The journey into space is a dangerous one, and although some aspects of space travel seem to be routine it still takes humanity to the limits of what is technically possible. It is an environment that forgives no mistake, and where carelessness usually has fatal consequences. This book records more than a dozen American and Soviet space disasters from 1967 to the present day. Presented are tragic and near tragic missions such as NASA's Gemini 6A and 8, Apollo 1 and 13, the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters, as well as the Soviets' Soyuz 1, 11, and 18-1, and more. The concise and detailed history is presented along with rare photographs, transcripts of mission conversations, as well as detailed timelines.

The authors review the past 20 years work in this field, and bring together for the first time details of the technology available and being developed to provide totally reusable launch vehicles for the future exploitation and exploration of space.

In this book, renowned scientists describe the various techniques used to detect and characterize extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, with a view to unveiling the "tricks of the trade" of planet detection to a wider community. The radial velocity method, transit method, microlensing method, and direct imaging method are all clearly explained, drawing attention to their advantages and limitations and highlighting the complementary roles that they can play in improving the characterization of exoplanets' physical and orbital properties. By probing the planetary frequency at different distances and in different conditions, these techniques are helping astrophysicists to reconstruct the scenarios of planetary formation and to give robust scientific answers to questions regarding the frequency of potentially habitable worlds. Twenty years have passed since the discovery of a Jupiter-mass companion to a main sequence star other than the Sun, heralding the birth of extrasolar planetary research; this book fully conveys the exciting progress that has been achieved during the intervening period.

This book provides an introduction to the physics of interstellar gas in the Galaxy. It deals with the diffuse interstellar medium which supplies a complex environment for exploring the neutral gas content of a galaxy like the Milky Way and the techniques necessary for studying this non-stellar component. After an initial exposition of the phases of the interstellar medium and the role of gas in a spiral galaxy, the authors discuss the transition from atomic to molecular gas. They then consider basic radiative transfer and molecular spectroscopy with particular emphasis on the molecules useful for studying low-density molecular gas. Observational techniques for investigating the gas and the dust component of the diffuse interstellar medium throughout the electromagnetic spectrum are explored emphasizing results from the recent Herschel and Planck missions. A brief exposition on dust in the diffuse interstellar medium is followed by a discussion of molecular clouds in general and high-latitude molecular clouds in particular. Ways of calibrating CO observations with the molecular hydrogen content of a cloud are examined along with the dark molecular gas controversy. High-latitude molecular clouds are considered in detail as vehicles for applying the techniques developed in the book. Given the transient nature of diffuse and translucent molecular clouds, the role of turbulence in the origin and dynamics of these objects is examined in some detail. The book is targeted at graduate students or postdocs who are entering the field of interstellar medium studies.

Spacecraft TT&C and Information Transmission Theory and Technologies introduces the basic theory of spacecraft TT&C (telemetry, track and command) and information transmission. Combining TT&C and information transmission, the book presents several technologies for continuous wave radar including measurements for range, range rate and angle, analog and digital information transmissions, telecommand, telemetry, remote sensing and spread spectrum TT&C. For special problems occurred in the channels for TT&C and information transmission, the book represents radio propagation features and its impact on orbit measurement accuracy, and the effects caused by rain attenuation, atmospheric attenuation and multi-path effect, and polarization composition technology. This book can benefit researchers and engineers in the field of spacecraft TT&C and communication systems. Liu Jiaxing is a professor at The 10th Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.

This book makes good background reading for much of modern magnetospheric physics. Its origin was a Festspiel for Professor Jim Dungey, former professor in the Physics Department at Imperial College on the occasion of his 90th birthday, 30 January 2013. Remarkably, although he retired 30 years ago, his pioneering and, often, maverick work in the 50's through to the 70's on solar terrestrial physics is probably more widely appreciated today than when he retired. Dungey was a theoretical plasma physicist. The book covers how his reconnection model of the magnetosphere evolved to become the standard model of solar-terrestrial coupling. Dungey's open magnetosphere model now underpins a holistic picture explaining not only the magnetic and plasma structure of the magnetosphere, but also its dynamics which can be monitored in real time. The book also shows how modern day simulation of solar terrestrial coupling can reproduce the real time evolution of the solar terrestrial system in ways undreamt of in 1961 when Dungey's epoch-making paper was published. Further contributions on current Earth magnetosphere research and space plasma physics included in this book show how Dungey's basic ideas have remained explanative 50 years on. But the Festspiel also introduced some advances that possibly Dungey had not foreseen. One of the contributions presented in this book is on the variety of magnetospheres of the solar system which have been seen directly during the space age, discussing the variations in spatial scale and reconnection time scale and comparing them in respect of Earth, Mercury, the giant planets as well as Ganymede.

