Publisher's Synopsis
This reference guide contains updated and expanded material on launch programmes in Brazil, China, Europe, India, Israel, Japan, Russia, Ukraine and the United States. Features of this edition include: inclusion of new systems -Angara, Beal's VA-2, Delta III and IV, H-IIA, VLS, LeoLink, Minotaur, Soyuz 2, Strela, Proton M, Atlas III and V, Dnepr, Kistler's K-1, Shtil, with details on Sea Launch using the Zenit vehicle; reorganized alphabetically by system (eg. Ariane, Athena, Atlas, Beal, Delta etc) to reflect the international cooperation in vehicle development, marketing and operation; completely updated and expanded performance data; updated flight records with added details (eg. payload mass, delivery orbit, manifest type); more detailed failure descriptions; SI units used throughout; and a new chapter on spaceports.Standard sections describe each of the launch systems in detail, including chronological illustrations of production status, vehicle descriptions and their technical differences, a brief text history of the launch system and the launch record, price data, performance curves for a variety of orbits, launch site, launch facilities, launch processing and flight sequence, payload accommodations, and more.
