Space Exploration and Humanity-A Historical Encyclopedia

摘要

THIS mammoth two-volume work incorporates 580 articles describing various aspects of manned and unmanned space exploration, including a full range of social, technological, and political issues, government policy, national programmes and the technology/military-driven space economy. Six overview essays introduce each of the encyclopedia's major sections putting separate aspects of space exploration into historical context. These include: Astrophysics and Planetary Science; Civilian and Commercial Space Applications; Human Spaceflight and Microgravity Science; Military Applications; Space and Society; and Technology and Engineering. It boasts 136 contributors, specialists and general historians from the world of space science and engineering and is essentially a product of the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society.