Wings In Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle 1971-2010: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle 1971-2010

by Wayne Hale (Editor), Helen Lane (Editor), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Editor), John Young (Foreword by), Kamlesh Lulla (Editor), Gail Chapline (Editor), Robert Crippen (Foreword by)

Overview

 

Wings in Orbit is an authoritative documentation of the many accomplishments of the NASA Space Shuttle Program. Starting with a foreword written by astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen, this compelling book provides accurate, authentic and easily understood accounts from NASA’s best subject matter experts and external resources. The book captures the passion of those who devoted their energies to the Program’s success for more than three decades. It focuses on their science and engineering accomplishments, the rich history of the program and the shuttle as an icon in U.S. history. No other book on the market has accumulated as many experts and resources on this subject nor broken it down in such easy to understand language with compelling imagery. With the Shuttle Program coming to a close, consumers will be inclined to purchase this book as it provides comprehensive information on this historic program as it ends its 30 year run. The promotions for this book will definitely benefit from the publicity of this historic event.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780160887604
Publisher:	US National Aeronautics and Space Admin
Publication date:	06/14/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	565
File size:	28 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

 

Dr. Helen W. Lane is Chief Scientist  for Biological Sciences and Applications Space Life Sciences at NASA/Johnson Space Center and the lead for the Space Life Scineces Academy that focuses on education for the NASA employees as well as outreach for  K-20.  Previously she was Manager of University Research and Affairs for NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Dr. Lane has also managed NASA’s Advanced Human Support Technologies Program, which includes innovative work in food science and technologies for extended-duration spaceflight.  She was Acting Director of Technology Transfer Office and branch chief for biomedical operations and research that included the nutrition research laboratory and clinical medicine.

 

 

As  NASA’s Chief Nutritionist, she led efforts to define nutritional requirements for healthy crew members during spaceflight. Her research and administrative functions have included setting the nutrition standards for the International Space Station and the joint U.S.- Russian Shuttle-Mir flights. Her research focused on energy and protein requirements as well as space-food nutritional quality. Dr. Lane has also completed clinical and basic science research on selenium and breast cancer.

 

Dr. Lane received her B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, her M.S. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and her Ph.D. from the University of Florida. She attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1994. She served as Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of Texas Medical Center from 1977 to 1984 and as Professor of Nutrition at Auburn University from 1984 to 1989. At present she serves as Adjunct Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

 

As a registered dietitian, she is active in the American Dietetics Association and a member of the American Society for Nutrition. 

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

ii Editorial Board iii Dedication iv Foreword—John Young and Robert Crippen v Preface and Acknowledgments vi Table of Contents ix Poem—Witnessing the Launch of the Shuttle Atlantis xi Introduction—Charles Bolden
1 Magnificent Flying Machine—
A Cathedral to Technology
11 The Historical Legacy
12 Major Milestones
32 The Accidents: A Nation’s Tragedy, NASA’s Challenge
42 National Security
53 The Space Shuttle and its Operations
54 The Space Shuttle
74 Processing the Shuttle for Flight
94 Flight Operations
110 Extravehicular Activity Operations and Advancements
130 Shuttle Builds the International Space Station
157 Engineering Innovations
158 Propulsion
182 Thermal Protection Systems
200 Materials and Manufacturing
226 Aerodynamics and Flight Dynamics
242 Avionics, Navigation, and Instrumentation
256 Software
270 Structural Design
286 Robotics and Automation
302 Systems Engineering for Life Cycle of Complex Systems
Legacy of the Space Shuttle Program vii draft 10/19/10
319 Major Scientific Discoveries
320 The Space Shuttle and Great Observatories
344 Atmospheric Observations and Earth Imaging
360 Mapping the Earth: Radars and Topography
370 Astronaut Health and Performance
408 The Space Shuttle: A Platform That Expanded the Frontiers of Biology
420 Microgravity Research in the Space Shuttle Era
444 Space Environments
459 Social, Cultural, and Educational Legacies
460 NASA Reflects America’s Changing Opportunities;
NASA Impacts US Culture
470 Education: Inspiring Students as Only NASA Can
485 Industries and Spin-offs
497 The Shuttle Continuum, Role of Human Spaceflight
499 President George H.W. Bush
500 Pam Leestma and Neme Alperstein
Elementary School Teachers
502 Norman Augustine
Former President and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation
504 John Logsdon
Former Director of Space Policy Institute, Georgetown University
506 Canadian Space Agency
509 General John Dailey
Director of Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
510 Leah Jamieson
John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering,
Purdue University
512 Michael Griffin
Former NASA Administrator
517 Appendix
518 Flight Information
XXX Program Managers/Acknowledgments
XXX Suggested Readings
XXX Glossary and Acronyms
XXX Contributors’ Biographies
XXX Index
 

