Introduction.- The beginning.- Of landers and orbiters.- The grandest tour.- Acronyms.- Glossary.- Appendices.- Chapter references.- Further reading.- Index.
The Second World War left among its many and painful heritages a new technology, ballistic missiles, that was to change the world, providing a way to carry into space instruments, satellites and probes that revolutionized science and technology. Prior to launching artificial satellites, both the then Soviet Union and the United States developed more powerful intercontinental missiles with a range of thousands of miles. In the 1950s, the Soviets designed the huge 8K71 "Semiorka" (little seven, after the military designator R 7), a single staged rocket equipped with four large boosters and able to carry an heavy thermonuclear warhead to the continental US. In the USA, competition between the different armed forces prevailed, and the Army developed the medium range Redstone and Jupiter missiles, whilst the Air Force developed the Thor and two different ICBMs, Atlas and Titan and the Navy developed the Polaris submarine launched missiles. The potential of all of these rockets to boost spacecraft were huge, but while in the Soviet Union it was decided to modify an 8K71 to carry a scientific payload into space, the United States decided that the Navy would develop a tiny new rocket called Vanguard, specifically designed for the task. This decision was to have grave repercussions: on 4 October 1957 the Soviet Union launched its PS-1 satellite, better known as Sputnik, which rocked the USA. This was compounded a month later by the launch of the PS-2, carrying the dog Laika. Following the explosion of the first Vanguard on December 6, the US Army then had the task to restore the American confidence by successfully carrying Explorer 1 into space on 1 February 1958 using the modified Redstone rocket called Juno 1. During the same year, the superpowers started working on new versions of their missiles able to carry small payloads to the Moon and, potentially, to the near planets. The space race had begun.
From the reviews: "This book … presents the accomplishments of
robotic exploration of the major planets and their moons from
Mercury to Neptune. Ulivi and Harland do a splendid job describing
observations made using these … ‘robots’ to take pictures and
explore the infrared and radio emissions, aurora, magnetic fields,
and magnetospheres of these planets, their satellites, and the
interplanetary medium. … More than 46 pages of references, further
readings, excellent photographs and extensive illustrations, full
author list, 6-page glossary, and 10-page index. Summing Up:
Recommended. All levels." (W. E. Howard, CHOICE, Vol. 45 (8), 2008)
"Robotic Exploration of the Solar System would address events that
had happened over the period from 1957 up to the present day. …
this is a fantastic book – there is much in it that I, as a devotee
of the subject for longer than either of the authors, can draw from
it. It really is encyclopaedic in its coverage and is a wonderful
work for old timers … and for students, new to the field, to
consult to get up to speed." (Colin Pillinger, The Observatory,
Vol. 128 (1203), 2008) "The best book I read so far on space
exploration. ...The combination of Harland the historian, and Ulivi
the astronomer ... make this an outstanding contribution. First,
this book describes the state of the knowledge of the solar system
just before space exploration begins. Second, this book is
comprehensive, in that it includes US, European and Soviet/Russian
contributions. ... An excellent basis for those who are looking for
a global view of this part of the history of science." (Patrick
Haubrechts, amazon.com)
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