The closest you can get to a rocket launch without actually being there! When rocket engines fire, they burn through thousands of tons of fuel in seconds. Most spectators will be watching from a safe distance away, but this book takes you beyond the safety railing and gives you an all-access pass to the jaw-dropping sight of a rocket blasting off. See behind the scenes and into the hangar as engineers fine-tune the machinery ready for launch. Meet the transporter vehicles that haul these enormous engines to the launchpad. Then strap in and get ready for lift off! Space rockets are the most powerful machines ever built. As tall as a 15-story building, they will soon send the next generation of astronauts to the Moon and beyond. This book is a celebration of the machines that make space exploration possible, using sheer power to blast spacecraft off Earth's surface and into orbit. Alongside the breathtaking photographs, supporting sections lay out the history of rocketry, compare notable launch vehicles from history, and explain the science behind space flight.