Review by Choice Review
Cassini-Huygens, launched October 15, 1997, is putatively the most technologically advanced deep-space mission ever undertaken, with 18 state-of-the-art scientific experiments on board and a probe to investigate Titan, a moon of Saturn larger than the planet Mercury. The mission continues today and will send data to Earth until 2017. In this four-part work, Meltzer, a space historian, an environmental scientist, and an engineer, addresses the development of the concept and the politics associated with its development, the design of the spacecraft and its mission, the mission itself, and the results of the mission. The book contains many interesting discussions and observations, including a comparison to the Galileo spacecraft (Jupiter probe) design and the reason an updated version of that probe could not be used. The author also describes how the Cassini-Huygens team was able to analyze and rapidly respond to serious and unanticipated problems due to equipment failures, design flaws, and communications breakdowns to keep the spacecraft viable and keep the data flowing to Earth. This is a testament to both the spacecraft designers and the ingenuity of the operations team. A well-written, thoroughly researched book with appropriate photographs and drawings. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All space technology and history collections. --Alvin M. Strauss, Vanderbilt University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
