This compendium is all about space exploration, space history, and space pioneers - past, present, and future. It describes past achievements in space, current missions and flights, and upcoming programs. Listings, pictures, and descriptions show you where we've been in space exploration, what is happening now at Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and where we are headed in the future with direct references to new and emerging players from the American commercial space industry.If you have worked in any facet of the space program you know you are involved in an adventure that is much bigger than yourself. This book helps explain how aerospace work leads to a broader appreciation not only for what has gone before, but also for that which is yet to come. Enjoy the read!If you are a fan of space, this book will provide you with valuable insights into the genesis of the key programs, people, and hardware that took us to the moon, as well as where we are now and where we plan to go next.If you are preparing to enter the aerospace industry, it will provide you a basic understanding of the structure of the industry and the give and take that makes space exploration a growing part of every advanced economy on earth. If you are hiring people to work in the space program, this book can become a primer to provide them with valuable background knowledge of the history of aerospace in America, the activities and results of the "cold war" space race between America and Russia, the place of the Space Shuttle Program and in international space collaboration, the development of the International Space Station and how it is used. If you are a student interested in space, included are some of the specific science based knowledge that will help answer basic questions about propulsion, launch windows, effects of microgravity, and similar elements - all from a very hands-on approach that helps anyone understand how it all works.
