The recent exploration of Venus by the European Space Agency’s and the Japanese spacecraft Akatsuki can also be found in this book. The author draws on over 50 years of experience on aircraft and spacecraft systems to tell the story of these planetary spacecraft. The spacecraft experience includes being the technical lead for the landing radars on the Surveyor and Apollo lunar landers as well as providing analyses for the rendezvous radar for the Space Shuttle. Practical engineering experience is augmented by Master’s degrees in electrical engineering, physics, and business administration.