Space History

Launius places American and Soviet programs on equal footing - following American aerospace engineers Wernher von Braun and Robert Gilruth, their Soviet counterparts Sergei Korolev and Valentin Glushko, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov - to highlight key actions that led to various successes, failures, and ultimately the American Moon landing.

July 20, 1969. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin left humanity’s first footprints on the Moon. The plaque they left behind reads, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” But was the Apollo 11 moon landing mission really a global endeavor? How did people outside the United States view these “rocket men”? Against the political backdrop of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union, was it, indeed, “For all mankind”?

Breve historia de la carrera espacial es un texto imprescindible porque no se limita a darnos una batería de datos científicos, sino que nos muestra las teorías clásicas sobre el universo: la cosmología griega, el universo de Dante o el Sueño de Kepler. Completa la información del texto un glosario de términos relacionados con la Ciencia Astronáutica y un apéndice donde se explican, de un modo divulgativo, los fundamentos de la ciencia espacial.

The Short Story of the Universe is a new introduction to the subject of the universe. Covering 130 key components that make it up - from dwarf galaxies and spiral arms to red giants and the planets of the solar system - and linking these to the universe's structure and the theories that help us understand it, this book simplifies this riveting yet mind-boggling subject, telling the story of how it came into being and how it will eventually be no more.

On August 21, 2017, more than 10 million Americans will experience an awe-inspiring phenomenon: the first total eclipse of the sun in America in almost 40 years. In Sun Moon Earth, astronomer Tyler Nordgren illustrates how this most seemingly unnatural of natural phenomena was transformed from a fearsome omen to a tourist attraction. From the astrologers of ancient China and Babylon to the high priests of the Maya, Sun Moon Earth takes us around the world to show how different cultures interpreted these dramatic events.

This is a fascinating introduction to the history of Western astronomy, from prehistoric times to the origins of astrophysics in the mid-19th century. Historical records are first found in Babylon and Egypt, and after two millennia the arithmetical astronomy of the Babylonians merged with the Greek geometrical approach to culminate in the Almagest of Ptolemy. This legacy was transmitted to the Latin West via Islam and led to Copernicus's claim that the Earth is in motion.

In her graceful, compelling style, Dava Sobel chronicles the history of the Copernican Revolution, relating the story of astronomy from Aristotle to the Middle Ages. In its midst will be her play, And the Sun Stood Still, imagining the dialogue that would have transpired between Rheticus and Copernicus in their months together. As she achieved with her bestsellers Longitude and Galileo's Daughter, Sobel expands the bounds of science writing, giving us an unforgettable portrait of scientific achievement.

This exciting second book in the Lost series tells the incredible true story of the doomed Apollo 13 moon mission that nearly ended in disaster. On April 11, 1970, the Apollo 13 space shuttle set off for the third intended American moon landing. Two days later and 200,000 miles from Earth, disaster struck when an oxygen tank exploded onboard the spacecraft, leaving three astronauts with only one goal: to make it home alive.

In 1986, US and Russia were racing for supremacy in spaceflight capability. This educational listen will describe what the space race was, and what lessons were learned during the era. It is always a wonderful idea to learn complex and diverse topics, while still young. So go ahead, and encourage your sixth grader to learn about the space race today!

For fans of The Astronaut Wives Club, The Mercury 13 reveals the little-known true story of the remarkable women who trained for NASA space flight. In 1961, just as NASA launched its first man into space, a group of women underwent secret testing in the hopes of becoming America’s first female astronauts. They passed the same battery of tests at the legendary Lovelace Foundation as did the Mercury 7 astronauts, but they were summarily dismissed by the boys’ club at NASA and on Capitol Hill.

The Apollo space program is the most famous and celebrated in American history, but the first successful landing of men on the moon during Apollo 11 had complicated roots dating back over a decade, and it also involved one of NASA’s most infamous tragedies.

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States accelerated the development of technologies that would give it an advantage over the Soviet Union. Airpower, combined with nuclear weapons, offered a formidable check on Soviet aggression. In 1947, the United States Air Force was established. Meanwhile, scientists and engineers were pioneering a revolutionary new type of aircraft which could do what no other machine had ever done: reach mach 1 - a speed faster than the movement of sound - which pilots called "the demon."

Big History, the field that studies the entire known past of our universe to give context to human existence, has so far been the domain of historians. Geologist Walter Alvarez - best known for his Impact Theory explaining dinosaur extinction - makes a compelling case for a new, science-first approach to Big History.

La vertiginosa historia de la conquista de la Luna, una carrera por el control militar mundial que acabó convirtiéndose en uno de los hitos más importantes de la historia de la humanidad. Alberto Martos, nos descubre en este audiolibro las verdaderas motivaciones que se esconden detrás de la imperiosa necesidad de conquistar el espacio que tuvieron las potencias implicadas en la Guerra Fría. Tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial, el mundo se divide en dos bloques políticos enfrentados.

In October 1968 Donn Eisele flew with fellow astronauts Walt Cunningham and Wally Schirra into Earth orbit in Apollo 7. The first manned mission in the Apollo program and the first manned flight after a fire during a launch pad test killed three astronauts in early 1967, Apollo 7 helped restart NASA's manned-spaceflight program.

Thanks to the various components that have been put together, the International Space Station is bigger and brighter than all other artificial satellites. With relatively low power magnification, people can see the solar panels radiating outward from the numerous international modules which make up the ISS. The reality of that platform, at the edge of the ocean of space, is pretty astounding when looked at from the perspective of history. Only 120 years ago, mankind did not know if it was possible to fly in a heavier-than-air vehicle.

In a race against time, the Apollo program challenged our scientific capabilities and redefined the boundaries of humanity. To celebrate NASA’s 60 years of exploration, Seeker went back in time to relive each Apollo mission. Listen along as Seeker dives into the whole story from its WWII origins to its present day possibilities available for the first time in audio.

In 1957 Sputnik launched toward the stars. President Kennedy then announced that the United States would send men to the Moon and then return them to Earth.These pivotal moments sparked an unequaled bound forward in human innovation and scientific exploration. At the heart of this momentous time were the men and women working behind the scenes. Scientists, historians, and astronomers share their memories and contributions from this unparalleled era in essays told in their own words.

In 1977, two spacecraft were launched from Earth to explore the outer Solar System, and incredibly, the now-ancient technology from the 1970s is still working, sending daily reports back to the planet that sent the two robotic envoys on their way, over 40 years ago. Voyager 1 and 2 have done far more than accomplish their original missions. In fact, they are now exploring interstellar space, far beyond the outer planets, in the cold wasteland between the stars.

Tech billionaires have decided that they should determine our futures for us. According to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and more, the only good future for humanity is one powered by technology: trillions of humans living in space, functionally immortal, served by superintelligent AIs. In More Everything Forever, science writer Adam Becker investigates these wildly implausible and often profoundly immoral visions of tomorrow—and shows why, in reality, there is no good evidence that they will, or should, come to pass.