29 Spaceflight books

A Brief History of Rocketry in ISRO by P. V. Manoranjan Rao and P. Radhakrishnan — both former scientists of the Indian Space Research Organization — is a book on the history of rocketry in the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Bold They Rise: The Space Shuttle Early Years (1972-1986) is a 2014 non-fiction book by David Hitt and Heather R. Smith. Bold They Rise tells the story of the Space Shuttle through the personal experiences of the astronauts, engineers, and scientists who made it happen—in space and on the ground, from the days of research and design through the heroic accomplishments of the program to the tragic last minutes of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

The Conquest of Interplanetary Spaces is a science book by Soviet engineer and mathematician Yuri Kondratyuk published in 1929, significant for being one of the first documented proposals for lunar orbit rendezvous.

Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys is the autobiography of the Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins. It was released in 1974 with a foreword by the aviator Charles Lindbergh. The book was re-released in 2009 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first crewed lunar landing, and again for its 50th anniversary, in 2019.

The Complete Book of Outer Space is a 1953 collection of essays about space exploration edited by Jeffrey Logan. It first appeared as a magazine, published by Maco Magazine Corp. The first book publication was by Gnome Press in 1953 in an edition of 3,000 copies.

The Conquest of Space is a 1949 speculative science book written by Willy Ley and illustrated by Chesley Bonestell. The book contains a portfolio of paintings by Bonestell depicting the possible future exploration of the Solar System, with explanatory text by Ley.

The Conquest of Space is a nonfiction book written by David Lasser in 1930 and self-published in 1931. It was the first book written in English that presented rocketry and spaceflight in a serious manner. The book profiles a fictional journey to the Moon to explain the science of rocketry as it stood in 1931. It uses contemporary knowledge on rockets to create a reasonable description of the hardware necessary to make spaceflight possible. The book was out of print until 2002, when it was republished by Apogee Books. As of 2011, the book remains in print.

Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir (ISBN 0-88730-783-3) is a 1999 book by Bryan Burrough about the Russian Mir space station and the cosmonauts and astronauts who served aboard. The story centres on astronaut Jerry Linenger and the events on the Shuttle and Mir Space Programme in 1997.

Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery is a 2017 memoir by American astronaut Scott Kelly and Margaret Lazarus Dean. The book details Kelly's life, as well as that of his twin brother Mark, as they became naval aviators and test pilots, and were both selected for NASA Astronaut Group 16. Kelly recounts his four spaceflights, with an emphasis on the ISS year long mission, in which he participated.

Ever Upwards: ISRO in Images by P. V. Manoranjan Rao, B. N. Suresh and V. P. Balagangadharan — all of them former scientists of the Indian Space Research Organization — is a coffee table book on the history of the Indian Space Research Organisation.

First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong is the official biography of Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who became the first man to walk on the Moon, on July 20, 1969. The book was written by James R. Hansen and was first published in 2005 by Simon & Schuster. The book describes Armstrong's involvement in the United States space program, and details his personal life and upbringing.

From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India's Space Journey edited by P. V. Manoranjan Rao, B. N. Suresh and V. P. Balagangadharan — all of them former scientists of the Indian Space Research Organization — is a book that traces the history of India's space organization, Indian Space Research Organization.

...the Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age is a 1985 nonfiction book by American historian Walter A. McDougall, published by Basic Books. The book chronicles the politics of the Space Race, comparing the different approaches of the US and the USSR. ...the Heavens and the Earth was a finalist for the 1985 American Book Award and won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for History.

How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, An Epic Race, And the Birth of Private Spaceflight (ISBN 978-1594206726) is a bestselling award-winning 2016 non-fiction book by journalist Julian Guthrie about the origins of the X Prize Foundation and Peter Diamandis, the first X Prize, the Ansari X Prize and Anousheh Ansari, the entrants into that suborbital spaceflight competition, and the winning team, Mojave Aerospace Ventures of Vulcan Inc., Paul G. Allen, Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan, and their platform of Tier One of SpaceShipOne and WhiteKnightOne.

In the Shadow of the Moon: A Challenging Journey to Tranquility is a 2007 non-fiction book by space historians Francis French and Colin Burgess. Drawing on a number of original personal interviews with astronauts, cosmonauts and those who worked closely with them, the book chronicles the American and Soviet programs from 1965 onwards, through the Gemini, Soyuz and early Apollo flights, up to the first landing on the Moon by Apollo 11.

