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Title: Virtual Apollo: A Pictorial Essay of the Engineering and Construction of the Apollo Command and Service Modules (Apogee Books Space Series) by Scott P. Sullivan ISBN: 1-896522-94-7 Publisher: Apogee Books Pub. Date: May, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 (10 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Brilliant Book
Comment: Scott Sullivan has produced the book I was waiting for! I have been desiring a book about Apollo CM/SM details and construction, and this was the one that was worth waiting for.
Though I have been an Apollo addict for years, and have read all the NASA Mission Reports (also available from Apogee Books) some things were difficult for me to actually visualize without Scott's CAD drawings. Part of the problem with previous books, even well illustrated books, was the uniqueness and density of the CM design. For instance in space, there is no up, so it becomes sometimes difficult by reading accounts the interrelationship between the LEB and associated spaces. Now it is crystal clear.
I hope that Scott Sullivan will come out with a LM book to accompany this brilliant work. Thank you, Scott!
Rating: 3
Summary: Good for the Casual Reader...Only
Comment: My main criticism of the book, and this hit me the second I opened to the 2-D layouts in front, was that the SPS engine bell is too bulbous, and the forward radiator panels are too "square" in appearance. They should be more rectangular in shape. If these had been interior features, I could easily have overlooked them. But with the good reference material available today on Apollo, including photographs taken from every angle and David Weeks' fine CSM drawings, it just seems to me that the engine bell in particular should have been shown right. Refer to Mike Mackowski's S.I.M. #6 and David Weeks' Service Module drawings for the correct SPS outline. Second, very little detail is provided for the two hatches (extremely intricate and vital sub-systems) or the docking system, apart from a basic 3-D view of the docking probe and ring. These areas should have been treated with a great-deal more attention. Mr. Sullivan does indicate the multiple-pane arrangement of the CM windows, but it would have been helpful to see how they were affixed into thier respective frames in both the inner and outer hulls. A simple, 2-D section view through one of the side windows, for example would have told a lot about the overall window structure. The crew couches and instrument panels, aside from being rendered in color, really don't show anything over and above the level of detail in the spacecraft handbook illustrations. I would have at least expected some overall dimensions of the couches, if not of the attenuation struts, mirrors and floodlights. Lastly, it would have been nice to see a little more detail on the "J" Mission Scientific Instrument Module bays carried aboard Apollo 15 thru 17, as well as specific differences between the actual flown spacecraft (Apollo 4 and 6 thru ASTP) as no two of these spacecraft were alike.
If you're a casual reader with merely a moderate interest in the American Space Program, you'll find this book enjoyable. But if you're a seriously sold-out space nut like me, and you're looking for hard, accurate dimensional data for a large-scale model of an Apollo Spacecraft, keep looking, because you won't find it here.
Rating: 5
Summary: Might as well be NASA plans
Comment: This book could have been mistaken for NASA official design plans. Includes 3d images to give an idea of where things are within the CSM. Detailed descriptions of CM and SM as well as docking port. Has instrument panel diagrams and cockpit control layout designs. Includes abort checklists, etc. and everything you need to learn how to build and fly your very own Apollo 18, which was aborted due to budget cuts. NOTE: Does not include description or diagram of of Saturn V or 1B booster rockets or details of missions except an in-depth description of the Apollo 1 tragedy.
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