As a crewmember of the D-2 shuttle mission and a full professor of astronautics at the Technical University in Munich, Ulrich Walter is an acknowledged expert in the field. He is also the author of a number of popular science books on space flight. The second edition of this textbook is based on extensive teaching and his work with students, backed by numerous examples drawn from his own experience. With its end-of-chapter examples and problems, this work is suitable for graduate level or even undergraduate courses in space flight, as well as for professionals working in the space industry.

"The present volume is focused on documenting the novel processing, fabrication, characterization, and testing approaches that are unique to aerospace materials/structures/systems"--Preface.

Commissioned on the occasion of its 75th Anniversary, here is the fascinating historical account of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics -- and its predecessor organizations, the American Rocket Society and The Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences -- and the significant contributions each has made to the evolution of flight. From the early struggles to create and distinguish aeronautics as a distinct profession, through the technological necessities brought on by two world wars, to the incredible advances spawned by the Space Age, this narrative covers it all in a highly readable, thoroughly researched way. Reading like an aeronautical and astronautical whos who, it is also the amazing story of the organizations founders, leaders and members -- visionary individuals and dedicated engineers advancing theories and technologies in a profession that has forever changed society and shaped everyday life as we know it.