Books

The Mote in God's Eye - by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1974. ISBN: 0-671-21833-6
This is a science fiction story about humanity's first contact with alien intelligence about 1000 years after attaining faster-than-light travel. The aliens contact humanity by sending a "manned" laser sail to an inhabited human world.
Planet of the Apes - by Pierre Boulle. The Vanguard Press, Inc., New York, 1963. Library of Congress Card Number: 63-21843
This science fiction story, which is far different from the movie, begins with a fantastically fast solar sail. A quote from the book describing the sail can be found at U3P.
Project: Solar Sail - editor: Arthur C. Clarke, managing editor: David Brin. Penguin Books, 1990. ISBN: 0-451-45002-7
A collection of essays and short stories about solar sails. This book was part of a fund-raising effort for the World Space Foundation.
Rocheworld - by Robert L. Forward
Rocheworld is the story of a one way human interstellar laser sail exploration program. The focus of the story is about the first mission, which is sent to Barnard's Star. This story draws heavily from Forward's work on multi-stage interstellar laser sails.
Solar Sailing: Technology, Dynamics and Mission Applications - by Colin R. McInnes. Springer-Verlag Series in Space Science and Technology. ISBN 1-85233-102-X.
Table of Contents
Cover
Space Sailing - by Jerome Wright. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 1992. Library of Congress call number: TL783.9.W75 1992. ISBN 2-88124-803-9 (hardcover) and ISBN 2-88124-842-X (softcover).
Space Sailing was written by Jerome Wright to make much of the technical details of the JPL Halley rendezvous project publicly available. The book discusses a rich variety of solar sail configurations, applications, and considerations to be taken in their design.
Space Sailing - by Dorothy M. Souza. Lerner Publications, Minneapolis, 1994. Library of Congress call number: TL783.9 .568 1994. ISBN: 0822528509
The Starflight Handbook: a Pioneers Guide to Interstellar Travel - by Eugene F. Mallove and Gregory L. Matloff. Wiley Science Editions, New York, 1989. Library of Congress call number: TL790 .M26 1989
Starsailing: Solar Sails and Interstellar Travel - by Louis Friedman. Wiley, New York, 1988. Library of Congress call number: TL783.9 .F75 1988.
This book is less technical than Space Sailing, but covers the history of solar sailing. Look here for an abstract.

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Last modified: Sun Feb 21 11:52:38 PST 1999