Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System

The Platypus is stranger than you think.

Platypuses have no nipples. After the young hatch, the mother oozes milk from the pores all over her body.

The male platypus has a poison barb on the inside of its hind legs. The purpose of this weapon is uncertain.

While often compared to the beaver, the platypus is only about 20 inches in length -- more comparable to the size of the muskrat.

The Platypus bill is actually just an elongated muzzle covered with much the same kind of tough skin found on a dog's nose. This bill contains an electrically-sensitive organ that can detect the electrical signatures of the small aquatic animals it eats.

Written by Everything Science

Oct 30, 2004 at 06:15 PM

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by: Dennis R. Jenkins

Published by: Voyageur Press (MN); 3rd edition (April 1, 2001)

This is the eighty year history of developing reusable lifting--reentry spacecraft. From the early works of Eugen Sanger in Germany to the Cold War developments in the United States, and finally to the ultimate experiment--the Space Shuttle. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch, this greatly enlarged third edition adds many previously uncovered early designs, details the latest modifications to the operational vehicles, and provides expanded coverage of the first 100 Space Shuttle missions.

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