Thrust Into Space: Official 50th Anniversary Reissue - Paperback

by Matthew S. Hunter (Editor), Maxwell W. Hunter II (Author)

Originally published in 1966, this 50th Anniversary Reissue Edition of Maxwell W. Hunter II's seminal textbook on rocket science and propulsion systems for space travel is newly reprinted to inspire new generations of space enthusiasts. The original book is included in its entirety, with index and useful glossary, along with an updated biography, a list of Hunter's papers and publications that span the Cold War and Space Age to the era of Hubble, the Space Shuttle and SDI, and a foreword by Dr. J.D. Crouch, II. A textbook aimed at secondary-level and college students, THRUST INTO SPACE presents the science of rocket engineering in a technologically sound yet totally understandable style, and the ideas and arguments Hunter presents are as captivating and stimulating a half-century later as they were when the book first appeared.

Author Biography

A giant in American rocketry, Maxwell W. Hunter II (1922 - 2001), visionary rocketeer, consummate aerodynamicist, project manager and policy adviser for five decades, steadfastly contributed to the nation's rocket programs and the future of space transportation. After graduating from MIT in 1944, Max began his career at Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, California. During his 18-year tenure there, he was responsible for the aerodynamic design of Nike-Ajax and Hercules, Sparrows I, II and III, Honest John and other missiles. He was later, as Chief Missiles Design Engineer, responsible for the design of Thor, Nike-Zeus and others and as Chief Engineer of Space Systems, for the engineering of the Delta, the Saturn S-IV and S-IVB stages. In 1962, Max joined the National Aeronautics and Space Council. As part of this advisory group to the President, he provided insight into future space programs and the creation of national space policy in both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Max was with Lockheed Missiles & Space Company for 22 years, responsible for the design of the advanced space transportation vehicles StarClipper and Shuttle and originated the concept of using large expendable tanks in shuttle design. He led the team that won the contract to design the Hubble Space Telescope. Max did extensive work in the applications of high energy lasers for missile defense and originated the space laser battle station concept. His 1977 paper "Strategic Dynamics and Space Laser Weaponry" has often been cited as starting the conversation that resulted in President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). As founder and president of his consulting firm, SpaceGuild, Max was instrumental in starting the SSTO (Single-Stage-to Orbit) program in 1990 and worked closely with the McDonnell Douglas Delta Clipper team. He was Phi Beta Kappa, Tau Beta Pi, a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Astronomical Society, and the British Interplanetary Society, a member or the International Academy of Astronautics and an honorary member of the Japanese Rocket Society. He received the NASA Distinguished Public Service medal for "the definition and promotion of the space shuttle and its utilization." In 1995 he received the Wernher von Braun Memorial Award of the National Space Society for "lifelong contributions to the fields of rockets, missiles and spaceflight."