NASA's Voyager Missions : Exploring the Outer Solar System and Beyond

In Europe's Space Programme - To Ariane and Beyond, author Brian Harvey begins with the fledgling European rocket effort of the 1930s and the key pioneers of the period, examining the significance of the V-2 and the technological advances represented by its development. He shows how the Russians and Americans put their captured V-2s to work, but the European countries were slower to respond. Both Britain and France developed national space programmes in the 1950s and 1960s and the early attempts at European co-operation for launcher development - ELDO and ESRO - are described. The formation of the European Space Agency and the origins of the successful Ariane launcher programme are discussed and Europe's subsequent success in the world launcher market, its cutting-edge role in space applications and European manned spaceflight, are all described in detail.

From the reviews:

"This book, as was to be expected from a volume in the excellent Springer-Praxis series in astronomy and space sciences, is absolute quality... Especially if you're interested in the scientific aspects (planetary science, that is) of the Voyager missions, you won't be disappointed. It's all very well covered, extensively, with lots of interesting details and totally up-to-date (Galileo results are included in the discussions and there's a preview of the Cassini and JIMO (to Jupiter's moons) missions). The author... is definitely an excellent science writer, offering an approach that... convey(s) the sheer excitement of solar system exploration in every sentence... The book has a lot of stunning black-and-white photographs and many illustrations and diagrams, and it even features a middle section with 13 colour plates... All in all a great book. Very, very much recommended! Don't let yourself be scared off by its considerable price. It's worth every penny." from an Amazon review

"The potential reader is an amateur astronomer or a science student attracted by space science. ... it should find a place on the shelves of a library for undergraduate students. ... Finally, we would like to point out that this book makes an excellent case for unmanned spaced missions ... ." (Fernande Grandjean and Gary J.Long, Physicalia, Vol. 57 (3), 2005)

"This book, as was to be expected from a volume in the excellent Springer-Praxis series in astronomy and space sciences, is absolute quality. ... It’s all very well covered, extensively, with lots of interesting details and totally up-to-date ... . Very readable also, nowhere dry or dull. ... The book has a lot of stunning black-and-white photographs and many illustrations and diagrams, and it even features a middle section with 13 colour plates. ... All in all a great book. Very, very much recommended!" (P. Lemmens, www.amazon.com, October, 2004)

"The book ... does have a contemporary feel to it, this aspect being enhanced by the inclusion of material relating to the Galieleo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini encounter with Saturn, currently in its early days. ... the authors wisely have sought not to shower their intended readership with a surfeit of detail describing the hardware, but have concentrated on the results. ... The authors succeed in relaying the excitement experienced in the lead up to a Voyager flyby of a gas giant." (David Graham, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Vol. 114 (4), 2004)

"The Voyager 1 & 2 missions launched in 1977 revolutionised our knowledge of the outer solar system. ... This book summarises the missions, how they were planned and executed, what went wrong and what worked better than expected. Most of all it explains what we learnt about the planets that we never knew before. ... this book is such a thoroughly good read, you should read it now. Highly recommended." (Roger Feasey, ASS - Journal of the Auckland Astronomical Society, December, 2004)

"The book is a valuable resource for those interested in the background and design of the Voyager mission. It is well illustrated throughout, despite the fact that much of the scientific discussion has been drawn from outside Voyager." (A J R Prentice, The Physicist, Vol. 41 (5), September/October, 2004)

"As the voyagers breach the boundary of the solar system, we are brought up to date with their history and achievements. This fascinating narrative, suffused with David Harland’s authoritative technological knowledge, ensures a comprehensive understanding of the missions’ genesis, execution and discoveries. ... Skilfully employing information from many sources close to Voyager’s political and technical progress, Evans has provided a superbly written record of these missions, set in their (now) historical context." (Steve Ringwood, Astronomy Now, November, 2004)

"A very readable book telling the story of the exploration of the outer planets. It starts with an excellent, brief history of the legends about and the discovery of the outer planets ... . is further enriched by more recent studies from the Hubble space telescope, ground-based observations, and other spacecraft missions. There is an excellent biography and about six pages of Internet references ... . A great read for anyone interested in the most current information about the outer planets ... . Highly recommended." (D. B. Mason, CHOICE, April, 2004)