The book is an up-to-date and comprehensive description of the institutions involved in the aerospace field. It discusses the activities of the main space powers, the United Nations and other international organizations. Without listing figures and budgets, the author conveys a clear idea of the relative importance of those institutions. The novelty of this work is that, in bringing together national and international entities, it explains how those organizations interrelate and coordinate their programs. A complete picture emerges which is more than the sum of its parts.
The field of aerospace, which depends heavily on government funding and direction, has been particularly effected by the shifting alliances and recent financial troubles of the space powers. In a book which is both comprehensive and simple to understand, d'Angelo has collected the many pieces of a complex institutional mosaic to draw a clear picture of the entire framework. In addition to being up-to-date, the book is also a novelty in the sense that it describes the work of both national and international entities and explains how those organizations interrelate and coordinate their programs. Without making a list of figures and budgets, d'Angelo gives a clear idea of the relative weight of the various government activities. From the discussion of those activities the reader gains an understanding of the current state of affairs as well as future trends.