International Space Station: Architecture beyond Earth [Hardcover]

This book thoroughly chronicles the history, development, engineering, habitation, design, and, finally, architecture of the International Space Station. Weighing 422 tonnes, the ISS is still circling the planet every 90 minutes at about 17,500 miles per hour, coequal in the authors judgment to CERNs Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. The book proceeds diligently from the 1960s to today, dividing American habitation in space into seven chapters. The ISS was constructed primarily by Russia and the United States after 1972, with contributions from Europe, Japan, Canada, Italy, and Brazil, and it still represents the most ambitious and the most complicated habitat ever conceived, contrived, and constructed by sapiens. This book culminates seven years of work by the author, embracing four valuable appendixes, more than 100 terms in the glossary, over 300 illustrations, 500-plus footnotes, and over 1,200 index terms in 400-plus pages. This heavy tome far replaces several smaller, outdated NASA paperbacks and reference guides with a much larger scope, a greater attention to detail, and a fully fashioned explanation of the complicated economics, politics, technologies, etc., of space exploration. This book definitely serves the general public. The author is a British architect who moved to California and has long specialized in the architecture and design of space exploration vehicles.Verdict Excellent for STEM education and lots of other disciplines.Im not aware of any book on the ISS that comes close to what Nixon offers here. A history of the International Space Station, through the lens of its architectural design Foreword by NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott Perfect for space enthusiasts, as well as anyone with an interest in challenging architectural problem-solving If you are a space fan, fascinated by the kind of venture the International Space Station represents, this book is an absolute must, full of juicy details and intriguing insights. - Popular Science, lӥ