Something New Under the Sun: Satellites and the Beginning of the Space Age
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Book Overview
In this, the first history of artificial satellites and their uses, Helen Gavaghan shows how the idea of putting an object in orbit around the earth changed from science fiction to indispensable technology in the twinkling of an eye. Focusing on three major areas of development - navigational satellites, communications, and weather observation and forecasting - Gavaghan tells the remarkable inside story of how obscure men and women, often laboring under strict secrecy, made satellite technology possible.
"...a gripping read." -NEW SCIENTIST
"...a gripping read." -NEW SCIENTIST
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0387949143
ISBN13:9780387949147
Release Date:November 1997
Publisher:Copernicus Books
Length:300 Pages
Weight:1.40 lbs.
Dimensions:1.0" x 6.5" x 9.4"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
A unique history - I only wish there was more!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
I really enjoyed this book's combination of technical (but not too technical) and personal detail. Not only did the book cover the birth and infancy of satellite technology it gave us a good luck at the personalities behind it. My criticism is that the book doesn't go far enough - it doesn't bring the story up to the present day. I realize that this is a daunting task but it would be useful to provide a context - to examine how far we've come. For example, a comparison of modern satellites and their predecessors would be very telling. The book examines just the initial years - more information on satellite development in the 60's and early '70s would put things in a better perspective. On a minor note, I would have preferred a standard bibliograpy and footnotes rather than the detailed bibliography that we're confronted with. There have been many books written about the early manned space program but not enough written on early unmanned efforts. And among those books, most focus on the interplanetary probes, making this book a welcome addition to the study of man's early forays into space.
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