Satellite: Innovation in Orbit

Doug Millard

ISBN 10: 178023659X / ISBN 13: 9781780236599

Published by Reaktion Books, 2017

Series: Science Museum. Num Pages: 192 pages, 100 illustrations, 50 in colour. BIC Classification: PDZ. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 218 x 167 x 22. Weight in Grams: 590. . 2017. Hardcover. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9781780236599

Synopsis:

There are thousands of artificial satellites orbiting Earth. Ubiquitous but mysterious, they are a technological infrastructure in space on which society depends, yet we think of them only rarely – when our sat nav goes wrong, for example, or our tv stops receiving. The story of the satellite is, however, remarkable: an astonishing history of imagination, experiment and ingenuity. At first they symbolized Cold War political prestige, as satellites such as Sputnik, Telstar and Early Bird became household names, but they evolved into cultural signifiers, catalysts for design, even the subjects of pop records. These narratives are brought together for the first time in Satellite, an illustrated history that deconstructs the satellite as a cultural, political and technological artefact. The book unveils the satellite, once trumpeted as the future present, anew, mapping its formative years to the tumultuous events of the twentieth century, but tracing its roots back to the imaginations and intellects of years before. Doug Millard asks the fundamental questions about those spacecraft orbiting above: what forms do they take? How did they evolve and why? Who required them? What do satellites do, exactly, and how? And how, ultimately, might the satellite have augured a space age that has barely begun, given the high costs of launching that still limit routine access to space? Written in a lively and engaging style, and illustrated with striking colour photographs, Satellite will appeal to the many fans of space exploration. Published in association with the Science Museum, London.

About the Author: Doug Millard is Deputy Keeper, Technologies and Engineering, at the Science Museum in London and has produced many space exhibitions, including Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age (2015). He is the editor of Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age (2015) and author of Black Arrow: A History of a Satellite Launch Vehicle and its Engines (2001).

Bibliographic Details

Title: Satellite: Innovation in Orbit
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Publication Date: 2017
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: New