other unmanned systems that contributed to the
exploration and development of space.
The
Voyages of the Voyagers - Robert
J.M. Barron provides this extensive survey
of the amazing accomplishments of the two Voyager
spacecraft, which are still sending data after
over 20 years in space. Sections include:
"We've spent between thirty-five
and forty billion dollars on space...but if nothing
else had come from that program except the knowledge
that we get from our satellite photography, it would
be worth ten times to us what the whole program has
cost. Because tonight I know how many missiles the
enemy has and...our guesses were way off. And we were
doing things that we didn't need to do. We were building
things that we didn't need to build. We were harboring
fears that we didn't need to have." - President
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1967
FAS:
Imagery Intelligence Gallery - The Federation
of American Scientists maintains a vigorous effort
to monitor the actions and policies of the US intelligence
agencies and to research their past. This includes
a keen interest in spy satellites. This image gallery
contains photos as far back as the very first US spysats
in the late 1950s and early 1960s. See also the Intelligence
Resource Program for extensive info about the
US intelligence system.
New
York Times: NASA at 40 - A New York times article
(requires free subscription) that includes pages on
most of the major NASA programs since its start.
Once
We Had A Rocket - on line video documentary
about the British Black
Arrow rocket program, which managed to put
a satellite (Prospero) into orbit in 1971 a few
months after the program was canceled.
Truax
Engineering Multimedia Archive - Thomas Duffey
has collected a great number of articles and videos
dealing with the various rockets designed by Robert
Truax.
Space
Shuttle Costs - R. Pielke Jr., - Feb.10.05
- Roger Pielke Jr. calculates the average cost
of a Shuttle flight, taking into account the cumulative
inflation corrected cost for the life of the program
since 1971, to be in the $1B-$1.3B range.
German
Civilian Rocketry - Astronautix - history
of non-military rocketry, especially the fervent period
of the 1920s and early 30's when rocket enthusiasts
and clubs were developing many rockets.
Canceled Space Projects
Aerospace
Projects Review - This site specializes in
reports on the many promising aerospace projects that
never made it to the production line or even the drawing
board.
Deep Cold
by Dan Roam- Beautiful 3-D displays of several
planned spacecraft that never reached the hardware
stages such as DynaSoar and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory.
RLV
History - includes resources about a number
of canceled space transport projects
Disney & Space
Walt Disney great;u influenced public opinion about
space in the 1950s and early 1960s by broadcasting several
special episodes of his weekly show made in collaboration
with Wernher von Braun. Disneyland, and later DisneyWorld,
also featured various space related exhibits and rides.
JFK's
Rice University Speech - September 12, 1962 -
JFK Library - The full text of John F. Kennedy's address
at Rice University where he laid out his justification
for the nation's space effort. (Includes streamed
audio recording)
The Omega Watch company provides a large on
line museum dedicated to the use of their watches
by astronauts and cosmonauts. NASA endorsed the
watch in 1965 and it became the standard watch
for the astronauts.
The Bulova Accutron introduced in 1961 was the
first successful transistorized watch. It was
not worn by the astronauts but the same mechanism
was used in numerous timing devices in the capsules
and also in satellites and scientific devices.
Edwards
Air Force Base - The Edwards site offers a lot
of history about the famous aerospace testing facility.
The history seciton includes articles about the X-15
and other space related vehicles.
Space History Periodicals
Magazines and journals with emphasis on space history:
QUEST
- The History of Spaceflight - , published
quarterly by the University of North Dakota, provides
articles from both professional and amateur space
historians. In publication since the early 1990's,a
list of back
issues is available. See the latest issue description
at the Quest
homepage.
Aerospace
Legacy Foundation - this group advocates the "historical
integrity and educational use of a reasonable portion
of the NASA/Boeing site in Downey, which is being
acquired by the City of Downey."
