Page 26 - Volume 16 Number 6

EN ROUTE
The Space Shuttle – Celebrating Thirty Years of NASA’s First Space Plane
Twin & Turbine readers who are appreciative of aerospace technology,
and that includes most of
us, will appreciate this coffee-table
book covering the three-decade lifespan of the U.S. Space Shuttle program. Author Piers Bizony has done a great job of chronicling each and every mission, from STS-1 to the bitter end, STS-135. Quite aside from this mere listing of each mission’s details, there’s lengthy treatment of the Shuttle’s precursors and development, and the effort needed to ready the craft for flight into space.
No attempt at wart-removal is made.
The two tragedies that scarred the program are given full coverage, and the failure of the Shuttle system to meet expectations is laid out evenly. That said, no one can deny
the tremendous American achievement represented by the Shuttle fleet, which made possible the construction of the International Space Station and orbiting
tools like the Hubble telescope.
Book Review
At the risk of trite-speak, The Space Shuttle is lavishly illustrated from NASA’s archives, with many unique and rare photos that keep the reader turning the pages in wonder. The high quality printwork was done in China, where the contents were no doubt given careful consideration for contribution to the Chinese
space program. T&T •
IBSN 978-0-7603-3941-1, 300 pages, hardcover, $40, by Zenith Press, an imprint of MBI Publishing Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401, www.zenithpress.com
24 • TWIN & TURBINE
JUNE 2012