T O P I C R E V I E W |
cspg | Spaceplane HERMES: The European Dream of Manned Spaceflight by Luc van den Abeelen This is the first comprehensive book on the European Hermes program. It tells the fascinating story of how Europe aimed for an independent manned spaceflight capability which was to complement US and Soviet/Russian space activities.In 1975, France decided to expand its plans for automated satellites for materials processing to include the development of a small 10 ton spaceplane to be launched on top of a future heavy-lifting Ariane rocket. This Hermes spaceplane would give Europe its own human spaceflight capability for shuttling crews between Earth and space stations. The European Space Agency backed the proposal. Unfortunately, after detailed studies, the project was cancelled in 1993. If Hermes had been introduced into service, it could have become the preferred "space taxi" for ferrying crews to and from the International Space Station. But that opportunity was lost. This book provides the first look of the complete story of and reasons for the demise of this ambitious program. It also gives an account which pieces of Hermes survived and are active in the 2nd decade of the 21st century. This fascinating story will be a great read for space enthusiasts. But it will also serve as a comprehensive documentation of an important episode in the history of manned spaceflight. - Paperback: 704 pages
- Springer (12 Dec. 2016)
- ISBN-10: 3319444700
- ISBN-13: 978-3319444703
This book was mentioned to me several years ago so I'm glad to see it coming along. |
dom | I'm really looking forward to this one as Hermes often gets forgotten in the history of space shuttle development... |
Rolf | Congratulations Luc! Wonderful that after so many years of hard work your book has been completed. |
lucspace | Springer has updated its webpage for this book, now displaying the correct title and adjusted publication date of October 17. Very excited about my first book becoming a reality! |
jjknap | The topic is really interesting, but is it really $119? |
ColinBurgess | Wow, 704 pages — now that's a BIG book! It must be a very comprehensive look at the Hermes program, and I applaud you for the amount of deep research and writing you must have done in making this long-neglected story a reality. |
cspg | quote: Originally posted by jjknap: The topic is really interesting, but is it really $119?
I guess you're paying for the 700+ pages. The Energiya-Buran book was also expensive but it has "only" 500 pages! And I'm not sure that Springer-Praxis will sell that many copies anyway... |
lucspace | Along with the publication date, the price has been adjusted to just under EUR 48! |
jjknap | Around $50 .. much more reasonable |
cspg | Price "corrected" on Amazon. |
lucspace | The cover art is ready. Meanwhile, the number of pages has been reduced from the 700+ manuscript pages to 536 book print pages. |
jjknap | Looks good! Any update on the real release date? |
cspg | Amazon.com mentions November 1 as release date. |
lucspace | I have not received the proofs for corrections yet, so I think November 1st is a bit optimistic... |
lucspace | After some delays in processing the proofs, publication is now scheduled for December 20th. |
jjknap | Amazon says I will have my copy December 23. |
cspg | Now Amazon says it's out of print! And my copy is in the process of being shipped! (12/16) |
jjknap | Just received my copy. On my first glance through it, I am blown away by the photos and illustrations. Who would have thought there would have been that much material on Hermes! The book also covers other ESA programs such as the ATV, proposed Columbus station and Eureka just to name a few. Can't wait to start reading it properly. This is a book everyone will definitely want to add to their library. |