Launch vehicle books for sale

I am selling the books listed below. Shipping will be added to all
prices, however only the true shipping cost, depending on book size
and weight as well as chosen delivery speed, will be charged, without
any additional surcharge for handling. If you are interested, please
email me at (remove .NOSPAM from the
address) – the Compuserve address above is no longer valid.
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For sale is a copy of "Rockets into Space" by Frank H. Winter,
Frontiers of Space series, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA,
1990, hardcover, dust jacket.
This volume is a well-written and informative comprehensive history of
the theoretical formulations and technological breakthroughs that have
charted the evolution of rocket propulsion and vehicle design and
succinctly discusses the development of space launch vehicles, from
the founders of modern space flight theory, to the early rocket
experimenters through current expendable launchers to future space
propulsion systems in concise chapters dense with narrative and
anecdotal detail. It begins with an overview of the big three pioneer
theorists Tsiolkovsky, Goddard, and Oberth. A particularly interesting
chapter describes the clandestine development of the V-2 rocket in
Germany and its impact on postwar rocket research and satellite
development in the U. S. and Soviet Union. Winter traces the lineage
of present-day launch vehicles from their Cold War origins as weapons
systems to current satellite launchers. It is a detailed, technical
discussion of the various rockets, both Russian and American, that
have made space exploration possible. A chapter at the end discusses
the future and surveys exotic propulsion systems that currently lie on
the frontiers of science, like nuclear, ion, solar, laser, and a few
other means of propulsion that will shape the spaceflight and space
policy decisions of tomorrow.
The book has a total of 165 pages and is 6 ¾" x 9 ½" tall and ¾"
thick. It includes 22 illustration plates comprising black and white
photographs and artistic drawings, source notes and an index.
The book is a slightly used copy with a dust jacket. The dust jacket
has some creasing and scratching, but the book is otherwise in very
good condition.
The price is $12.
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For sale is a copy of "Halfway to Anywhe Achieving America's
Destiny in Space", by G. Harry Stine, M. Evans and Company, Inc., New
York, First Edition, 1996, hardcover, no dust jacket.
This book discusses the development and future potential of reusable
single-stage-to-orbit launch vehicles aimed at providing economical,
reliable, on demand space transportation of people and cargos to and
from low-Earth orbit, which may be capable of opening space to
commercial enterprises. It retraces the development of the Douglas
DC-X (Delta Clipper Experimental) reusable rocket demonstrator, and
notes that its relatively quick prototyping of only twenty-two months
provided proof of concepts of reusability and quick aircraft like
turnaround. The DC-X first flew in 1993 and was repeatedly flown and
tested until 1995. Stine surveys the commercial potential of such a
vehicle with a good look at the economics involved in such a venture
and provides examples of the kinds of opportunities that will be
opening up for commercial interest, from consumer participation in
space flights to manufacturing under weightless conditions. He
presents a sample business plan produced by experienced venture
capitalists that marshals scientific and economic savvy and shows how
considerable profits are available to those who get into low-Earth
orbit, from where, as science fiction author Robert Heinlein put it,
one has already expended the energy to be "halfway to anywhere in the
solar system".
The book features forewords by former Apollo astronaut Charles 'Pete'
Conrad, who was a vice president of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, the
company that designed and built the DC-X, and who also served as the
flight manager of the DC-X test flights, as well as by investment
analyst Wolfgang Demisch.
The book has a total of 304 pages and is 6 ¼" x 9 ¼" tall and 1"
thick. It includes 26 chapters illustrated with black and white
photographs, drawings, and diagrams, an appendix with excerpts of a
talk by former NASA administrator Dan Goldin, a bibliography,
addresses and an index.
The book is an ex library copy that was recently surplussed by the
Boeing company branch library at the Huntington Beach plant and wears
the stamp "Withdrawn from Boeing Library Holdings". Considering that
this is ironically the very same former McDonnell Douglas plant where
the DC-X was conceived and built, this book represent a bit of
aerospace history in itself. Apart from typical library marks, stamps
and, the book is in very good condition.
The price is $10.
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For sale is a copy of "Creating Space: The Story of the Space Age Told
Through Models" by Mat Irvine, Space Series, Apogee Books, 2002,
paperback.
The book chronicles the history of the conquest of space, from the
ideas of Leonardo da Vinci over the dawn of the space age with the V-2
rocket of World War II to the International Space Station and beyond,
through model kits. It presents an exhaustive and detailed compendium
of the evolution of space vehicles, side by side with pictures and
details of the plastic reproductions that depict the multitude of
launchers, missiles and spacecraft designed and developed throughout
the world. The first half of the book, which is all in color, is
presented in chapters that group the history, the vehicles and the
models into logical and meaningful categories.
Each chapter gives a brief historical overview of the subject and
chronicles the model kits that cover the period. All known kits are
covered, from the releases of the major modeling companies such as
Revell, Monogram, Strombecker, et. al., to one-man operations. The
informative and entertaining text is accompanied by hundreds of
photographs of box art from rare vintage to current kits, built-up
models, catalog and advertising pages, and in-store displays.
Chapters are divided into Early Dreams (early spacecraft concepts),
Wartime Experiences (rocket planes and missiles), Optimistic Times
(von Braun designs including the classic Disney designs from their Man
Into Space series and more), Man in Space (early US and Russian space
programs), Missile Connection (ballistic missiles), One Small Step
(Apollo), Gone To Launch (other launch vehicles), Messages from Space
(satellites), Edge of Space (aircraft), Reusable Spaceship (shuttles),
Islands In The Sky (space stations) and Beyond the Infinite (science
fiction subjects, namely UFOs, the Roswell Incident, and a few
scientifically accurate space fiction movies such as Destination Moon
and 2001: A Space Odyssey). The rest of the book consists of extensive
appendices that contain a complete listing of space related kits
produced, divided by model company and vehicle type, and provide
details of all of the space-related models ever made and the many
manufacturers and distributors who have supplied them.
The appendix listings for the kits cover 250 modeling subjects and 300
model manufacturers and contain a plethora of valuable reference
information for model historians, collectors, modelers, space
enthusiasts and anyone who is trying to find out if a kit of a
particular subject was ever made.
Kits are listed in two formats, by manufacturer and by subject. The
manufacturer lists also include information about the company, such as
the address (if known), when the company was in operation, etc. The
kits are then listed with the scale, kit number, and date of first
issue. It even includes kits that were announced, but never released.
Virtually everything relevant about each kit is discussed in detail,
including reissues, box art, etc.
The subject listing includes everything from the A series of German
rockets to the Russian Zenit booster. A short paragraph describes the
subject, followed by a table listing the models, their manufacturers
and scales for each subject. Specific kit information (number and date
of issue), can be found the manufacturer listing. The subject listing
is also replete with black and white photos of the actual prototypes.
The final appendix lists some kit collecting organizations (since many
of the kits discussed in the book are long out of production), kit
dealers, web sites and other books pertaining to the subject of space
modeling.

Martin Bayer wrote:

You know, I can't afford any of these books...but, by God, what an
interesting collection!

Pat