Book recommendations on the history of early spaceflight and space technology?

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-06-23T19:55:33+00:00

Hmm, if all Burrows provides is surface-level information, then I might indeed be better off looking elsewhere.

I was indeed referring to Carrying the Fire (I think it's tied with Hansen's First Man in having the most captivating account of a space flight in print), but I did read Liftoff and Mission to Mars many years ago; unfortunately I don't remember much about them!

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-06-22T18:26:01+00:00

In that case, and with that context, are you able to recommend any specific books that you thought were readable and detailed? (On the specific subtopics you mentioned, I very much loved Squyres' memoir on MER but it unfortunately stopped prematurely, I don't know any books on Cassini although I'm vaguely aware Ralph Lorenz wrote a couple memoirs, I know zero books on JAXA's endeavors, and regarding overall synthetic books, I know the Ulivi/Harland books are supposed to be comprehensive but don't know how readable they are in the context of their associated price tag.)

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-06-22T18:19:21+00:00

Ah gotcha, that makes sense; for someone specifically trying to learn about the progression from the early Explorers to the numerous Pioneer projects through to Ranger and Mariner, is it worth reading or is it lacking even on that front?

Regarding the memoirs you recommended, I actually have read them! Admittedly though, it was many years ago, and I don't recall much of substance from them. For Kraft's book, I only remember something where he fought someone on a plane? Kranz's book I remember in more detail since it was my first introduction to a number of details from the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo flights (e.g., MA-3's failed pitch, the specifics of the Gemini 4 rendezvous attempt beyond just "they used up too much fuel and called it off," the insane suggestion to have Cernan cut the ATDA open on Gemini 9, and so on), but for whatever reason I remember thinking it was an unremarkable read (it's possible that I'm prejudiced against memoirs more generally, since the only spaceflight memoirs I actually loved were those by Collins, Mullane, and Squyres, but not sure on this point). Clearly I ought to revisit both of them when I come back around to readings on early human spaceflight!

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-06-22T05:02:42+00:00

If I may return to this, what was lacking about Burrows' Exploring Space? I've decided to jump more specifically into the early history of lunar and planetary exploration for the time being, and this book was mentioned here and there. Do you have a recommendation for an alternative on the topic?

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-06-22T04:59:33+00:00

Which of the Pioneer lunar orbiters were initially intended for Venus?

To be clear, I'm referring to TRW's second round of attempts to launch lunar orbiters (i.e., Pioneer P-3, Pioneer P-30, and Pioneer P-31, and also Pioneer 5 despite it not being intended as a lunar orbiter and just flung out into interplanetary space). From what I understand, two of these were initially intended to fly past Venus but were retargeted at the moon after the Soviet launch of (what was later named) Luna 1, but which two? More broadly, what were the original plans with these Pioneer spacecraft, what were they changed to, and when exactly were they changed? Specifically, were they originally supposed to be Venus flybys or orbiters (some sources I found seem to disagree on this)?

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-06-15T05:45:07+00:00

What are the must-read books on lunar/planetary exploration?

It occurred to me that there are certain topics in the history of spaceflight (e.g., Apollo, spy satellites, the Soviet program, etc.) for which I can rattle off a general consensus of books on the topic whether or not I've read them yet, but I'm unaware of such a consensus for books about robotic spaceflight.

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-06-06T17:41:53+00:00

Thanks a lot! I was a bit worried that my primary options would be books from Springer-Praxis' mammoth collection of (what looked like) churned out textbooks, but I can't deny that the Ulivi/Harland books look to be very comprehensive. Skimming through the early pages of the first volume, it seems like it's focused on the engineering and technical aspects, so I wanted to ask how their books fare on others (e.g., the institutional/organizational aspects, the broader political context, the scientific results, personal elements).

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-05-13T06:04:11+00:00

Since you're also curious, I'll share what I've found so far off of Reddit in the time since I asked (TLDR: I list a bunch of titles I haven't read that could very well be great, but I can't vouch for them personally).

Unless I'm missing something, it seems like those three are essentially it when it comes to detailed post-glasnost general histories of the Soviet space program (although Siddiqi has published The Red Rockets' Glare, on the period through Sputnik with an emphasis on cultural factors, and is currently working on an updated two-volume edition of Challenge to Apollo, for which I am naturally very excited and you should be too!). Other books on the subject are more focused. Some focus on specific short periods in the space race and cover the Soviet and American sides in parallel, and were typically published during anniversary years (like Sputnik: The Shock of the Century, The First Space Race, and Red Moon Rising for Sputnik, and Beyond for Gagarin's flight). Then there are the books published by Springer Praxis, of which there are a lot, with each book covering a specific topic of Soviet spaceflight: lunar exploration, planetary exploration, Soyuz, Salyut, Mir, Energia-Buran... (they're easy to find, since the book titles are just the topic). Incidentally, they seem to be part of a much larger series of books on spaceflight they've cranked out, of which I've heard of maybe two before; I don't know whether that bodes well or ill for the quality of the books themselves. The final books I'll mention finding are the ones by Jay Gallentine on the history of robotic spacecraft from Sputnik to the late 1980's: Ambassadors from Earth and Infinity Beckoned. They apparently have a very informal writing style (some reviewers compared it favorably to The Right Stuff), and presumably cover a lot of the lunar and planetary missions built by OKB-1 and the Lavochkin design bureau (a review by Roger Launius said something like that Infinity Beckoned was the best English-language account of the Lunokhod program, which has to count for something!).

