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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

This book offers a general review of all the projects and programs NASA worked on from 1969 till 1978. Like in volume II, these activities are grouped into different chapters. The decade reflected in this book did not enjoy the same auspicious circumstances as those that benefited NASA during the period 1958-1968. After Apollo-11, much of the support that NASA had received was taken away. During the 1970s, the budget cuts became frequent. On the other hand, it was not a stage with missions which happened to be spectacular enough for the general public.

Each one of the six chapters is divided into three sections. A narrative introduction which includes information on the management of the program is followed by budgetary tables. These tables provide a financial history. Each chapter is mostly devoted to describing the programs. The main programs are subdivided into projects, and information on the space vehicles, scientific experiments and organisations involved is likewise provided.

(Extracted (edited) from the preface.)

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Preface.

-Contents.

-1: Launch Vehicles.
-2: Manned Spaceflight.
-3: Space Science.
-4: Space Applications.
-5: Aeronautics and Space Research.
-6: Tracking and Data Acquisition.

-Notes.

-Appendix A: Organization Charts.

-Appendix B: Sounding Rocket Flights (1969-1978).

-Notes on Sources.

-Index.

-Abouth the Author.

OUR REVIEW

Just like in other official books published by NASA, this volume is very adequate for those who study astronautics and wish to have an available general summary they can rely on, about the activity by this American space agency.

Unlike volume II in that series, in this third book the information about the activities of the agency during this period is less exhaustive, but the work is presented as a general summary, which constitutes an ideal basic reference source on the main programs during this era. Therefore all available data that a specialized thematic work on some of the programs would include are not provided, but a very useful and comprehensive view is given instead, so as to be able to refer to it from a general viewpoint, or to assess the whole of the NASA activities during this period.