In this definitive study, J. D. Hunley traces launch-vehicle technology from Goddard's early rockets through the Titan IVA and the Space Shuttle, with a focus on space-launch vehicles. Focusing especially on the engineering culture of the program, Hunley communicates the very human side of technological development by means of anecdotes, character sketches, and case studies of problems faced by rocket engineers. He shows how such a highly adaptive approach enabled the evolution of a hugely complicated technology that was impressive--but decidedly not rocket science.