image: Reader-friendly 'How Spacecraft Fly' provides straightforward explanation without the mathematical or technical jargon. view more
Credit: Springer
About half a century ago, the satellite Sputnik 1 was launched, and since that time, thousands of satellites have orbited the earth, providing services that support our technological society on the ground while others have flown to far-flung regions of the solar system. A new book just published by Springer, How Spacecraft Fly: Spaceflight Without Formulae by Graham Swinerd, uniquely and humorously explains spaceflight without the technical jargon and is presented to readers without recourse to mathematics.
How Spacecraft Fly opens with a comprehensive historical perspective of how we've come to understand the solar system and the universe. The book proceeds with a detailed explanation of orbital flight, rocket science, the hostile environment within which spacecraft operate and how they're designed. Swinerd concludes with a glimpse of what the 21st century might hold regarding human exploration of the solar system and more propulsion technologies for interstellar travel.
Author Graham Swinerd has over thirty years of experience in spacecraft orbit design and analysis and in the design of spacecraft. He also has many years of experience as an engineer, both in industry, working for a number of years at British Aerospace Space Systems, and as a reader in spacecraft engineering at the University of Southampton in the UK, supervising undergraduate projects and postgraduate research students. In addition to editing an award-winning textbook on spacecraft design, he has also published some 60 technical papers in refereed journals and authored numerous conference papers.
Graham Swinerd
How Spacecraft Fly: Spaceflight without Formulae
2009. 272 p. 71 illus., 11 in color
Hardcover €19.95, $27.50, £15.00
ISBN 978-0-387-76571-6
Journalists may request review copies.