Space junk crashing into Earth is a real and escalating danger. Milne provides the first synthesis of the interdisciplinary work of the scientific community, which has been investigating how the satellite industry can be protected from manmade and natural space hazards. The result is an invaluable book for those concerned with space missions and space disasters, those worried about cosmic radiation and its effects on humans, members of the Spaceguard defense movement, and anyone concerned with defense and international cooperation efforts in general.

Tens of millions of objects may exist in space, ranging in size from grains of sand to entire rocket boosters. Many fireballs seen in the skies, often thought to be UFOs, are in fact manmade debris. Plutonium and other highly toxic fuels from failed Russian craft have already contaminated inhabited areas of Central Asia. Natural hazards such as comet particles can travel at 100 times the speed of a bullet and can severely damage satellites. There is also the danger of spaceweather effects, such as cosmic rays, that could interfere with a spacecraft's electronics and interrupt the global transmission of telephones and television.

This book concentrates on the subject of health monitoring technology of Liquid Rocket Engine (LRE), including its failure analysis, fault diagnosis and fault prediction. Since no similar issue has been published, the failure pattern and mechanism analysis of the LRE from the system stage are of particular interest to the readers. Furthermore, application cases used to validate the efficacy of the fault diagnosis and prediction methods of the LRE are different from the others. The readers can learn the system stage modeling, analyzing and testing methods of the LRE system as well as corresponding fault diagnosis and prediction methods. This book will benefit researchers and students who are pursuing aerospace technology, fault detection, diagnostics and corresponding applications.

Given the universal interest in whether extraterrestrial life has developed or could eventually develop, it is vital that an examination of planetary habitability go beyond simple assumptions. This book has resulted from a workshop at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) which brought together experts to discuss the multi-faceted problem of how the habitability of a planet co-evolves with the geology of the surface and interior, the atmosphere, and the magnetosphere.

The central aim of the "Sunrise "project is to understand the structure and dynamics of the magnetic field in the solar atmosphere. The magnetic field is the source of solar activity, controls the space environment of the Earth and causes the variability of solar irradiance, which may be a significant driver of long-term changes of the terrestrial climate. Interacting with the convective plasma flow, the magnetic field in the solar photosphere develops intense field concentrations on scales below 100 km, which are crucial for the dynamics and energetics of the whole solar atmosphere. These spatial scales cannot be studied systematically from the ground because of image distortions due to atmospheric turbulence. The balloon-borne "Sunrise" telescope has, for the first time, provided measurements of the magnetic structure of the solar atmosphere on its intrinsic spatial and temporal scales. The book gives an overview about the instrumentation and the successful flight in 2009.

This book focuses on the theory and design of special space orbits. Offering a systematic and detailed introduction to the hovering orbit, spiral cruising orbit, multi-target rendezvous orbit, initiative approaching orbit, responsive orbit and earth pole-sitter orbit, it also discusses the concept, theory, design methods and application of special space orbits, particularly the design and control method based on kinematics and astrodynamics. In addition the book presents the latest research and its application in space missions. It is intended for researchers, engineers and postgraduates, especially those working in the fields of orbit design and control, as well as space-mission planning and research.

