April 13, 1970. Astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert are hurtling towards the moon in the Apollo 13 spacecraft, when an explosion rocks the ship. The cockpit grows dim, the air grows thin, and the instrument lights wink out. Moments later, the astronauts are forced to abandon the main ship for the tiny lunar module, designed to keep two men alive for just two days. But there are three men aboard and they are four days from home. As the action shifts from the disabled ship to the frantic engineers at Mission Control to Lovell's anxious family, APOLLO 13 brilliantly recreates the harrowing, heroic mission in all its drama and glory. This gripping story of human endurance is the basis for Ron Howard's classic film starring Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon.

Despite its apparent unchanging appearance in the daytime sky, the Sun is incredibly dynamic and shrouded in mystery. In this guide, Dr. Ryan French explores history, science, and modern observations to uncover the mysteries of the Sun.

From ancient astronomers who hailed the Sun as a deity, to new age space exploration, the way we observe the Sun has come a long way. Humanity’s scientific journey to understand the Sun has included many intriguing and humorous tales from over the centuries. In today’s age, it is far easier to become a sun observer. Learn about cutting-edge space observations of the Sun and how to access these images from home. Uncover further methods of observing the Sun safely from your own back garden using off-the-shelf solar telescopes, DIY pin-hole cameras and solar projectors.

The perfect gift for anyone wishing to learn more about our local star.

For nearly sixty years, radio observations have provided a unique insight into the physics of the active and quiescent solar atmosphere. Thanks to the variety of emission mechanisms and to the large altitude range available to observations, fundamental plasma parameters have been measured from the low chromosphere to the upper corona and interplanetary medium. This book presents current research in solar radio astronomy and shows how well it fits in the exceptional scientific context brought by the current space solar observatories. It essentially contains contributed research and review papers presented during the 2010 Community of European Solar Radio Astronomers (CESRA) meeting, which took place in Belgium in June 2010. This book is aimed at graduate students and researchers working in solar physics and space science. It is previously published in Solar Physics journal, Vol. 273/2, 2011.

This is a modern textbook that guides the reader through the theory and practice of satellite orbit prediction and determination. Starting from the basic principles of orbital mechanics, it covers elaborate force models as well as precise methods of satellite tracking. Emphasis is on numerical treatment and a multitude of algorithms adopted in modern satellite trajectory computation are described in detail. The accompanying CD-ROM includes all source codes written in C++ and relevant data files for applications. The result is a powerful and unique spaceflight dynamics library which allows easy software extensions by the user. An extensive collection of Internet resources is provided through WWW hyperlinks to detailed and frequently updated online information on spaceflight dynamics. The book addresses students, scientist working in the field of navigation, geodesy and spaceflight technology and satellite engineers and operators focusing on spaceflight dynamics.

Space is spectacular This short, informative and engaging guide to the wonders of the universe will fascinate and inspire readers of all ages There's never been a more exciting time to learn about space. As new rockets are launched and fresh discoveries are made, humanity's urge to explore and understand what's going on out there keeps evolving and expanding. But you don't need to have Einstein-level training to grasp the science and ponder the big questions. This little book covers everything from the Big Bang and the formation of the planets in our solar system, and how to spot them in the night sky, to a timeline of firsts and major events, including the Apollo missions, Elon Musk's SpaceX programme and Tim Peake's Principia mission. Packed with awe-inspiring facts and profiles of key figures, it will take you on an out-of-this-world adventure to the stars and back. Among the many fascinating questions the book will answer are these: How big is the universe and how was it formed? How many meteorites crash into Earth every day? Could humans one day live on Mars? Are we alone in the universe?

