If you’ve ever wanted to understand the theory and practice of space flight, this is the place to start. It’s an extremely friendly introduction that starts from the basics — the solar system, the planets, comets, and other phenomena — and works out from there to a full description of mission planning and execution.

The treatment of orbits and orbital mechanics is particularly strong: I have a lot of maths and physics in my background, and the explanation here is way simpler than you’ll find in any textbook. IN fact it’s the perfect introduction before diving into the maths if you want to, and there are pointers in the text to the appropriate web sites and other sources.

All in all a great introduction to a subject that still has the power to fascinate.

4/5. Finished Thursday 2 May, 2013.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)