Interplanetary Flight: An Introduction to Astronautics
Interplanetary Flight: An Introduction to Astronautics[1] is a short, modestly technical introduction to space exploration written by the late Arthur C. Clarke, and published in 1950. It includes material accessible to readers with a high-school level of science and technical education, covering the elements of orbital mechanics, rocket design and performance, various applications of Earth satellites, a discussion of the more interesting and accessible destinations in the Solar System (such as they were understood at the time of writing), an introduction to the daunting problems of interstellar travel including the role of Special Relativity, and in a final chapter covering the rationale and value of human expansion off the Earth. A short mathematical appendix is provided for the benefit of readers not versed in the calculus.
- ^ Interplanetary Flight: an introduction to astronautics. London: Temple Press, 1950