Unifying the Universe: The Physics of Heaven and Earth presents a non-technical approach to physics for the lay-science enthusiast. This popular textbook, which evolved from a conceptual course at Cornell University, is intended for non-science undergraduate students taking their first physics module. This second edition maintains its unique approach in crossing boundaries between physics and humanities, with connections to art, poetry, history, and philosophy. It explores how the process of scientific thought is inextricably linked with cultural, creative, and aesthetic aspects of human endeavor, opening the readers up to new ways of looking at the world. The text has been fully updated throughout to address current and exciting new topics in the field, such as exo-planets, the accelerating Universe, dark matter, dark energy, gravitational waves, super-symmetry, string theory, big bang cosmology, and the Higgs boson. There is also an entirely new chapter on the Quantum World, which connects the fascinating topics of quantum entanglement and quantum computing. Key Features: Provides a solid, yet accessible, background to basic physics without complex mathematics Uses a human interest approach to show how science is significant for more than its technological consequences Discusses the arts and philosophies of historical periods that are pertinent to the subject

What Shape is Space? is a question with surprisingly far-reaching implications for our understanding of the very nature of reality and our place within it. The concepts involved may be sophisticated, but Giles Sparrow's effortless prose style easily renders them understandable, allowing readers to get to grips with the overarching debates at the cutting edge of cosmology today. Infographics, diagrams and astronomical visualizations illustrate and clarify the various astonishing implications of a universe of infinite space.

Solar sailing offers the possibility of low-cost long-distance missions, impossible for any other type of conventional spacecraft. The book provides a detailed account of solar sailing, at a high technical level but in a way accessible to the scientifically informed layman. Solar sail orbital dynamics and solar radiation pressure form the foundations of the book, but the engineering design of solar sails is also considered, along with potential mission applications. This book introduces the subject and at the same time provides a technical reference source.

Over the past ten years, the discovery of extrasolar planets has opened a new field of astronomy, and this area of research is rapidly growing, from both the observational and theoretical point of view. The presence of many giant exoplanets in the close vicinity of their star shows that these newly discovered planetary systems are very different from the solar system. New theoretical models are being developed in order to understand their formation scenarios, and new observational methods are being implemented to increase the sensitivity of exoplanet detections. In the present book, the authors address the question of planetary systems from all aspects. Starting from the facts (the detection of more than 300 extraterrestrial planets), they first describe the various methods used for these discoveries and propose a synthetic analysis of their global properties. They then consider the observations of young stars and circumstellar disks and address the case of the solar system as a specific example, different from the newly discovered systems. Then the study of planetary systems and of exoplanets is presented from a more theoretical point of view. The book ends with an outlook to future astronomical projects, and a description of the search for life on exoplanets. This book addresses students and researchers who wish to better understand this newly expanding field of research.

Flight research takes up where the other instruments of aeronautical research -- wind tunnels, fluid dynamics, and mathematical analyses -- leave off. No matter how the equations suggest it ought to fly, only by studying actual flight, often demanding complicated and dangerous maneuvers, can researchers discover the limits of flight and the true characteristics of experimental flight vehicles. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (1915) and its successor, The National Aeronautic and Space Act (1958) were created to find out.

Expanding the Envelope is the first book to explore the full panorama of flight research history, from the earliest attempts by such nineteenth-century practitioners as England's Sir George Cayley, who tested his kites and gliders by subjecting them to experimental flight, to the cutting-edge aeronautical research conducted by the NACA and NASA.

NASA historian Michael H. Gorn explores the vital human aspect of the history of flight research, including such well-known figures as James H. Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, and A. Scott Crossfield, as well as the less heralded engineers, pilots, and scientists who also had the "Right Stuff". While the individuals in the cockpit often receive the lion's share of the public's attention, Expanding the Envelope shows flight research to be a collaborative engineering activity, one in which the pilot participates as just one of many team members.

Here is more than a century of flight research, from well before the creation of NACA to its rapid transformation under NASA. Gorn gives a behind-the-scenes look at the development of groundbreaking vehicles such as the X-1, the D-558, and the X-15, which demonstrated mannedflight at speeds up to Mach 6.7 and as high as the edge of space.

Reissued with a new preface by the author on the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 journey to the moon The years that have passed since Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the moon in July 1969 have done nothing to alter the fundamental wonder of the event: man reaching the moon remains one of the great events--technical and spiritual--of our lifetime. In Carrying the Fire, Collins conveys, in a very personal way, the drama, beauty, and humor of that adventure. He also traces his development from his first flight experiences in the Air Force, through his days as a test pilot, to his Apollo 11 space walk, presenting an evocative picture of the joys of flight as well as a new perspective on time, light, and movement from someone who has seen the fragile earth from the other side of the moon.

