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USA in Space, 3rd Edition Publisher's Note USA in Space, Third Edition updates the Second Edition (3 vols., 2001) with 42 new essays plus 5 replaced essays for a total of 280 essays on the major space programs, piloted and robotic missions, satellites, space centers, space planes, and issues from the earliest missions to the present. The many changes in the space program over the past half decade made a careful reading of every page necessary to ensure the content's accuracy. The editors--longtime historian of the space program Russell R. Tobias, joined in this edition by David G. Fisher, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Lycoming College, Williamsport, Pennsylvania--carefully pored over all the old essays, revising and often adding paragraphs of material to bring the text up to date. All bibliographies have been expanded with annotated citations to the latest sources for further reading. Scope and Coverage The scope of space exploration history has been expanded at both ends: Two essays on the history of rocket science have been added, as well as the latest missions--both piloted missions, such as those to the International Space Station, and science missions such as the Mars Rovers and Deep Impact. The new essay on Space Shuttle Mission STS-107, in which seven astronauts tragically lost their lives aboard the orbiter Columbia upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere in February of 2003, is accompanied by candid discussion of the institutional conditions that may have contributed to the accident as well as consideration of the direction in which space exploration is headed. An essay has been added to cover the various types of escape mechanisms used for piloted missions. The latest essay covers the return to space, Space Shuttle Mission STS-114, in summer of 2005. Several essays address missions that have yet to be launched but have already undergone years of planning and development. Despite the title USA in Space, the increasingly international nature of space exploration is acknowledged here as well. The International Space Station, Russia's Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, and the contributions of Canada, Japan, China, India, and many European nations in spacecraft, science expriments, equipment, and personnel are well represented among these pages. Organization and Format Articles are arranged in alphabetical order by key word, and by chronological order within groupings. Hence, the reader will find articles on the Apollo missions under "A" in volume 1; space shuttle missions are covered under "Space Shuttle." Within these groups the missions are ordered chronologically. Explorer satellites from mission 1 through Solar Explorers are covered under "Explorers," although those Explorer missions with distinctive names, such as the International Ultraviolet Explorer, are alphabetized under those names. Each article retains the familiar Magill approach to formatting information in a predictable manner to facilitate access to the information. Essays are substantial in length, ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 words. All articles begin with ready-reference top matter, including dates of mission launch and the type of mission, program, satellite, technology, or issue addressed. The old "Principal personages" listings from the first edition, eliminated from the second, have been reinstated in all appropriate essays as "Key Figures." A "Summary of the Mission" (or "Facility," "Program," "Satellite," or "Spacecraft," depending on the topic) follows and introduces the text of the essay, providing an overview of events surrounding the topic, typically from launch to return. The subhead for "Knowledge Gained" has been replaced by a more all-embracing, subhead, "Contributions," which describes the section of each essay that encapsulates for the reader the essential discoveries engendered by the mission or program, or the achievements of the essay's subject--such as a space center. "Context," the concluding section, places the topic in perspective in relation to associated events and scientific discoveries, pointing to the importance of the topic within the broader history of space exploration. "See also," points readers to other essays of interest. Finally, each essay ends with a lengthy, annotated list of sources for "Further Reading." Finding Aids and Special Features At the beginning of each volume we have placed the List of Abbreviations, now expanded by more than one-third its previous length; it includes common acronyms (and their pronunciations if uttered as words) and what they stand for. The List of Illustrations arranges photographs alphabetically by topic, accompanied by page numbers. A Complete List of Contents appears in each volume's front matter in addition to the volume's Table of Contents, to assist those looking for a related topic without access to its volume. Finally, the "Category List" in each volume's front matter arranges the essays by type, from Aerospace Agencies to Spaceports. To link related essays, we have added a new feature to each essay: "See Also" cross-references to other essays in the set. Those who consult the essay on SpaceShipOne, for example, should be aware of the fact that the Ansari X Prize is covered separately. At the end of Volume 3 are the following appendices, substantially expanded over the second edition: Chronology of the U.S. Space Program (expanded 51%)Key Figures in the History of Space Exploration (expanded 69%)Glossary (expanded 25%)Space Shuttle Missions (new)World Wide Web Pages (expanded 43%)Finally, a substantial numbef of the older images have been replaced with crisper and more informative photos, and many new images have been added. In all, more than XXX black-and-white photographs provide readers with images of what is described in accompanying essays. Usage Notes Units of measurement adhere to the Système International d'Unités (SI units): Launch thrust is measured in newtons rather than pounds, distances in kilometers rather than miles, temperature in Kelvins or degrees Celsius rather than degrees Fahrenheit. Mission duration for all crewed flights begins at liftoff and ends at touchdown. "Clock times" are rendered, NASA style, in numerals for hours, minutes, and seconds, spelled-out numbers for days, months, and years. Times of day, which in the former editions were rendered in a variety of styles (eastern, Pacific, Central, etc.) has been standardized to that accepted by scientists and engineers as Coordinated Universal Time, abbreviated UTC (for its less common alternative, "Universal Time Coordinated"). For our nonspecialist audience, we have generally refrained from abbreviating scientific units of measure and instead spell them out. Likewise, we tend to spell most of the abbreviations and acronyms that appear in professional publications--though we have provided a handy List of Abbreviations in the front matter to volume 1 for ready reference. For those using this publication who are most familiar with the abbreviation rather than its spelled-out version, abbreviations were routinely added to the Subject Index as cross-references. Acknowledgments Grateful acknowledgment is made to the many dedicated contributors who worked to make the language of space science accessible to the general reader. A list of those scientists, academicians, and other space experts (among them some of the foremost historians of space exploration) is found in the front matter to volume 1. Special thanks go to Editors Russell R. Tobias and David G. Fisher, for content development, manuscript editing, revisions, additions, and research. This publication benefits incalculably from their scientific expertise and insights. |
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