Editorial Reviews

Aviation Week article— March, 2011  Posted by Mark Carreau

www.aviationweek.com/blogs/aw/space

As Discovery’s astronauts settled onto the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 9 it was inescapably clear the long-running U.S. Space Shuttle Program is in de-orbit prep.

Endeavour and Atlantis are scheduled to fly for the final time within several weeks.

What’s less certain is how the three-decade long flight test program will be judged by its investors, the American public. Will the shuttle’s impressive capabilities be truly missed? Or were the winged orbiters, with their inability to leave low Earth orbit, an expensive detour to missions grander than Apollo’s?

“Wings In Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle,” is a 553-page, firsthand account of the efforts to develop and sustain a reusable spacecraft with the technologies of the sixties and seventies. The effort is focused on the shuttle program’s heritage, operational strategy, engineering innovation and contributions to science, education and as well as its social legacy,
“The shuttle was to be the first commercially successful space transport,” Wings quickly advises with surprising candor. “This impossible leap was not realized, an unrealistic goal that appears patently obvious in retrospect, yet it haunts the history of the shuttle to this day.”

In all, Wings combines contributions from more than 325 men and women whose professional careers were intertwined with the shuttle’s accomplishments and limitations as well as others who were swept up because of the program’s long run and the wide assortment of missions.

The orbiters ushered satellites into space for astronomers, climate researchers, national security interests, planetary scientists and commercial satellite operators. They’ve flown as temporary space stations for biologists, biotechnologists, chemists, medical researchers and physicists. Shuttle crews have salvaged and repaired satellites.

The orbiters played a uniquely visible role in the unification of former Cold War adversaries, strengthened global partnerships with the assembly of the International Space Station and helped to shatter gender, racial and cultural barriers to space flight. On occasion, they’ve introduced the significance of science and math to the classroom.

Wings is the brainchild of Dr. Helen W. Lane, chief nutritionist at the Johnson Space Center and Manager of JSC’s University Research and Affairs Office. Lane was grocery shopping during Discovery’s STS-114 return-to-flight mission in 2005, NASA’s first bid to recover from the Columbia tragedy, when she was stopped by an old friend, a chemical engineer.

Lane recalls the unexpected exchange: “He berated me: NASA never does anything new, just orbits the Earth. Nothing came out of the space shuttle. NASA never does any science, period.”

Lane embraced the criticism as a challenge to present the shuttle story from the insider’s perspective. She found an ally in Wayne Hale, the articulate former NASA shuttle program manager and long-time flight director.

With Lane serving as Editor-in-Chief and Hale as Executive Editor, they enlisted the best and brightest of their colleagues in an effort to present the shuttle story to those among NASA’s stockholders with an appreciation for science and technology.

If the shuttle’s milestones matter not so much to taxpayers in the current trying economic times, they may to the aspiring engineers and historians who wonder how they came about

Perhaps, the “lessons learned” from the shuttle era will help to temper wider expectations as the nation attempts to foster new commercial space transportation capabilities and look beyond the human exploration of the Moon. These will be difficult pursuits.

Published by the Johnson Space Center and the Government Printing Office, Wings In Orbit is scheduled for an April 8 release through major book stores, including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, as well as at http://www.shopNASA.com.
 

 Reviews from Goodreads:

Steve posted four stars on this title in Goodreads and had this to say, "Edited and written by individuals involved in the Shuttle Program, "Wings in Orbit" is one book every space buff must have in their collection. Certainly there are other more technical books on the program. Wings, given the limitations, does a good job of giving an over view of what was accomplished in the 30 year program."

From the Publisher