History of Space Shuttle Rendezvous (JSC - 63400. Revision 3)

This technical history is intended to provide a technical audience with an introduction to the rendezvous and proximity operations history of the Space Shuttle Program. It details the programmatic constraints and technical challenges encountered during shuttle development in the 1970s and over thirty years of shuttle missions. An overview of rendezvous and proximity operations on many shuttle missions is provided, as well systems and flight techniques evolved to meet new programmatic objectives. Since the publication of the first edition in October of 2006 additional historical information has been collected. This revised edition provides additional information on Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Apollo/Soyuz. Some chapters on the Space Shuttle have been updated and expanded.