21st-Century Spaceships

Book excerpt: What does it take to design, create and launch a spaceship? The skills of engineers. Since the mid-twentieth century, engineers have given us spaceships, satellites, probes, land rovers and an orbiting space station. Plans for future spaceships, as well as a manned voyage to Mars, are well underway. With a focus on the principles of engineering, this resource will teach students about the astronautical engineering accomplishments of the past and present, along with an array of engineering obstacles that must be overcome to create the spaceships that will launch us into the exciting future of space exploration.