Putting the "I" in IHY This book is about international cooperation. It demonstrates how the power of scienti?c imagination and investigation can bring together people form all continents in almost all countries around the globe. In presenting this impressive result, we can understand, how much unifying force the quest for understanding our universe and using outer space for that purpose have. Astronomy is far away from being a "political" area of science. But is has enormous political effects - and all of these effects are positive. This book about the international aspects and achievements of the "International Heliophysical Year (IHY) 2007" can be regarded as a compendium of the fertile impacts of conducting research in this ?eld. The main focus, as the title implicates, is the international cooperation, which has emerged from this grassroots initiative. North and South, industrialized and developing countries have been coordinating their efforts and have been learning from each other in a mutual partnership under a joint understanding of sharing the scienti?c bene?ts. Through this, trans-border networks have been created and scienti?c as well as cultural exchange took place.

This book includes a selection of 30 reviewed and enhanced manuscripts published during the 15th SpaceOps Conference held in May 2018 in Marseille, France. The selection was driven by their quality and relevance to the space operations community. The papers represent a cross-section of three main subject areas: Mission Management - management tasks for designing, preparing and operating a particular mission Spacecraft Operations - preparation and implementation of all activities to operate a space vehicle (crewed and uncrewed) under all conditions Ground Operations - preparation, qualification, and operations of a mission dedicated ground segment and appropriate infrastructure including antennas, control centers, and communication means and interfaces This book promotes the SpaceOps Committee's mission to foster the technical interchange on all aspects of space mission operations and ground data systems while promoting and maintaining an international community of space operations experts.

Over the last two decades, the image of the U.S. space program has become seriously tarnished. Its problems have ranged from massive cost overruns to serious program delays to catastrophic mission failures. The space program, once the most prominent symbol of American scientific and technological preeminence, now seems but one more example of government bumbling, extravagance, and waste. In this study, Kay examines the recent problems of the space program and finds that NASA's failures, like its earlier successes, are ultimately traceable to the way the American political system operates. Asking can democracies fly in space?, the author suggests that the traditional workings of democratic politics actually exacerbates those very features of space projects--size, expense, and complexity--that make their development so difficult in the first place.

Living and working in extra-terrestrial habitats means being potentially vulnerable to very harsh environmental, social, and psychological conditions. With the stringent technical specifications for launch vehicles and transport into space, a very tight framework for the creation of habitable space is set. These constraints result in a very demanding "partnership" between the habitat and the inhabitant. This book is the result of researching the interface between people, space and objects in an extra-terrestrial environment. The evaluation of extra-terrestrial habitats in comparison to the user's perspective leads to a new framework, comparing these buildings from the viewpoint of human activity. It can be used as reference or as conceptual framework for the purpose of evaluation. It also summarizes relevant human-related design directions. The work is addressed to architects and designers as well as engineers.

This thesis focuses on the construction and application of an electron radiation belt kinetic model including various adiabatic and non-adiabatic processes. The terrestrial radiation belt was discovered over 50 years ago and has received a resurgence of interest in recent years. The main drivers of radiation belt research are the fundamental science questions surrounding its complex and dramatic dynamics and particularly its potential hazards posed to space-borne systems. The establishment of physics-based radiation belt models will be able to identify the contributions of various mechanisms, forecast the future radiation belt evolution and then mitigate its adverse space weather effects. Dr. Su is now an Professor works in Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.

This volume explores the cross-linkages between the kinetic processes and macroscopic phenomena in the solar atmosphere, which are at the heart of our current understanding of the heating of the closed and open corona and the acceleration of the solar wind. The focus lies on novel data, on theoretical models that have observable consequences through remote sensing, and on near-solar and inner-heliosphere observations, such as anticipated by the upcoming Solar Orbiter and Solar Probe missions, which are currently developed by the international community. This volume is aimed at students and researchers active in solar physics and space science. Previously published in Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 172, Nos. 1-4, 2012.

The goals of the ICPMSE-7 meeting, as in the past years, are to facilitate exchanges between members of the various engineering disciplines involved in development of space materials, incl. such aspects as environmental hazards of Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Deep Space, ground-based qualification, and in-flight experiments and lessons learned from operational vehicles. The book continues to discuss topics started in the earlier publications and adds new data and results. The proceedings cover a range of inter-disciplinary topics concerning the protection of materials and structures in space and discussing the effects of the aggressive LEO as well as the GEO and Deep Space environments on materials and structures and the ways to predict and reduce these effects of short and long-term space missions.