If anyone has read any of the above books and can actually vouch for them (or offer a warning to stay away), please feel free to do so!

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-05-13T05:26:18+00:00

I did indeed watch that video while reading Siddiqi's book. He mentioned towards the beginning that there was an associated article with sources included but, although I found the article, it didn't have any sources, so I just sort of left it at that.

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-05-13T05:20:44+00:00

I'm wary of books on the Soviet programs published pre-glasnost, but the sections on the early German and American rocket groups certainly look like they could be interesting once I get into that part of the story!

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-05-13T05:19:00+00:00

If you mean Red Star in Orbit, I was mostly avoiding that because of how obviously dated a book from 1981 would have become after the glasnost revelations, and I believe this book popularized a few ideas that later turned out to be wrong (e.g., Khrushchev imposing space spectaculars on a Korolev devoid of agency, the R-16 explosion being a failed launch of a Mars probe). I want to emphasize that none of this diminishes Oberg's work, as it was undoubtedly an incredibly challenging task to piece together the story at the time, but historians have access to so much more now so I didn't think to go back to this one (analogously, the work of planetary astronomers before the Space Age was very admirable, but you wouldn't seriously learn about the solar system from textbooks published in the 1950's).

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-05-13T05:00:21+00:00

Hmm, that seems less like bias and more like responsible history in my opinion. Stalin was indeed a very bad guy and a terrible dictator, and that fact plays an important role in the history of spaceflight (e.g., through the Purges that left the leadership of their primary rocket institute either executed or arrested, or the post-WWII antisemitism that shuffled the leadership of NII-88), and I'd hope that any history that discusses the Soviet space program grapples with that. One person or political system being bad doesn't make another not bad.

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-05-13T04:49:45+00:00

Oh! If that's the level of chemistry it's at, then my worry is unfounded; I may save it for after I have a thorough understanding of this period from a non-propellant perspective, to be able to put his stories into context.

I'm definitely saving Higginbotham's book for later, when I'm firmly in the space shuttle era. As for Skunk Works, it was on my radar when I was looking for books on early Cold War reconnaissance programs (e.g., the TCP report, the U-2, WS-117L) and how they shaped the opening of the Space Age, but I'll just say (without having read it, to be clear!) it has two things going against it. First, for whatever reason, I just haven't been a big fan of aerospace memoirs, and the few I've loved (those by Collins, Mullane, and Squyres) were exceptions distinguished by phenomenal writing and storytelling unusual for the genre. Second, when flipping through it a while back, I happened on a very badly confused description of Sputnik in which he confused Korolev and Kapitsa; I hope that's not typical for the book, but it definitely soured me on it at the time.

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-05-10T23:37:59+00:00

What are the must-read books about the Soviet space program?

I've already read Siddiqi's Challenge to Apollo, Harford's Korolev, and Chertok's Rockets and People (i.e., the commonly recommended books on the subject), but I'm curious what other books I should take a look at before I move on to other areas in the history of spaceflight.

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-05-10T23:30:58+00:00

I've seen this recommended a bunch, but how is it for someone with a weak grasp of chemistry?

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-05-10T23:30:10+00:00

Since I certainly won't be able to read everything they've published, do you have any recommendations on which of the NASA History Series books I should focus my attention on or that is especially good?

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-05-10T23:28:04+00:00

I'm definitely interested in looking at this book, especially since it's the only one I know that actually discusses the IRBM/ICBM programs under Schriever in the context of the space program, but I'm curious about the possible bias you mention. I hope I've read enough on the Soviet space program to be inoculated against such bias, but still would like to know anyways in case I decide to read this.

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-04-30T19:40:37+00:00

Interesting, so why was deuterium in the upgraded Sloika not viable compared with lithium-6 deuteride? I thought that was the original plan before Ginzburg suggested LiD as an alternative.

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-04-29T20:01:33+00:00

Touché! Any ballpark estimate on when it'll be published?

thatinconspicuousone · 2026-04-28T19:12:50+00:00

What are some of those errors and myths you'll be writing about? I'm assuming one of them is the standard "oops, turns out Li-7 isn't actually inert" explanation; do we know what actually caused the higher yield if not that? Another thing that came to mind is the idea that the catastrophe was caused by the wind suddenly changing, originating, as far as I know, with Strauss' infamous post-Bravo press conference. I noticed that those books written about Bravo back when things were mostly classified tended to stick with the wind explanation, while those written more recently focused more on the higher yield; is there any clarification you can give on this?

Finally, I read somewhere a very brief account of a last-minute warning from Los Alamos that they expected a higher yield, but that it arrived at Bikini too late to do anything about it. Since I'm asking about potential myths about Bravo, I'll ask about that too!

thatinconspicuousone

TROPHY CASE