Space History

Since the first humans looked up and saw the sun swallowed by darkness, our species has been captivated by solar eclipses. Astronomer and anthropologist Anthony Aveni explains the history and culture surrounding solar eclipses, from prehistoric Stonehenge to Babylonian creation myths, to a confirmation of Einstein's theory of general relativity, to a spectacle that left New Yorkers in the moon's shadow, to future eclipses that will capture human imaginations.

A comprehensive study of the missile system that formed a critical component of the United States' nuclear arsenal. The Titan II ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) program was developed by the United States military to bolster the size, strength, and speed of the nation's strategic weapons arsenal in the 1950s and 1960s.

In the tradition of Daniel Boorstin, the co-founder of Omni delivers an original work of history that demonstrates why modern science rests on a foundation built by ancient and medieval non-European societies. "If you think that modern science is rooted in the golden age of Greece, you owe it to yourself to [hear this] book," says Library Journal.

In Apollo's Legacy, space historian Roger D. Launius explores the many-faceted stories told about the meaning of the Apollo program and how it forever altered American society. The Apollo missions marked the first time human beings left Earth's orbit and visited another world, and thus they loom large in our collective memory. Many have detailed the exciting events of the Apollo program, but Launius offers unique insight into its legacy as seen through multiple perspectives.

‘It didn’t matter that they were now three miles beyond their target site, that communications were dropping out and that they were running low on fuel. All that mattered to Neil as he searched for a safe spot to land was that boulders littered the surface below. “Thirty seconds,” called mission control. In truth, the flight controllers were now no more than spectators, just like everybody else. No more needed to be said. It was down to Armstrong

Florida's Space Coast tells the compelling story of America's half century in space exploration from the successful launch of the first two-stage rocket in 1950 through the space shuttle missions of 2000. Told from the unique viewpoint of the people who built the Spaceport, this book shows how the space program transformed the east central Florida coast from a traditional citrus production and tourist area to one of the most influential high-tech centers in the nation.

Franz Cumnot investigated various ancient sources of astrology and astronomy, including the Mesopotamian and the Mediterranean. The book discusses these early origins, supplemented by the author’s theories. From Sumeria, the cradle of astrology and astronomy, the knowledge spread to Greece and Rome where it became entwined with paganism.

Mitochondrial Eve and Henrietta Lacks HeLa Mothers of Humanity, Earth and Space: Tracing Humanity's Past-and Future-Through the Female Line By Kaiim Daids What if the journey to Mars was written in the DNA of two Black women-one from the dawn of time, the other from a segregated hospital bed in 1951? From ancient migrations to interplanetary missions, this powerful, poetic exploration links Mitochondrial Eve and Henrietta Lacks as bookends of the human story. Science, ethics, race, and future collide in this mind-expanding, heart-awakening narrative. Discover how HeLa cells became our ...

25 places. 25... Historical, Interesting and Sometimes Quirky places spread along Cape Cod from the Sagamore Bridge to the tip at Provincetown. Some places you may never knew about... some places locals don't even know about. All within easy walking distance of a road or path. Seasoned Cape Coders, wash-a-shores, newbies and tourists will all discover new and interesting information and places just off the beaten path to explore and enjoy!! *Find original historical monuments people don't want you to see just a few hundred feet from the ones in public view. *Enjoy a serene path through the ...

Pro tip: When a bunch of alien cats from outer space start blowing up cities without warning, prior plans may have to be altered. Be prepared to improvise. Yosi Weismann had a simple gig: Babysit a grossly irresponsible young man, who just happened to be a prince. Let His Excellency sow his wild oats. Don’t let him kill himself, or anyone else, in the process. Piece of cake for a man of his skills. A glorified vacation. That's how things were supposed to go, at any rate. Now Yosi is marooned on a foreign world, surrounded by people whom he doesn’t understand, hunted by enemies who ...

It all started with a virus that spread through the Earth, it was an uncontrollable pandemic. A slightly more virulent flu was called. Governments closed borders, not too many people were infected and died, the world economy stopped for a long time... That was not the biggest problem.

The Other Kate's (TOK) African American short stories: three from the plantation and one from the space station The Right Reverend Doctor 44's Floaters Legend Uncle Texas Pete's Missing Gold Legend The Wailer and the Sea Breeze Dancer Mystery Needs of MIT Mars Institute of Technology Love Experimenters

Penumbra, a haphazard city of outcasts, rebels, and malcontents, has floated around a dead planet in a backwater system for longer than living memory can recall. Its towers abandoned starships melded to an ancient, mysterious core, Penumbra is the last remnant of chaotic individualism in a galaxy where conformity to the will of the all-powerful Galactic Council is paramount.

Galileo Unbound traces the journey that brought us from Galileo's law of free fall to today's geneticists measuring evolutionary drift, entangled quantum particles moving among many worlds, and our lives as trajectories traversing a health space with thousands of dimensions. Remarkably, common themes persist that predict the evolution of species as readily as the orbits of planets or the collapse of stars into black holes.

Spanning four decades of dramatic advances in astronomy and planetary science, this book tells the story of eleven iconic exploratory missions and how they have fundamentally transformed our scientific and cultural perspectives on the universe and our place in it

Professor Vlad Smith is on a terrifying quest, one that will take him from the halls of our most hallowed institutions to the most run-down of old houses in blighted neighborhoods. A mysterious committee, shredded yellowed newspapers, a daguerreotype of a Confederate soldier, a headless corpse, and a corpseless head.... These are the clues that Smith must piece together to save his sanity and his daughter and uncover the terrible secret of the Boss in the Wall.

Rockets and Revolution offers a multifaceted study of the race toward space in the first half of the twentieth century, examining how the Russian, European, and American pioneers competed against one another in the early years to acquire the fundamentals of rocket science, engineer simple rockets, and ultimately prepare the path for human spaceflight.

In 2008, Elon Musk's SpaceX became the first private company to build a low-cost rocket that could reach orbit. Suddenly Silicon Valley, not NASA, was the epicentre of the new Space Age. Start-ups and investors began to realise that the heavens - ungoverned and unregulated - were open for business. When the Heavens Went on Sale tells the remarkable, unfolding story of this frenzied race to control access to outer space. Ashlee Vance follows four pioneering companies - Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs and Rocket Lab - as they attempt to launch thousands of low-cost rockets and satellites into orbit.

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.

The Empire State is the other New York. It’s a parallel-universe, Prohibition-era world of mooks and shamuses that is the twisted magic mirror to our bustling Big Apple. It’s a city where sinister characters lurk around every corner while the great superheroes who once kept the streets safe have fallen into deadly rivalries and feuds. Not that its colourful residents know anything about the real New York...until detective Rad Bradley makes a discovery that will change the lives of all its inhabitants.