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This is the eighty year history of developing reusable lifting--reentry spacecraft. From the early works of Eugen Sanger in Germany to the Cold War developments in the United States, and finally to the ultimate experiment--the Space Shuttle. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch, this greatly enlarged third edition adds many previously uncovered early designs, details the latest modifications to the operational vehicles, and provides expanded coverage of the first 100 Space Shuttle missions.

Written for the layperson by curators at the National Air and Space Museum, with colorful illustrations throughout, THE SPACE SHUTTLE OPERATOR'S MANUAL takes the reader through all the motions of an actual mission -- from preparation to takeoff to orbit to re-entry.

Written by a pilot/engineer who participated in every phase of NASA's lifting body program, Flying Without Wings documents the adventure, triumphs, setbacks, and fun of pioneering a technology that allowed astronauts to accomplish lifting reentries and precise runway landings. He tells how, after the cancellation of the Air Force's Dyna-Soar program, the first lifting body projects such as the Parasev paraglider and the M2-F1 were built on shoestring budgets at Edwards Air Force Base, California, often without the knowledge of officials at the NASA headquarters.

An unprecedented look at the Space Shuttle experience from 250+ people who've flown on the shuttle.