NASA Mercury - 1956 to 1963 (all models): An insight into the design and engineering of Project Mercury - America's first manned space programme (Owners' Workshop Manual)

Many documentaries gloss over the ins-n-outs of the Mercury Program. This is the deep dive you’ve always wanted. This is the companion you need if you own the Spacecraft Films DVD set…which is extremely hard to find.

Although the overall quality of Haynes' new releases seems to be down somewhat this year, this book really impressed me. It's certainly their most in-depth space "manual" yet, even more so than their books on the Lunar Rover and the Apollo 13 mission. Although Dr. Baker wrote extensively about the hardware and engineering of Project Mercury in his 1981 tome "The History of Manned Spaceflight," this is the most detailed book I've ever seen on the spacecraft, official NASA publications excepted.At 204 pages, this is one of those rare Haynes books that has breathing room. The opening chapter goes into some depth about the origin of Project Mercury, and the evolution of blunt-body entry vehicles. The majority of the book is a detailed technical description of the spacecraft hardware and how it worked. Each of the major spacecraft systems receives a few pages of technical description, accompanied by excellent photographs and diagrams. Even the biomedical sensors and posigrade rockets are described in some depth. There's quite a bit of material here I've never seen before, including detailed explanations of how the horizon sensors and periscope worked, and the instrumentation systems of the unmanned capsules. Finally, there's a brief overview of each mission, which discusses the main technical issues encountered and how the spacecraft evolved during the program, descriptions of the Little Joe, Redstone, and Atlas launch vehicles, and a look at the Worldwide Tracking Network (WWTN).The most impressive aspect of this book is the technical drawings, of which there are nearly 150. These range from exploded views and cross-sections, to "breadboard" type diagrams, system block diagrams, wiring charts, and even a few telemetry graphs. You'll find exploded views of cabin air valves, cross-sections of the spacecraft structure, cutaway views of the launch escape tower, and so on. There's even quite a few "workshop manual" type diagrams, with hand-written notes on installation procedures and how many ft-lbs of torque to use when tightening the bolts. There's also numerous diagrams depicting the competing proposals presented in 1959, and a few diagrams showing some interesting ideas put forth at the end of the program, including an orbiting observatory and a micrometeorite collection experiment.If this book has a flaw, it's that it's not as compulsively readable as some of Haynes' other space "manuals," the recent one on the Saturn V being an obvious example. It's an engineering book written by an engineer and meant for serious space buffs only. I read it in a few days, but I imagine most folks could only handle it in small doses. But if you ARE one of those serious buffs, the kind that always wanted to know what the inside of the hatch plunger looked like, you'll probably love it.

This book is awesome. It is full of information and is a great book to read for those interested in Project Mercury. Would highly recommend for anyone whose interest in space exploration or machinery in general.

This was a very enjoyable read. The book goes into quite a lot of detail about the development of the Mercury capsule and its missions. As a fan of the early NASA missions, this was a must for my collection. The only drawback is that there are many diagrams in the book taken from the original engineering diagrams and text of these diagrams is often too small to read, but I give that pass in that the main text of the book tells you pretty much everything you need to know about America's first steps into outer space.

These books are amazing! The level of detail in each specialized book is perfect for anyone interested in the space program and wants more than the superficial information you get on Discovery Channel. Thanks for providing such a great item.

Detailed reference. More for the space geek than the casual reader, but very well done.

Purchased in order to scratch-build a large-scale (1/6th scale) model of the "Friendship Seven" piloted by Colonel John Glenn. This manual has outstanding drawing and photos of the Mercury capsule including the interior and controls. The detail is enough to keep me busy for quite some time.

A must have for anyone who is interested in the early days of the American space program.

Copertina rigida, bella carta, tanti schemi, tante foto inedite, testo interessante: un libro che non può mancare a chi è appassionato di astronautica. Superiore alle aspettative.

The book is quite technical which I like. If you are looking for more history you might be disappointed.

El libro llego con una esquina un poco doblada. El libro trata sobre las naves Mercury, con muchas fotos y graficos.

Génial

Nothing to dislike. All good.