{"product_id":"dark-star-matthew-h-hersch-9780262546720","title":"Dark Star: A New History of the Space Shuttle","description":"\u003cb\u003eA captivating history of NASA's Space Transportation System--the space shuttle--chronicling the inevitable failures of a doomed design.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eDark Star\u003c\/i\u003e, Matthew Hersch challenges the existing narrative of the most significant human space program of the last 50 years, NASA's space shuttle. He begins with the origins of the space shuttle: a century-long effort to develop a low-cost, reusable, rocket-powered airplane to militarize and commercialize space travel, which Hersch explains was built the wrong way, at the wrong time, and for all the wrong reasons. Describing the unique circumstances that led to the space shuttle's creation by President Richard Nixon's administration in 1972 and its subsequent flights from 1981 through 2011, Hersch illustrates how the space shuttle was doomed from the start. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhile most historians have accepted the view that the space shuttle's fatal accidents--including the 1986 \u003ci\u003eChallenger \u003c\/i\u003eexplosion--resulted from deficiencies in NASA's management culture that lulled engineers into a false confidence in the craft, \u003ci\u003eDark Star\u003c\/i\u003e reveals the widespread understanding that the shuttle was predestined for failure as a technology demonstrator. The vehicle was intended only to give the United States the appearance of a viable human spaceflight program until funds became available to eliminate its obvious flaws. Hersch's work seeks to answer the perilous questions of technological choice that confront every generation, and it is a critical read for anyone interested in how we can create a better world through the things we build.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Matthew H. Hersch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0262546728\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262546720\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/26\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 328\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.90lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.98w x 0.87d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal Prepub Alert\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2023 pg. 7\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2024","brand":"Matthew H. Hersch","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44181138211071,"sku":"9780262546720","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_55438ade-95c8-4422-b8dc-5e79bdc79c43.jpg?v=1690258763","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/dark-star-matthew-h-hersch-9780262546720","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}