Suggested Reading

Introduction

Note that most of these are out of print, but can be obtain from places like http://www.bookfinder.com. One might also explore the possibility of an inter-library loan.

Non-Fiction

The list is organized alphabetically by the author's (or authors') last name where possible.

A-G

Fundamentals of Astrodynamics.

Bate, Roger R, Dover, 1971, ISBN: 0486600610. This has more than you probably need to know about orbital mechanics, and is rough going if you are weak in calculus. But it is certainly comprehensive. Textbook quality book. If you want a book that is easier to read (but much more expensive) try Introduction to Space Flight

Realities of Space Travel: Selected Papers of the British Interplanetary Society

Carter J. L. ed., McGraw-Hill, 1957. A bit dated, but still contains hard data on orbital optimization, atomic spacecraft propulsion, life support considerations, and more. Textbook quality book.

Interplanetary Flight An Introduction to Astronautics

Clarke, Sir Arthur C., L. Harper & Brothers, Publishers 1951. This covers most of the issues of space flight, easy to read, but with many of the vital equations listed in the back.

Nuclear Propulsion for Space

Corliss, William R, Oak Ridge Atomic Energy Commission 1969

Propulsion Systems for Space Flight

Corliss, William R, McGraw Hill, 1960. A little dated, but it has tons and tons of useful equations. It does cover most propulsion systems, and has some data on spacecraft power systems. Textbook quality book.

Project Orion: the true story of the atomic spaceship

Dyson, George, Henry Hoult and Company, 2002. An in-depth look at the history of old Boom-boom, the nuclear bomb powered rocket. It has interesting details as to performance, and diagrams which are useful for other spacecraft designs.

H-K

HIGH Frontier

Eklund, Philip, Sierra Madre Games. A cardboard and paper wargame with exceedingly accurate spacecraft propulsion information and a clever way to calculate the delta-V required for various mission in the Solar system. Do not miss the first expansion pack(more details here, here, here, and here)

Spaceship Handbook

Hagerty, Jack & Rogers, Jon C., ARA Press, 2001, ISBN 0-9707604-0-X. The first part has an entertaining survey of spacecraft from the fictional Tom Corbett TV series to actual early NASA designs, along with incredibly precise blue-prints. But the technical appendix on Atomic Powered spacecraft is worth the price of the book all by itself. The appendix gives the essential propulsion equations, and does a survey of propulsion systems available and on the drawing boards, with hard figures. The end of the appendix contains an extensive table of deltaV requirements for all mission types for the planets and major moons of the solar system. Textbook quality book.

The Saucer Fleet

Hagerty, Jack & Rogers, Jon C., Apogee Books, 2008, ISBN 978-1894959-70-4. This is a companion volume for Spaceship Handbook, covering flying saucers from movies and TV. It also contains incredibly precise blue-prints, plus engineer notes on discrepancies between the ship exteriors and the interior sets. The sociological impact of the various movies is discussed, along with speculations on possible scientific principles involved. Textbook quality book.

Introduction to Space Flight

Hale, Francis, Pearson Education, 1998, ISBN 0134819128 This is a massive textbook, about one notch below the SMAD. Only $90 instead of $200, it can be found used for about $60. I have been told that it is far easier to read than Fundamentals of Astrodynamics and that it covers gravitational assist trajectories that Astrodynamics does not. However, Astrodynamics is only $16.

BEAM WEAPONS The Next Arms Race.

Hecht, Jeff, iUniverse Incorporated, 2000, ISBN 0595094503 A good overview of the state of the (unclassified) art in the field of laser and particle beam weapons in 1984. Lots of photos and diagrams, and even a few equations. There is also some interesting histories of various US Defense Department projects.

Space Propulsion Analysis and Design

Humble, Ronald W., Henry, Gary N., Larson, Wiley J. , McGraw Hill, 1995, ISBN 0-07-031320-2. This book has it all. Extensive up to date information of chemical, nuclear, and electric propulsion systems, with details and equations to do system analysis and optimization. If you can only get one book, you won't go far wrong if you get this one. Textbook quality book.

L-R

A Heat Transfer Textbook.

Lienhard, John H. A textbook on thermodynamics for engineers, may be downloaded for free.

The Starflight Handbook: a pioneer's guide to interstellar travel

Mallove,Eugene, & Gregory Matloff, Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, John, 1989, ISBN: 0471619124. The focus here is on interstellar instead of interplanetary propulsion, but it still has important hard data and the obligatory vital equations.

