aeronautics

Did you know that a helicopter can be big enough to carry a bus? The biggest helicopter is taller than a two-story house. Find out more about these mighty machines in this book.

Astronauts live and study on space stations as they orbit Earth. Readers will love learning fascinating details about these structures, from their beginnings to how they might be used in the future.

"In 1862, balloons were the only way to reach the sky. But 14-year-old Otto Lilienthal didn't want to fly balloons. He wanted to soar like a bird. Scientists, teachers, and news reporters everywhere said flying was impossible. Otto and his brother Gustav desperately wanted to prove them wrong, so they made their own wings and tried to take flight. The brothers quickly crashed, but this was just the beginning for Otto, who would spend the next 30 years of his life sketching, re-sketching and building gliders. Over time, Otto's flights got longer. His control got better. He learned the tricks and twists of the wind. His flights even began to draw crowds. By the time of his death at age 48, Otto had made more than 2,000 successful glider flights. He was the first person in history to spend this much time in the air, earning the title of the world's first pilot and paving the way for future aviation pioneers"--From the publisher's web site.

This book examines the life of Mae Jemison, the first African American woman astronaut, in a simple, age-appropriate way that will help young readers develop word recognition and reading skills. Includes a table of contents, author biography, timeline, glossary, index, and other informative backmatter.

In Helicopters, beginning readers will learn about how helicopters help rescue people.

The Wright brothers' first flight at the start of the 20th century marked a new phase in human history. Since then, the number of aircraft in the sky has grown. More than 4,000 airplanes are in the air right now. While the majority of these planes have pilots and carry passengers, some do not. Simply put, drones are unmanned planes and ships, guided either by remote control or onboard computers. The most common type of drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A UAV is a flying robot controlled either by a pilot on the ground or by an onboard computer. Autonomous drones do not require a pilot to actively send directions. Instead, they are programmed to fly a set route. Some autonomous drones can change course along the way if they encounter problems or need to avoid obstacles. Drones are not limited to the sky. Divers and historians use submersible vehicles to explore shipwrecks, plane crashes, coral, and the many yet-to-be-discovered mysteries of the deep sea. Some aquatic drones are also used to fight climate change by cleaning and policing harbors. Aerial drones are also used to police harbors and find oil and chemical spills in the water.

Learn what space rockets are, how they were invented, and what makes them go.

An introduction that looks at the history of flight from the Wright brothers, rocket launches, types of planes, and more.

Discusses America's first missons to the Moon, including the key physical hurdles, focusing on the engineers' work and personalities.