How Spacecraft Fly Authors: Graham Swinerd Publisher: Copernicus Books ISBN: 978-0387765716 Price: £15 (Hb), 268pp
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There are hundreds of satellites orbiting the Earth, but how are these satellites designed and controlled? What hazards do they face and how do they get into orbit in the first place? Once the fundamental principles and basic orbits have been described, the author goes on to examine real orbits, as he puts it. These involve dealing with gravity anomalies, extraneous third body forces, aerodynamic forces and solar radiation. I don't think this is discussed at a popular level in science books often enough, so I found this to be most informative.

The text then moves on to spacecraft design, such as attitude control, spacecraft stabilisation, propulsion and power sources. Spacecraft communications would need an entire book in itself but it was nice to see the matter examined, and I found the discussion about thermal control to be most interesting.

There is a great deal of useful information that you do not find readily elsewhere and given the rather dry nature of the subject, the book is written in a lucid and engaging style that makes enjoyable reading. The subtitle states, Spaceflight without Formulae, but this did leave me slightly disappointed. The complexity of orbits is illustrated in some detail and I felt that this book should have included the relevant formulae, especially when mention and workings-through of Tsiolkovsky's rocket equation are given but without stating the actual equation itself. The author says that he has tried to explain everything in an understandable manner, and he has, but the inclusion of the equation would have been a useful reference.

Towards the end of the book the author gives his views on the financial and scientific viability of missions to the Moon, Mars and the ISS, which seemed out of context, but these criticisms should not detract from what is a very good book.

Robin Flegg