The Dream Machines: An Illustrated History of the Spaceship in Art, Science and Literature

Miller, Ron, Krieger Publishing Company, 1992, ISBN: 0894640399. This is the most comprehensive history of spacecraft design concepts published to date. Tons of illustrations. Pricy, though.

Space Warfare and Strategic Defense

Pahl, David, Bison Books Corp, 1987, ISBN 0-671-08925-0. Contains information about space weapons in general and the Strategic Defense Initiative in specific.

The Science of Aliens

Pickover, Clifford, Basic Books, 1999, ISBN 0465073158. Written by an actual live scientist, this book goes into scientific detail about what aliens might be like. Very readable.

How Do You Go to the Bathroom in Space?

Pogue, William R., Tor Books, 1991. Details on what it is like to live and work in space.

A Step Farther Out

Pournelle, Jerry, ACE, 1980, ISBN:0-441-78585-9. This is a collection of science essays, but it includes very lucid descriptions of the problems of space flight, and has vital equations.

Rocket to the Moon

LIFE magazine January 17, 1949 The article that provided the look for the space suits and space craft for the Tom Corbett TV series and novels.

S-Z

The Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps

Savage, Marshall T., Little, Brown, & Co. 1994, ISBN 0-316-77163-5. A tour de force book, it contains important data about life support and space colonization.

Aliens and Alien Societies

Schmidt, Stanley, Writer's Digest Books, 1995, ISBN 0-89879-706-3. The focus is on science fiction writer desiring some scientific accuracy in their space aliens. Very readable but loaded with great information.

Space Mission Analysis and Design.

Wertz, James R. and Larson, Wiley J., Kluwer Academic Publishers 1999, ISBN 0792359011. Known as SMAD in the astronautics trade, this is the book the pros use. The drawback is that the book over $200. The advantage is that if it isn't in this book, it doesn't matter. It really does have it all. Textbook quality book.

Fiction

The list is organized alphabetically by the author's (or authors') last name where possible.

A-F

"Retreat to the Stars"

Brackett, Leigh, 1941. Collected in ADVENTURES IN TOMORROW. Rebels escape from a totalitarian regime into a secret asteroid stronghold, for a desperate bid for freedom.

Islands in the Sky

Clarke, Sir Arthur C., Signet New York 1987. Details daily life in a space station. Very similar to Heinlein's Space Cadet

The Other Side of the Sky

Clarke, Sir Arthur C., Signet New York 1987. Details the building of the first space station and the first expedition to the Moon.

Passage at Arms

Cook, Glen, Popular Library/Questar, 1985, ISBN: 0445200065.Shows life on a military starship. It is sort of like Das Boat in outer space.

Contraband Rocket

Correy, Lee (alias of G. Harry Stine), Ace Double D-146, 1955. Has fascinating details about refurbishing an obsolete atomic rocket. And what it is like to use it to travel to the Moon, while it gradually falls apart around you.

Space Doctor

Correy, Lee (alias of G. Harry Stine), 1985. The adventures of the first microgravity space doctor in a project to build the first orbital solar power satellite. Contains a good description of what it is like to wait out a solar storm in a station's radiation storm cellar.

"Habit"

del Rey, Lester, 1939, Collected in EARLY DEL REY. A short story about a rocket race. Inspiration for the Meteoris.

"Lunar Landing"

del Rey, Lester, 1942, Collected in EARLY DEL REY. A short story about the second landing on the Moon with an atomic rocket.

Moon of Mutiny

del Rey, Lester, Ballantine 1961. A boy washed out from the Space Academy is assigned to fly an emergency mission to the Moon.

Rocket Jockey

del Rey, Lester, Ballantine 1952. An extended novel about a rocket race.

G-H

"The Cold Equations"

Godwin, Tom, 1954. Collected in THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME, VOLUME I. This story caused an uproar when it first came out. As Dr. Feynman observed about the Challenger disaster, "Nature cannot be fooled." If the equations say that your spacecraft does not have enough fuel, they don't mean "maybe."

Farmer in the Sky

Heinlein, Robert, Ballantine, 1950. The adventures of a young immigrant to a terraformed Ganymede. The shipboard sequences are of interest.

Have Space Suit, Will Travel

Heinlein, Robert, Ace 1958. The novel goes into some details about the equipment and features of a standard space suit.

