The Space Shuttle: Roles, Missions and Accomplishments

Table of contents :
PART 1. OPERATIONS
1. Origins: Cost-benefit, Ways and means, The stack, Glide trials, Launch facilities
2. Shuttle operations: Test flights, The dreamtime, A major malfunction, Grounded, Return to flight, The long hot summer, Catch-up, Endeavour, The big test, Visiting rights, The milk run
3. Communications satellites: The Aces, Satellites galore, Ever more capacity, Tracking & data relay, Market factors
4. No mission too difficult: Anticipation and triumph, Two up and two down, Hot-wiring a satellite, Astronaut hard-hats, Try, try and try again, Back to basics, The task ahead
5. The darker side: Pact with the devil, An inauspicious start, Reconnaissance, Communications, Early warning, Navigation, Star Wars, Spaceflight engineers, Military-Man-In-Space, The return of the Titans
PART 2: WEIGHTLESSNESS
6. Materials processing: Electrophoresis, Phase partitioning, Protein crystals, Generic processors, Polymers, Fluids, melts and inorganic crystals, Combustion, Limitations of microgravity
7. Facilities for commercial research: Spacehab, Industrial space facility, Wake shield facility, All due credit
8. Biology: Flora, Fauna, Human
PART 3: EXPLORATION
9. Mr Hubble's telescope: The great observatory, Years of frustration, Deployment, Instruments, Aberration, Corrective optics, Observations, Top of the list! In our own backyard, Stars, clusters, galaxies and quasars, A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ... The big issue, Operational strategy
10. The gamma ray observatory: Instruments, Spacecraft, Results, Cosmic rays, Supernova remnants, Black holes, The burster enigma, Meanwhile, back home, A joy to work with
11. Spacelabs and free-flyers: Instruments, Missions, Varied programme, Clearing up an outstanding mystery, Free-flyers, Spartan, Orfeus
12. Forthcoming attractions: Advanced X-ray astronomy facility, Space infrared telescope facility, VLA-plus, Whither the shuttle
13. Galileo's ordeal: Which way? The long haul, The big day, Mission of exploration, Lost opportunities
14. Dante's Inferno: Ulysses, Slingshot, Primary mission, Meanwhile, Mission accomplished
15. Magellan's Triumph: Project definition, Mapping mission, Gravity survey, Last act
16. Home planet: Atmosphere, Radiation budget, Upper atmosphere research satellite, Atmospheric laboratory for applications and science, Spaceborne lidar, Terra firma, Mapping from orbit, Shuttle radar laboratory, Earth observing system, An integrated platform
PART 4: OUTPOST
17. Unexpected opportunity: Cooperation, Close approach, First tour, Atlantis ... now arriving! Space truck, Comings and goings, Good times and bad
18. An island in the sky: Freedom, Alpha, Two in one, The International Space Station, Assembly, Preparations, Operations, Round the clock, All year round, What goes up must come down, Future expansion
PART 5: CONCLUSIONS
19. The evolving role: The missed opportunity, Natural selection, The heavy-lifter, A matter of cost, Risky business, A mixed fleet, The Challenger's legacy
Shuttle mission log
Glossary
Bibliography
Index