Books with author David Baker

Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing by Apollo 11. The story of Apollo has been told many times, but most accounts stop at the first landing. This book picks up where others have left off, and describes the five post-Apollo 11 Moon landings, defined as technical developments built upon engineering excellence. It was only through the robust design adopted when aerospace contractors first designed and built the Apollo spacecraft and the Lunar Module that successive evolutions were possible, taking lunar-landing operations far beyond what had first been envisaged. This book is not intended to tell the full story of each mission, but rather to describe the technical development of spacecraft and equipment necessary to grow the capability from a single EVA (‘moonwalk’) of less than three hours, to advanced missions where astronauts spent three full working days exploring their landing sites. With the aid of a Lunar Roving Vehicle, they collected a wide variety of rocks and soil and left a range of instruments at the surface powered by a thermonuclear generator. As interest grows in humans returning to the Moon, 50 years on from those pioneering days of lunar exploration, we look again at what was accomplished at the dawn of the Space Age, spurred on by a political goal and developed as a tool for science. The story of the Apollo Moon missions is an expression of those achievements.

The International Space Station (ISS) is a permanently manned earth-orbiting complex where astronauts carry out research into a wide range of scientific activities. It comprises modules built in the USA, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. Author David Baker examines how the ISS was built, the logistics modules and freighters operated by its user nations, how the ISS works as an integrated facility, life on board, what the ISS does, the research carried out and who benefits.

Established in 1958 in response to Russia’s Sputnik 1, launched on 4 October as the world’s first artificial satellite, NASA - the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - emerged out of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics which had been formed in 1915. The NASA Operations Manual tells the story of America’s civilian space agency, the facilities it operates, where they are and what they do. It explains how much NASA costs the American taxpayer and looks at what it returns to the taxpayer in benefits to the economy. NASA has forged a niche in modern history that extends beyond the realisation of age-old dreams to leave Earth and explore the heavens - it has become a synonym for achievement, performance and greatness, in setting goals and achieving them, in failing and learning how to recover, in connecting people around the world with international programmes to explore our solar system and live our ambitions, and in improving the lives of people everywhere through its inventions, discoveries, its technology and its engineering. Sixty years after NASA took hold of the reins of US civilian space programmes, the agency has a bold vision for great and ambitious goals, taking humans back to the Moon and on to Mars, perhaps visiting an asteroid, or setting up an interplanetary transport system on the way. And all the time, providing inspiration for a new generation. With more than 300 photographs, line drawings and charts, this book tours the United States, describing the centres of excellence and the facilities where rockets are tested, satellites are built and humans prepare for space. With summary review of research laboratories, test rigs, experimental platforms and engineering facilities, this book describes the 60 years of NASA as it has evolved through changing requirements and expanding capabilities, building on the past and preparing for a bold future.

Is there life on Mars? This age-old question has prompted many missions to Mars, with the most recent rover, Curiosity, having safely landed in August 2012 amid a blaze of publicity. This manual covers the development, design and engineering of three generations of Mars rover: Sojourner, which landed in 1997, was the size of a microwave; Spirit and Opportunity, both the size of a shopping cart, followed in 2004; and Curiosity is the size of a car, with a design life of two years. Learn how these machines work as well as what they have found and hope to discover - and look forward to the possibility that humans may yet set foot on the Red Planet.

Brandon Waters was never expecting everything to go as planned, but he never imagined it would go this far off the rails…After receiving a phone call from a new client he finds himself in St. Augustine, Florida ready to go to work. But right from the start, this is no ordinary case and it isn’t long until he finds himself caught up in the underground world of organized fight clubs and twisted millionaires. With an seemingly innocent woman’s freedom on the line and a rogue FBI agent at his side he must try to find the truth in the lies and help uncover what really happened to his former best friend’s father. Were the police right, was the woman in jail really guilty of the crime or was there more to the case?Dead on The Docks is the highly anticipated third installment of the hugely popular Dangerous Waters series.

It's a bit of an open secret that reconnaissance satellites, or spy satellites, as they're often known, play a big part in American intelligence-gathering efforts. They're indispensible tools in the ongoing War on Terror. While information about the country's current satellites is classified, curious minds can learn all about the development of spy satellites in this informative tome. Highlights include WS-117L, CORONA, SAMOS, GAMBIT, HEXAGON, DORIAN, and KENNEN, all of which are introduced with detailed diagrams and multiple photographs. Other topics covered include the methods of aerial reconnaissance that predated satellites, the various types of intelligence that are routinely gathered, and an overview of the U.S. intelligence community.

Some Archaea thrive in extreme places around the planet such as in thermal pools, hot vents at the bottom of the sea, extremely salty water, and even in underground oil reserves. Others are found in the intestines of animals and in plankton, tiny organisms that form a feeding reserve for larger marine life. Once grouped with bacteria, the DNA of this fascinating group is sufficiently different that scientists have proposed that they should have a sixth kingdom of their own. This book examines the three main divisions into which members of the diverse Archaea kingdom are grouped according to their unusual biology. It also explains why little in general is known about them, and why further classification of Archaea is so difficult.

The International Space Station - or ISS - is a permanently manned 400-ton orbiting complex for six astronauts. It comprises modules built in the US, Russia, Europe and Japan with external robotic equipment built by Canada, all these having been launched by their host countries. In addition, Europe and Japan provide logistics modules and Russia provides cargo freighters. Assembled in a series of flights between 1998 and 2011, the ISS will be complete by mid-2011. In that period there will have been more than 60 manned and 50 unmanned flights to the ISS and the station has been permanently manned since 2000, just two years after assembly began. It is expected to continue in operation for the next 10 years during which period it will be continuously manned by a crew of six people. The purpose of the station is to carry out research into a wide range of scientific activities involving medicines, human physiology, biology, botany, physics and chemistry. Observations of the earth and of the universe are carried out by the station and later in the decade it will support activities associated with the first human expeditions to the asteroids and possibly back to the lunar surface.

Nuclear weapons have a destructive capacity so catastrophic that many historians argue their invention issued in a new era, the Atomic Age. Readers will learn about the scientific discoveries in the early twentieth century, such as the structure of the atom and the existence of isotopes, that led scientists to first conceive of nuclear weapons. They'll read how first the Americans, and later the Russians, British, French, and Chinese developed nuclear weapons. Attention is also paid to later nuclear powers and those currently aspiring to join the nuclear club. Visual learners will appreciate the many photographs, maps, diagrams, and graphs that this fascinating book contains.