astronaut

Published in 2005, this work celebrates 50 years of space exploration, from its Cold War beginnings of satellites and manned missions into space, to orbiting space stations and unmanned exploratory missions to other planets in our solar system. Published by Smithsonian Books, this beautifully illustrated work features histories from participants in both the Soviet Union and the United States space programs. It was written by science journalist and space historian Piers Bizony, with a foreword by Sir Arthur C. Clarke.

One of the titles from the popular Golden Book children’s series, this book covers the space shuttle era and some history of space travel. It includes photographs and illustrations of what space and planetary exploration might be like in the future. Written for “junior space enthusiasts,” it is an example of the breadth of material on aviation and space flight written for a popular audience contained in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Library. 

This is one of over 1,600 titles at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library classified as a pop-up and movable book. Some of these titles have been in the collection since the founding of the Cooper Union Museum in 1897. However, the majority of the pop-up collection was acquired in the 1980s and continues to grow through donations from collectors and select purchases. Spanning over 500 years, these action-packed works of art were intended to calculate, educate, entertain, and amaze. This book is a particularly rare example on astronomy published in the USSR in 1982.

Black Stars in Orbit is an overview of the first African Americans who were selected to be astronaut candidates, the first who worked for NASA on new technologies for mission projects, and the first to travel to space as part of the NASA Space Shuttle program. This volume is beatifully illustrated and contains brief biographical overviews.

If you have ever wondered what astronauts eat when they’re in space, this book will be fascinating for you. Now you can actually make what they eat in your own kitchen! This book contains recipes used in space alongside information about the history of the space program, space food preparation methods, and astronauts. The authors are both experts in the interstellar culinary arts: Charles Bourland is a retired long-time director of the NASA space food program, and Gregory Vogt, a former NASA education specialist, helped to train the astronauts.