Interplanetary Flight: An Introduction to Astronautics is a short, modestly technical introduction to space exploration written by Arthur C. Clarke, and published in 1950. It includes material accessible to readers with a high-school level of science and technical education, covering the elements of orbital mechanics, rocket design and performance, various applications of Earth satellites, a discussion of the more interesting and accessible destinations in the Solar System, and in a final chapter covering the rationale and value of human expansion off the Earth.

ISRO: A Personal Historyby R. Aravamudan—a veteran of ISRO—and Gita Aravamudan—his spouse—is a personal historical account of the history of Indian Space Research Organization. "Overall, the book is a nice exposition of the space programme and provides an insight into the ‘ISRO Way’ of executing large and technologically challenging projects.", wrote The Outlook Magazine in its review of the book.

Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, is a non-fiction book first published in 1994 by astronaut Jim Lovell and journalist Jeffrey Kluger, about the failed April 1970 Apollo 13 lunar landing mission which Lovell commanded. The book is the basis of the 1995 film adaptation Apollo 13, directed by Ron Howard.

A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts is a book by Andrew Chaikin, first published in 1994. It describes the voyages of the Apollo program astronauts in detail, from Apollo 8 to 17."A decade in the making, this book is based on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with each of the twenty-four moon voyagers, as well as those who contributed their brain power, training and teamwork on Earth."

Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days with the Phoenix Mars Mission is a book written by Andrew Kessler. The book documents Andrew Kessler's three-month stint in mission control of the NASA Phoenix expedition, led by Peter Smith and based at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona. The mission attempted (successfully) to locate evidence of water on Mars.

Mission: Earth, Voyage to the Home Planet is a children's literature book by science writer June A. English and astronaut Thomas David Jones that was published in 1996 by Scholastic. Jones was among the crew members of the Space Shuttle Endeavour during an eleven-day mission in space, which was launched in April 1994 to study the ecological well-being of Earth using specialized radar technology. The book, which is illustrated with radar images and picturesque photographs, chronicles the mission and Jones' experiences of it.

Moonshot: The Flight Of Apollo 11 is a 2009 book by Brian Floca about the Apollo 11 spaceflight to the Moon.

Of a Fire on the Moon is a work of non-fiction by Norman Mailer which was serialised in Life magazine in 1969 and 1970, and published in 1970 as a book. It is a documentary and reflection on the Apollo 11 Moon landing from Mailer's point of view.

Out of the Cradle: Exploring the Frontiers beyond Earth is a 1984 book written and illustrated by planetary scientist William K. Hartmann, Ron Miller and Pamela Lee. Cradle describes potential manned space missions to the planets, moons and asteroids of the Solar System. The approximately 100 space art illustrations were in large part based on photographs from the unmanned space probes Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, and the Viking Lander, available at the time of publication, with scientific extrapolation of the likely appearance of various planetary surfaces. The title is derived from a quote from Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, included in the preface: "Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live in the cradle forever."

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void is a nonfiction work by science author Mary Roach.

Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut is a 2006 book by retired astronaut Richard "Mike" Mullane. The book describes Mullane's experiences in the NASA astronaut corps from 1978 to 1990, including his flights on the Space Shuttle and his personal relationships with other astronauts, especially Judy Resnik, who perished in the Challenger accident. The book gives a critical glimpse into the culture of NASA and the astronaut corps. The Publishers Weekly review of the book noted that Mullane "holds female astronauts in special disregard". Kirkus Reviews summarized the book as "one astronaut’s messy, exhilarating story, with no edges sanded off".

The Right Stuff is a 1979 book by Tom Wolfe about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar research with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft as well as documenting the stories of the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the NASA space program. The Right Stuff is based on extensive research by Wolfe, who interviewed test pilots, the astronauts and their wives, among others. The story contrasts the "Mercury Seven" and their families with other test pilots such as Chuck Yeager, who was considered by many contemporaries as the best of them all, but who was never selected as an astronaut.

Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon is a 2018 nonfiction book by Robert Kurson recounting NASA's 1968 Apollo 8 mission, which was the first crewed spacecraft to reach the Moon and return safely to Earth. The book is Kurson's fourth, and it debuted on the New York Times bestseller list.

Wheels Stop: The Tragedies and Triumphs of the Space Shuttle Program, 1986-2011 is a 2013 nonfiction book by Rick Houston. Wheels Stop tells the stirring story of how, after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the Space Shuttle not only recovered but went on to perform its greatest missions.