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020 _a9780691128221
037 _cTextbook
040 _aCSL
_beng
_cCSL
041 _aeng
084 _aB92 P7 TB
_qCSL
100 _aBelbruno, Edward
_9870710
245 0 _aFly me to the moon:an insider's guide to the new science of space travel
260 _aPrinceton,
_bPrinceton University Press:
_c2007.
300 _axix, 148p.
_b: ill.
500 _aBibliography 141-146p.; Index 147-148p.
520 _aWhen a leaf falls on a windy day, it drifts and tumbles, tossed every which way on the breeze. This is chaos in action. In Fly Me to the Moon, Edward Belbruno shows how to harness the same principle for low-fuel space travel--or, as he puts it, "surfing the gravitational field." Belbruno devised one of the most exciting concepts now being used in space flight, that of swinging through the cosmos on the subtle fluctuations of the planets' gravitational pulls. His idea was met with skepticism until 1991, when he used it to get a stray Japanese satellite back on course to the Moon. The successful rescue represented the first application of chaos to space travel and ushered in an emerging new field. Part memoir, part scientific adventure story, Fly Me to the Moon gives a gripping insider's account of that mission and of Belbruno's personal struggles with the science establishment. Along the way, Belbruno introduces readers to recent breathtaking advances in American space exploration. He discusses ways to capture and redirect asteroids; presents new research on the origin of the Moon; weighs in on discoveries like 2003 UB313 (now named Eris), a dwarf planet detected in the far outer reaches of our solar system--and much more. Grounded in Belbruno's own rigorous theoretical research but written for a general audience, Fly Me to the Moon is for anybody who has ever felt moved by the spirit of discovery.
650 _aAstronomy
_9870711
650 _aAstronomy-popular works
_9870712
650 _aCelestial mechanics
_9870713
650 _aMathematics
_9870714
942 _hB92 P7 TB
_cTB
_2CC
_n0
999 _c25314
_d25314