The Space Shuttle
Celebrating Thirty Years of NASA’s First Space Plane
Piers Bizony

Zenith 2011 / ISBN 9780760339411
release / ISBN
Space exploration, NASA
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Reviewed by Bob Walch

Anyone interested in the United States space program and the role played by the fleet of reusable shuttles which enabled American astronauts to venture far into the heavens on a number of important missions will enjoy this pictorial history.

With its informative text and over 900 brilliant color photos, this oversized volume offers a broad look at the three decades and 135 launches of these shuttles. With the termination of the shuttle program, three of these vehicles (Endeavor, Atlantis and Discovery) are headed for museums, but the memory of their accomplishments and the other shuttles in the program will be kept alive by this book and others like it.

Bizony looks at not only the successful tasks that the shuttles performed, like placing the Hubble Space Telescope in space and then repairing it, and the many missions carrying parts, people and supplies up to the International Space Station, but he also details the tragedies as well. Although he doesn’t dwell on them, the author does discuss the loss of both Challenger and Columbia as well as how NASA recovered from these major setbacks.

Some readers may feel this book is a little pricy at $40, but once they look at the fantastic photos they’ll quickly realize it would be a bargain at twice the price. An exceptional account of the space shuttle’s 30y-year career, this is a must-purchase for anyone who collects books on NASA, space exploration or aerospace history.