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Posted by: rlorenz Jan 20 2017, 08:44 PM

I recently sent back to the publisher the proofs on my Haynes Owners' Workshop Manual on Cassini-Huygens.
It should be out at the end of April, just around Cassini's last Titan encounter.


Hardback 196 pages, 325 images – many of which have not been seen in public before.
The book covers the origins of Cassini, details of the hardware of Huygens, Cassini and their science instruments,
and the special testing needed for them. It portrays how they were integrated at KSC with the radioisotope
power source and the Titan IV-Centaur launch vehicle, and describes how the trajectory around Saturn was
designed, and how the thousands of science observations were planned. There's a little on results from the
mission, as well as a review of some of the exotic future mission concepts that have been proposed. I think
a valuable element included is treatment of some of the challenges and fixes, like Huygens' radio relay, the
failure of Cassini's propulsion system pressure regulator just after launch, trouble with Cassini's reaction wheels,
and so on.

Amazon.com lists it at $36. I hope it might be of interest to many UMSF readers.

Posted by: elakdawalla Jan 25 2017, 10:21 PM

Awesome news, Ralph! Can't wait to read it

Posted by: volcanopele Jan 26 2017, 12:52 AM

After S101 planning work is done... I see what you did there Ralph

Posted by: rlorenz Apr 6 2017, 05:50 AM

The wait is over (in the UK, at least - the Haynes website lists publication as April 2, and Amazon.co.uk are shipping as of tomorrow). Although you *could* buy it from a UK seller and get it shipped, the official publication data in the USA is 17 May...

Posted by: siravan Apr 6 2017, 07:56 PM

I just pre-ordered mine. Any plan to update Space System Failures? There have been lots of new materials in the last 12 years.

Posted by: djellison Apr 6 2017, 10:10 PM

As self assigned homework for certifying as an ECAM PUL on MSL ( and soon, hopefully, MER ) I actually read Space System Failures. Damn - so many lessons for the entire industry there.

Posted by: rlorenz Apr 9 2017, 01:24 PM

It's definitely on my list, but not at the top of my list. So many books to write..... And book-writing has been on
hold for the last half-year or so as New Frontiers proposal-writing takes every waking moment (and will be read by
about 30 people, tops, with no fame or royalties, just the glimmer of hope that one day you might get a mission to fly...)

You're certainly right, lots of good new subject matter. Schiaparelli, Akatsuki, Curiosity's near-miss with a wrong gravity field,
Hitomi, Glory, Phobos-Grunt, Phoenix's difficulties with sampling, GOES-13 meteoroid strike, Juno's motor issue,
Philae & Rosetta's challenges etc. Rest assured I keep a folder up-to-date with stuff as it crops up

Posted by: siravan Apr 9 2017, 09:53 PM

Thanks a lot for your books. I'm eagerly waiting for the new edition.

Posted by: vjkane Apr 10 2017, 03:45 AM

Can you say which proposal(s) you are on?

Posted by: rlorenz Apr 12 2017, 01:56 PM

I can say that I am on Dragonfly and Oceanus (two Titan proposals - a relocatable lander, and an orbiter, respectively)

I am also on proposals to two other destinations. Busy times !

Posted by: rlorenz Jun 13 2017, 11:24 AM

I believe Amazon.com in the USA now has stock and is shipping. Although publication was officially 17 May, it seems there was some logistic issue at the printers in Malaysia, so direct Amazon.com orders were held up (but some sellers on amazon.com were shipping stock from the uk)
I've no idea how common an issue this is with amazon (or Haynes, or anyone else) - sorry if your copies were held up, nothing I could do.

There are a few reviews of the book on the amazon.co.uk website, reception seems generally to have been favorable