"Misfit"

Heinlein, Robert, 1939. Collected in THE GREAT SF STORIES 1 and THE PAST THROUGH TOMORROW. Good info on shipboard life and working in free fall.

"Ordeal in Space"

Heinlein, Robert, 1948, Collected in THE GREEN HILLS OF EARTH and THE PAST THROUGH TOMORROW. Describes the trials and tribulations of a spaceman on the outside of a rotating spacecraft.

Podkayne of Mars

Heinlein, Robert, 1963. Has a good description of what it is like to wait out a solar storm in the radiation storm cellar of a passenger liner spacecraft.

Rocket Ship Galileo

Heinlein, Robert, Ballantine, 1977. A junior rocket club builds the first moon rocket with help from an atomic scientist. Please, give it a chance, it is much better than it sounds.

"Sky Lift"

Heinlein, Robert, 1953, Collected in THE MENACE FROM EARTH. A story about an emergency run to Pluto. Nine days at three point five Gees. Ouch.

Space Cadet

Heinlein, Robert, Ace 1948. Details the training of a cadet in the Space Navy, the technical details are accurate, as are most Heinlein novels.

"Space Jockey"

Heinlein, Robert, 1947, Collected in THE GREEN HILLS OF EARTH and THE PAST THROUGH TOMORROW. An account of the daily life of a rocket pilot.

"The Green Hills of Earth"

Heinlein, Robert, 1947, Collected in THE GREEN HILLS OF EARTH and THE PAST THROUGH TOMORROW. Contains fascinating details about working in the engine room of an atomic rocket.

The Rolling Stones

Heinlein, Robert, Ace 1952. A brilliant but eccentric family seeks their fortune among the rock rats in the Asteroid belt. Has tons of detail about atomic rockets: propulsion, life support, navigation, and more. Be sure to check out Steven Ouellette's marvelous Orbiter add-on that emulates the Rolling Stone.

I-Q

Bullard of the Space Patrol

Jameson, Malcolm, The World Publishing Company, 1951. The adventures of John Bullard as he rises through the ranks of the Space Patrol.

The Humanist Inheritance

Lineberger, Matthew , 2006. A hard science fiction story that was inspired by the Atomic Rocket website. The creation of good stuff like this is why I made this site in the first place. Check it out!

"The Mauki Chant"

Meyer, J. A., Astounding magazine, June 1951. An asteroid war short story. The background was borrowed by Alan E. Nourse for his Raiders From the Rings.

Star Rangers (aka The Last Planet)

Norton, Andre, Fawcett Crest 1953. Also collected in the omnibus volume Star Soldiers. Adventures of the Patrol during the decline and fall of the Galactic Empire. This book should be made into a movie. The ending is haunting yet uplifting.

The Stars Are Ours!

Norton, Andre, Ace 1963. Fleeing persecution from a fundamentalist Luddite regime, practioners of the outlawed art called "Science" attempt to build a spaceship to escape to the stars.

Raiders From the Rings

Nourse, Alan E., Pyramid Books 1963. An asteroid war novel. Interesting background, and a strong "sense of wonder."

Exiles to Glory

Pournelle, Jerry, Ace, 1978. A semi-sequel to High Justice. An outcast from a decadent Earth finds opportunity in the asteroid colonies.

High Justice

Pournelle, Jerry, Pocket Books, 1977. The story of a visionary corporation attempting to expand into space despite sabotage from decadent governments. Includes the story "Tinker", with a cameo appearance by the Pilgrim Observer in the role of the Boostship Agamemnon.

R-Z

The Tom Corbett: Space Cadet series

Rockwell, Cary, Grosset & Dunlap.

STAND BY FOR MARS (1952)
DANGER IN DEEP SPACE (1953)
ON THE TRAIL OF SPACE PIRATES (1953)
SPACE PIONEERS (1954)
REVOLT ON VENUS (1954)
TREACHERY IN OUTER SPACE (1955)
SABOTAGE IN SPACE (1955)
ROBOT ROCKET (1955)

Galactic Patrol

Smith, E.E. "Doc", Pyramid Books 1937. The first book in the classic "Lensman" series. If you haven't read them yet, you owe it to yourself to get copies. The writing might be stilted, but whenever you encounter a fascinating gadget in science fiction, nine times out of ten Doc Smith invented it back in the 1930's. This includes tractor beams, FTL travel, force fields, and virtual reality.

Silent Galaxy

Tedford, William, Leisure Books, 1981.Exciting space combat, but with plenty of hard science. All of Tedford's four novels are worth reading.

The Outcasts of Heaven's Belt

Vinge, Joan. Collected in Heaven Chronicles, Warner Books, 1991. Arguably the best asteroid civilization novel ever written.

Lifeboat AKA Dark Inferno

White, James, Ballantine, 1972. A facinating story of a nuclear thermal rocket undergoing a disaster large enough to force evacuation in lifeboats. Lots of interesting technical details.

Luna

Whited, Garon, Xlibris, 2007. A scientifically accurate saga of the crew of a lunar colony after all human beings on Terra are exterminated by a global thermonuclear war. Contains many details of interest to budding young spacecraft designers. Recommended.

The Legion of Space

Williamson, Jack, Pyramid, 1951. Also collected in the omnibus volume Three From the Legion. The stirring saga of the noble heroes of the Legion of Space.

Movies/TV

Games

A boardgame is a game played with a paper map and cardboard playing pieces. A Role Playing Game (RPG) is a printed book containing the game rules. A Computer Game is (like you'd expect) a game played on a personal computer.

A-M

Attack Vector: Tactical

(Boardgame) Burnside, Ken; Ad Astra Games 2002 Get this game. Play a few games and you have first hand knowledge of deep space maneuvers and combat. In three dimensions, no less. The clever play aids do all the scary math for you, and keep track of the three dimensional firing arcs. Unbelievably the game is relatively simple to play. The movement is based on Newtonian physics, and both propulsion system plus weapon systems are scientifically accurate.

GURPS Space, fourth edition

(RPG) Zeigler, Jon F. and Cambias, James L. ; Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated, 2006, ISBN 1-55634-245-4. Contains valuable information for anybody designing a scienc fiction universe. Astronomy, rocketry, biology, technology, there is a lot of meat here. This is a great book to quickly get an author up to speed on the science behind science fiction.

GURPS Traveller: Far Trader

(RPG) Daniels, Steve, MacLean, Daniels, Thrash, Christopher; Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated, 2003, ISBN 1-55634-373-6. Written with help from a real live economist, this allows one to model interplanetary and interstellar trade with equations and everything

GURPS Traveller: Starships

(RPG) Bont, Thomas L., Prior, Robert, Thrash, Christopher; Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated, 2003, ISBN: 1556344759. Yes, this is a supplement for a role-playing game, but it has enough scientific meat to be worth looking over.

High Frontier

Eklund, Philip, Sierra Madre Games. A cardboard and paper wargame with exceedingly accurate spacecraft propulsion information and a clever way to calculate the delta-V required for various mission in the Solar system. Do not miss the expansion pack(more details here, here, here, and here)

Independence War

(Computer game: Windows) Particle Systems 1998 Out of print. This game really gives you an education in both Newtonian physics and thinking in three dimensions. The Heads-Up display is quite functional, and will spark your own ideas. Science-fantasy would have you believe that spacecraft maneuver like World War II fighter planes. Independence War pounds reality into your head: spacecraft maneuver like an overloaded 18-wheeler on a road covered in black ice.

Independence War II: Edge of Chaos

(Computer game: Windows) Particle Systems 2002 A sequel to Independence War, with more features and a less scripted plot-line.

N-Z

Orbiter

(Computer game: Windows) Windows software that accurately simulates spacefight through the solar system. There is a thriving community who are producing plug-ins and add-ons for Orbiter. Steven Ouellette has created an add-on that duplicates the Rolling Stone from the Heinlein novel of the same name.

Rocket Flight

(Boardgame) Eklund, Philip M.; Sierra Madre Games Co. 1995 Out of print. This game simulates the commercial developement of the Solar system. The list of propulsion systems is quite accurate. Most interestingly is how the map is gridded in deltaV increments instead of distance. The game is worth finding for the propulsion system list alone, the economic development model is also valuable. The game is out of print, but the designer has made an updated version called High Frontier.

Ships of the Jovian Confederation, Vol. 2

(RPG) Boulle, Philippe; Dream Pod 9 1992, ISBN 1-896776-45-0. A refererence book that contains stunningly scientifically accurate spacecraft designs.

Spaceship Zero RPG

(RPG) Atkinson, Toren and Banks, Warren; Green Ronin Publishing 2002, ISBN 0971438099. A fabulous role-playing game based on the 1970s German TV series of the same name. This really captures the flavor of the 1950's rocket TV shows, with pulpy aliens and all. The designer admits to consulting with an astronautical engineer for help with the technical aspects. And one of their players used information from the Atomic Rocket website to calculate rocket performance for their campaign.

Star Fist

(Boardgame) Jackson, Steve; Steve Jackson Games (1991) Out of print. This game is based on the Triplanetary system, and includes an innovative rule for "tractor beams".

Star Hero

(RPG) Cambias, James L.; Hero Games, Incorporated, ISBN 1-58366-007-0. Another valuable sourcebook for anybody designing a science fiction universe. From stellar dynamics to types of interstellar governments, this book belongs on the shelf of serious SF authors. This is also a great book to quickly get an author up to speed on the science behind science fiction.

Triplanetary

(Boardgame) Harshman, John and Miller, Marc W.; GDW (Game Designers Workshop) 1973 Out of print. Playing this game will really give one an intuitive feel for Newtonian physics. The game is long out of print, but one can find the map and rulebook here and images of the counter here.

Voidstriker

(Boardgame) Oines, Charles ; Irrational Designs 2006 Much like Triplanetary, playing this game will really give one an intuitive feel for Newtonian physics. The difference is that Voidstriker is still in print, and much more fun to play. It includes rules for reaction mass and an innovative action point system. Do check out the forum.

Links

A-C

A4/V2 Design and Tech Data

Blueprints for the German WWII V2 rocket. The outline of most space opera rockets in the 1950's is based on the V2.

This is a PDF file containing technical information about designing spacecraft in general and fusion propulsion spacecraft in particular. The list of references is valuable as well.

Alternate View columns: Spacedrives

Archive of science fact columns by physicist John Cramer.

Atomic Fire, Electric Glow: Advanced Propulsion

A list of valuable extracts on the topic of advanced propulsion systems. From the Romance to Reality website.

Attack Vector: Tactical

Ken Burnside's paper and cardboard wargame with real 3-D vector movement, nuclear powered space warships, and all the scientific accuracy you can handle. Play this one and you'll get a real feel for the problems of interplanetary combat.

Basics of Space Flight

An excellent overview by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Blue Max Studios

This is the blog of an artist and role-playing-game designer who has applied hard science to his works (He also admires this website, which makes me which is one of the things that makes it all worthwhile). He also has a line of spacecraft deckplans for RPGs which are well worth the price. Do check them out.

Botec

A freeware Hohmann orbit calculator written in in Python by Erik Max Francis./dd>

Computing Planetary Positions

Christopher Thrash's Traveller Analysis

Deep technical articles analyzing various aspects of the Traveller RPG.

Collector's Showcase

This site is full of images from the covers of SF pulp magazines and early 1950's SF novels. Site is in French, but it is fairly obvious how to navigate.

Curmudgeon Egression: the web page of Coridon Henshaw

Contains a small but growing collection of engineering resources for people interested in BOTE science fiction engineering.

D-F

David Robinson's amazing Spacecraft Art

CG images of exceedingly realisic and scientifically accurate spacecraft. All the more amazing is that he does his work with Bryce instead of more sophisticated software. He is the master of the boolean operator.

Delta 7 Studios

Online catalog where one can purchase paper model kits for Tom Corbett's Polaris, von Braun Saturn Shuttle, 1936 Flash Gordon ship, a ray gun, and more.

Deep Cold

Secrets of the Cold War in Space: 1959-1969. A fascinating "what-if" future of space exploration with professional quality computer graphics.

Directed Energy Missile Defense in Space

1984 report on orbital laser and particle beam defense. Lots of hard information.

Electromagnetic Pulse Shockwaves as a result of Nuclear Pulse Propulsion

A study of EMP and fallout damage caused by an Orion drive spacecraft. Includes a simulation program and some Orion diagrams.

Encyclopedia Astronautica

This huge site is the best reference source of historical spacecraft, bar none.

The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight

A valuable reference for all questions on the science of space.

Fabio Femino's Vintage Science Fiction Art

The site is in Italian, but it has a link to a Babelfish translation. It has lots of images from Chesley Bonestell, Robert McCall, and Frank R. Paul.

Flaming Pear Software

If you are using Adobe Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, or other Photoshop plug-in compatible program to make pictures of the Polaris, Flaming Pear has plug-ins that will instantly make stunning star backgrounds (with nebulas), suns, and alien planets that will knock your socks off. Check out this example. These three are bundled for the bargain price of $40. People who play the Traveller role playing game will be interested in the plug-in Flexify. It can take a map in equirectangular format and turn it into a Traveller-style icomap. And it just so happens that the alien planet plug-in can output in equirectangular format.

Fueling Interplanetary Travel

Overview of propulsion systems.

Fundamentals of Orbital Mechanics

G-I

Galaxy Map

Probably the most comprehensive and accurate map of the galaxy anywhere.

Generic Starship Builder Spreadsheet

Click on "Worksheets" in sidebar. Spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel, Star Office, and Open Office format for designing spacecraft.

Grand Central Rocket

A nostalgic site devoted to the amazing space technology of old movies and TV shows, when the spaceships were not grace-less Apollo-style barrels, but sleek, needle-nosed and swept-winged silver rocketships.

The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Clichés

This is a list of certain SF story elements that pop up over and over again. Useful if one is intentionally trying to incorporate old SF troupes into your work.

Hard SF 3D Group

The place to go if you are interested in creating photorealistic images of your atomic rockets on your computer with 3-D rendering software. Great if you are trying to learn, want to show off your work, or are looking for an artist to contract for your project. Be sure to check out Rachel Kronick's rendered starships.

How to Build a Laser Death Ray

Luke Campbell tells you all the technical details of laser weapons. This site is a work in progress but the existing information is solid gold.

How to compute planetary positions

Step by step.

Implemented Equations from So You Wanna Build a Rocket?

Eric Rozier has created on-line calculators for some of the equations on this website.

INNOVARI - The Fantastic Art of Luca Oleastri

Mr. Oleastri is a 3D computer artist with, among other things, a nice selection of 1950's vintage space rockets. He also sells 3D meshes of said rockets at reasonable prices.

Island One Advance Propusion Concepts

Overview of about every single propulsion system ever proposed.

J-N

Kenneth Gatland Memory MyPage.Ru

Interesting Russian language blog with vintage illustrations from the science encyclopedias of Kenneth Gatland.

Lunar Models

They offer a wide selection of resin and vacuform models of classic SF spaceships from TV and movies. They have a fine section of atomic rockets. Expensive, but worth it.

Man Conquers Space

David Sander's project to make a pseudo-documentary movie about the history of space flight, if things had happened as predicted by Colliers. Absolutely brilliant, the trailer will take your breath away. And if you dreamed about those ferry rockets when you were a child in the mid 1960's, the trailer may bring a wistful tear to your eye. This movie has been under discussion on sci.space.history

Man-Systems Integration Standards

This NASA document is a must-read for all manned spacecraft designers. It covers almost everything, from hatch design to effects of radiation to atmospheric pressure to toilet human factors. Check it out.

Mars Academy

This great site will quickly get you up to speed on various aspects of interplanetary flight. It will give you enough knowledge to ground you, so you can comprehend more advanced material.

The Meteoris

A stunning scratch-built plastic model of an atomic rocket by master model-maker Michael 'Woozle' McGuire. This model was one of the winners in the "Space Racer" contest at Starship Modeler. It was inspired by Lester del Rey's short story "Habit".

MICHAEL from FOOTFALL by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

The Michael is an Orion drive battleship featured in the novel Footfall. Aldo Spadoni, president of Aerospace Imagineering, made a design based on information from the book. The design has been blessed by Niven and Pournelle.

NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts: Studies

(hit the "sort by Topic" button) Advanced space flight technologies.

NASA Space Design Guidelines

NASA documents on various spacecraft topics.

NEEP Courses

Materials from a University of Wisconsin course on space exploitation. Contains information on orbits, propulsion, economics, and the space environment.

NuclearSpace.com

The pro-nuclear space movement homesite.

O-R

Opening the Next Frontier

A detailed explanation of a hypothetical heavy-lift cargo spacecraft, the "liberty ship". This sucker uses a potent Nuclear Lightbulb style nuclear thermal propulsion unit, and can boost an incredible two million pounds of payload.

Orion's Arm

A huge project to create a hard-science fictional history of the next ten thousand years.

Physics of rocket systems with separated energy and propellant

How to calculate the optimum exhaust velocity for a given mission.

Project Pluto

A nightmare atomic-powered cruise missile project that mercifully got cancelled back in the 1960's

Project Rho Productions

A shameless plug for my Cafe Press store where you can purchase my starship related art.

Project Sword Toys Moonbase Central

A blog with marvelous images of vintage 1960's outer space toys

Realistic Engines for Tactical Space Combat

Lucid description on how to calculate engine performance.

rec.arts.sf.science Usenet Newsgroup

This newsgroup is for putting hard science into science fiction. Posting a technical question there will generally produce plenty of answers. Much of this website has been cribbed from rec.arts.sf.written.

Retro Space

The site is devoted to 1950's style spacecraft and alternate future histories.

The Rim Worlds Concordance

An on-line concordance devoted to the "Commodore Grimes" novels of A. Bertram Chandler. Of special interest is the entry on Ship Details, with notes on the interior details of various starships.

Roaring Rockets

Documents the Tom Corbett TV show, and other 1950's vintage outer space programs.

The Rocket Company

A fascinating fictionalized account of a privately developed surface to orbit spacecraft. It includes lots of hard science and equations.

Rocketpunk Manifesto

Rick Robinson has a blog that is trying to revive the old Heinlein-esque atomic rocket style science fiction. He calls it "Rocket-punk." Check it out and contribute to the conversation.

Rocketship X-M Paper Model

Free paper model kit of the rocket from the movie with the same name.

Rogers Rocketships, Where Dreams Live

The amazing website of Jon Rogers, spaceship archeologist. A new and growing site, it will eventually be the definitive website for famous spacecraft of movies and TV.

Romance to Reality

Contains more than 300 detailed annotations (that is, summaries and descriptions) of classic, seminal, and illustrative moon and Mars exploration and settlement studies dating from 1950 to present

S-T

Scott Lowthers Website

Keep an eye on this site. Mr. Lowther is working on a book entitled "Spaceship Design", which will render this website obsolete. This is due to the fact that Scott is a real rocket scientist, and I am not. Mr. Lowther has also done some science fiction technical consulting.

SFCONSIM-L

This Yahoo discussion group is devoted to science fiction conflict simulation game development. There is lots of hard science, and interesting notes on spacecraft combat. Much of this website is cribbed from SFConSim-l.

Single Stage to Orbit Vertical Takeoff and Landing Concept Technology Challenges

Discusses the challenges of designing a rocket with space-opera performance.

Space Art in children's books

Contains many images of rocketship concepts of yore.

Space Exploration and Nuclear Propulsion

Overview of nuclear propulsion.

Space Shuttle Reference Manual

Nothing like details from a real spacecraft as a reality check.

Space Stations and Manned Spaceflight in the 1980s and 90s

Interesting vintage artist conceptions of what might have been assembled by Marcus Lindroos.

Space - Yarchive

An archive of useful Usenet threads on various space travel topics.

Space Weapons, Earth Wars

RAND analysis of various space based weapons.

Star Destroyer dot Net

On the surface this site is for arguing whether a Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer can defeat the Starship Enterprise. But it has lots of hard-science essays and is totally no nonsense. In the site index examine the discussions under Essays and Science

Tales of Future Past

A fabulous website surveying visions of the future as seen in 1950's era science fiction. Contains loads of vintage retro illustrations.

The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet homepage

The Tough Guide to the Known Galaxy

A dictionary of science fiction topics. Pithy, hysterical, but very accurate.

TV Tropes Wiki: Speculative Fiction

An encyclopedia of common tropes in science fiction on TV. Spot-on, accurate, exceedingly funny. You should read this so as to avoid the tired old standard misconceptions.

U-Z

V-2 Rocket Paper Model

Scroll down and click on the V-2 Rocket link. Most of the "special effects" footage of rocket liftoff in the Tom Corbett TV show was actually films of WWII German V-2 rockets. This exquisite paper model from Currell Graphics reproduces the rocket in 1/32nd scale, about 17 inches tall. Download the files, print them out, and assemble. Creative readers can alter this kit to create a scale model of a Space Patrol cruiser, perhaps even with cut-away sections revealing the various decks.

V-2 Rocket Plastic Models

List of various plastic models of the V-2 rocket, current and no longer available.

Winston Science Fiction Cover Art

A great site with scans of the cover art of the classic Winston Science Fiction novels. Lots of rockets and spacemen.