posted 07-17-2010 04:28 PM               

This announcement is looking for an organization that is willing to publish the book on a larger scale than the limited one NASA will be able to do.

Publishing of NASA Shuttle Book

Solicitation Number: NASA-SHUTTLE-BOOK

Recently a NASA Shuttle Book focusing on the scientific and engineering legacies and accomplishments was developed. This book will be provided to the Government Printing Office (GPO) for printing and dissemination of a limited number of copies. Therefore, NASA/JSC is seeking interested parties to publish and disseminate additional books and publications, at their own expense, utilizing the Shuttle Book contents, in full or in part. The content/material in the Shuttle Book will not be copyrighted and will be made available though a NASA web site.

Interested parties are requested to submit the following details:

• Are you interested in publishing the book material in full or in part?

• What forums would you use to market the material; i.e., scientific or technical publications, education, etc.

• Please provide samples of your previously published scientific or engineering books including color graphics.

Upon review of the data received in response to this Request, NASA may contact the interested parties to engage in further discussions and plans. NASA may send samples ofthe material captured within the Shuttle Book, if so requested.

The following is an excerpt of the Shuttle Books Table of Contents:

Legacy of the Space Shuttle Program - Table of Contents
2. Editorial Board
   
3. Dedication
   
4. Foreword - John Young and Robert Crippen
   
5. Preface and Acknowledgements
   
6. Table of Contents
   
7. Poem - Witnessing the Launch of the Shuttle Atlantis
   
8. Introduction - Charles Bolden

1. Magnificent Flying Machine - A Cathedral to Technology
   
2. The Historical Legacy
   
3. Major Milestones
   
4. The Accidents
   
5. National Security
   
6. Description of the Shuttle and its Operations
   
7. The Space Shuttle
   
8. Processing the Shuttle for Flight
   
9. Flight Operations
   
10. Extravehicular Activity Operations and Advancements
    
11. Shuttle Builds the International Space Station
    
12. Engineering Innovations
    
13. Propulsion
    
14. Thermal Protection Systems
    
15. Materials and Manufacturing
    
16. Aerodynamics and Flight Dynamics Innovations
    
17. Avionics, Navigation, and Instrumentation
    
18. Software
    
19. Structures
    
20. Robotics and Automation
    
21. Systems Engineering for Life Cycle of Complex Systems
    
22. Major Scientific Discoveries
    
23. The Space Shuttle and Great Observatories
    
24. Atmospheric Observations and Earth Imaging
    
25. Mapping the Earth: Radars and Topography
    
26. Human Health and Performance
    
27. The Space Shuttle: A Platform that Expanded the Frontiers of Biology
    
28. Microgravity Research in the Space Shuttle Era
    
29. Space Environments
    
30. Social, Cultural, and Educational Legacies
    
31. NASA Reflects Americas Changing Opportunities; NASA Impact US Culture
    
32. Education: Inspiring Students as Only NASA Can
    
33. Commercial Developments
    
34. Aerospace Industry
    
35. Spin Offs
    
36. The Shuttle Continuum, Role of Human Spaceflight
    
37. President George H.W. Bush
    
38. Pam Leestma and Neme Alperstein, Elementary School Teachers
    
39. Norman Augustine, Former President and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation
    
40. John Logsdon, Former Director of Space Policy Institute, Georgetown University
    
41. Canadian Space Agency
    
42. General John Dailey, Director of Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
    
43. Leah Jamieson, John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering, Purdue University
    
44. Mike Griffin, Former NASA Administrator

Appendix

1. Flight Number Information
   
2. Test Flights
   
3. Department of Defense
   
4. Military astronauts
   
5. International Payloads and Astronauts
   
6. Education Payloads and Student-Teacher Interactions
   
7. Earth Science Payloads
   
8. Space Science Payloads
   
9. Microgravity Sciences Payloads
   
10. Space Biology Payloads
    
11. Life and Medical Sciences Payloads
    
12. Commercial Satellites Launch and Repair
    
13. Commercial Payloads
    
14. Engineering Tests
    
15. Construction of International Space Station
    
16. Program Managers
    
17. Bibliography
    
18. Glossary, Definition of Terms, Acronyms
    
19. Contributors Biographies
    
20. Acknowledgements
    
21. Index

This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. The Government does not intend to fund any resulting activities associated with this request.

Your response is requested not later than August 31, 2010. Any questions you may have are to be submitted in writing to the POC listed below, and can be mailed or e-mailed. The Mailing Address is: NASA/JSCMail Code BJ5, Dawn Alexander, 2101 NASA Parkway Houston, TX 77058

Contracting Office Address:
NASA/Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston Texas, 77058-3696, Mail Code: BJ

Point of Contact(s):
Dawn Alexander, Contracting Officer, Phone 281-244-7689, Fax 281-244-0995, Email dawn.alexander-1@nasa.gov

posted 07-25-2010 12:01 PM               

Next week we have the final editorial board meeting for the GPO shuttle history book 'Wings in Orbit.' This will be at MSFC in Huntsville, Alabama. I expect to write you a report on that as well.

posted 07-29-2010 12:42 AM               

Shortly after the Bush administration decided to end the shuttle program (no later than 2010), we decided that it would be a good idea to have the people who actually worked in the shuttle program write a book detailing our shared experience. Heaven knows that there are enough books on the shuttle already, and no doubt more to come. But by and large these books have been written by people who are external to the program: historians, journalists, and the like. Several individuals, most of them former astronauts, have written books, but they are necessarily the point of view of a single individual, and therefore can tell only part of the story.