'IMPRESSIVE AND ILLUMINATING' TOM HANKS This is the definitive account of the heroic Apollo programme. When astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their 'giant leap for mankind' across a ghostly lunar landscape, they were watched by some 600 million people on Earth 240,000 miles away. Drawing on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with the astronauts and mission personnel, this is the story of the twentieth century's greatest human achievement, minute-by-minute, through the eyes of those who were there. From the tragedy of the fire in Apollo 1 during a simulated launch, Apollo 8's bold pioneering flight around the moon, through to the euphoria of the first moonwalk, and to the discoveries made by the first scientist on the moon aboard Apollo 17, this book covers it all. 'An extraordinary book . . . Space, with its limitless boundaries, has the power to inspire, to change lives, to make the impossible happen. Chaikin's superb book demonstrates how' Sunday Times 'A superb account . . . Apollo may be the only achievement by which our age is remembered a thousand years from now' Arthur C. Clarke 'The authoritative masterpiece' Los Angeles Times

As humans continue to degrade and destroy our planet's resources, leading to predictions of total ecological collapse, some (such as the entrepreneur Elon Musk) now suggest that a human colony elsewhere may be our species' best hope for survival. Adam Morton examines extra-terrestrial colonization plans with a critical eye. He makes a strong case for colonization - just not by human beings. Humans live relatively short lives and, to survive, require large amounts of food and water, very specific climatic conditions and an oxygen-rich atmosphere. We can create colonists that have none of these shortcomings. Reflecting compassionately on the nature of existence, Morton argues that we should treat the end of the human race in the same way that we treat our own deaths: as something sad but ultimately inevitable. The earth will perish one day, and, in the end, we should be concerned more with securing the future of intelligent beings than with the preservation of our species, which represents but a nanosecond in the history of our solar system.

As featured in THE EDGE OF ALL WE KNOW - the new Netflix documentary about Black Holes For readers of Stephen Hawking, a fascinating account of the universe from the perspective of world-leading astrophysicist Heino Falcke, who took the first ever picture of a black hole. 10th April 2019: a global sensation. Heino Falcke, a man "working at the boundaries of his discipline and therefore at the limits of the universe" had used a network of telescopes spanning the entire planet to take the first picture of a black hole. Light in the Darkness examines how mankind has always looked to the skies, mapping the journey from millennia ago when we turned our gaze to the heavens, to modern astrophysics. Heino Falcke and Jorg Romer entertainingly and compellingly chart the breakthrough research of Falcke's team, an unprecedented global community of international colleagues developing a telescope complex enough to look directly into a black hole - a hole where light vanishes, and time stops. What does this development mean? Is this the beginning of a new physics? What can we learn from this about God, the world, and ourselves? For Falcke, astrophysics and metaphysics, science and faith, do not exclude one another. Black Hole is both a plea for curiosity and humility; it's interested in both what we know, and the mysteries that remain unsolved.

The first comprehensive reference on the design, analysis, and application of space vehicle mechanisms

Space Vehicle Mechanisms: Elements of Successful Design brings together accumulated industry experience in the design, analysis, and application of the mechanical systems used during space flight. More than thirty experts from a variety of related specialties and subspecialties share their insights, technical expertise, and in-depth knowledge on an enormous variety of topics, including:

• Stainless steel, beryllium, and other widely used materials
• Bearings
• Lubricants and component lubrication
• Release devices
• Motors
• Optical encoders
• Resolvers
• Signal and power transfer devices
• Deployment devices
• Thermal design
• Radiation and survivability
• Electrical interfaces
• Reliability

Space Vehicle Mechanisms is an indispensable resource for engineers involved in the design and analysis of mechanical assemblies used in space flight, and a valuable reference for space systems engineers, mission planners, and control systems engineers. It is also an excellent text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate-level courses in astronautical and mechanical engineering.

Space Vehicle Mechanisms: Elements of Successful Design brings together accumulated industry experience in the design, analysis, and application of the mechanical systems used during space flight. More than thirty experts from a variety of related specialties and subspecialties share their insights, technical expertise, and in-depth knowledge on an enormous variety of topics, including: