This fascinating book - now updated and available in paperback to mark the 50th anniversary of NASA in 2008 - tells the remarkable history of America's unrivalled contribution to the exploration of space from the early twentieth century to the present. Award-winning historian Michael H. Gorn covers every US space mission ever undertaken, including those of projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo, and the development of the Space Shuttle, and brings the story up to date by explaining the functions of NASA's two windows in space: the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station.The first illustrated history of NASA ever to be published and it reveals the personalities involved - the personal ambitions and temperaments of astronauts, scientists and engineers, and the influence of America's presidents on the US space programme - as much as the technological advances that have made space exploration possible. Authoritatively and engagingly written, and profusely illustrated throughout with 500 stunning photographs.