So we decided to write a book on the breadth of the shuttle program, from beginning to end, the good, the bad, and the ugly, with only a couple of rules: (1) it had to be totally honest, (2) it had to be technically accurate, (3) it had to fit in one volume, and (4) it had to be written by insiders.

Tuesday we had the final editorial board meeting which put a seal on the contents. From this point on the book is in the hands of the proof readers, the indexers, the graphics designers, and the printer. We expect the Government Printing Office to have copies on the shelf for sale in January 2011. Sections will subsequently be posted on the NASA web pages, including any updates from the last couple of flights which exceeded the Bush closing date by maybe as much as a year.

The toughest part of the job was cutting material. Once our folks got started writing, they couldn't hold back. We could have written a 5 volume mini-encyclopedia; or probably a 30 volume real encyclopedia. But we stuck with our rule to have one volume, approximately 700 pages.

So what is in there? We tried to tell the "so what" of the shuttle. What did it accomplish, what did it fail to do, why was it so complex, and why did it cost so much. Future spacecraft designers may find some instruction here; both what to do and what not to do.

About one third of the book is devoted to the engineering innovations that were required to bring this unique vehicle - and its support systems - into being. Some of those innovations have now pervaded aerospace engineering as new standards. About a third of the book is the province of the scientists who used the shuttle to study the universe and smaller things as well. And the remaining third of the book is all the other stuff; history of the development and operations of the shuttle, a long description of the accidents, an obligatory description of the shuttle and its systems, and some contemplation of the social impact that the shuttle program had on America and the world.

We have quotations or sections written by over 30 astronauts, Presidents, Nobel Prize winners, scientists, program managers, NASA administrators, and flight directors. More importantly, the vast majority of the book was written by over 100 of the folks who actually did the work: designed, built, maintained, and operated the space shuttle; civil servants and contractors alike.

I think you will find it interesting. Some of the engineers cannot write coherently but we hired a few English majors to try to translate their jargon into something understandable by non-experts. We tried to hit the level of Scientific American or National Geographic text, so this is not going to be very simplistic, but perhaps thought provoking. The illustrations are outstanding. And there will be a comprehensive appendix for all those who desire statistics and details.

There should be something for everybody interested in the shuttle. I hope you like it. We've been working on it in our spare time for over four years now. Or maybe that should really say we've been working on it for our whole careers.

Information on how to pre-order the book will appear on the NASA web page in a month or so.

posted 08-11-2010 11:09 AM               

Wings In Orbit

"Wings in Orbit" is an authoritative documentation of the many accomplishments of the NASA Space Shuttle Program (SSP). This compelling book provides accurate, authentic and easily understood accounts from NASA's best subject matter experts and external resources.

The book captures the passion of those who devoted their energies to the Program's success for more than three decades and focuses on their science and engineering accomplishments, the rich history of the program and the shuttle as a historic icon in U.S. history.

posted 08-14-2010 09:11 AM               

So what is in there? We tried to tell the "so what" of the shuttle. What did it accomplish, what did it fail to do, why was it so complex, and why did it cost so much. Future spacecraft designers may find some instruction here; both what to do and what not to do.

...history of the development and operations of the shuttle, a long description of the accidents, an obligatory description of the shuttle and its systems, and some contemplation of the social impact that the shuttle program had on America and the world.

posted 03-14-2011 01:39 PM               

In an interview with NASASpaceflight.com, former Space Shuttle Program (SSP) manager Wayne Hale spoke about the upcoming book on the history of the Shuttle, "Wings In Orbit," his role in the project, and about what he is doing today. "Wings In Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle" is due to go on sale next month.

posted 04-26-2011 02:37 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by garymilgrom:
Why do you think it's fake?

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posted 04-27-2011 08:50 PM               

The book is available for a FREE download on the NASA website. ShopNASA has stopped taking orders at this time. I would be happy to keep your name on file in case we get extras. No guarantees, sorry!

posted 04-30-2011 06:25 PM               

After cancelled orders with Amazon and my closest Barnes & Noble, I gassed it ten minutes down I-25 to the B&N at Park Meadows and I now have a softcover copy in my hands. Beautifully produced book.

posted 05-30-2011 09:06 PM               

The books, both a partial order of hardcover copies (all that were printed) and softcover copies, were received the week earlier and are scheduled to start shipping this week.

posted 06-01-2011 03:52 PM            

I am very impressed with it so far, but needless to say it was a very big surprise to receive it given what that website says. It seems to be worth every penny!

posted 10-04-2011 09:12 PM               

A handful of astronauts (Coats, Foale, Leestma, Lucid and Ochoa) signed alongside the book's editors, its illustrator and a group of shuttle managers and workers who each wrote chapters or sections.

I don't know if any extra copies were signed, but I don't believe so. Although books were available for purchase, the contributors came and went as desired.

posted 10-04-2011 09:22 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
In a pleasant surprise, those having their book signed were each given a Wings in Orbit bookmark that flew on space shuttle Endeavour's final mission, STS-134.

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posted 10-19-2011 09:04 PM               

When they first went up a year or so ago I remember there only being like 340 hardback copies. There are people on eBay with quantities of 50 plus and they all say first editions.