US is basically using the same tech as China ATM for manned launches...the Soyuz spacecraft. An amazing reliable (and relatively cheap!) design from the USSR/Russia.
I'd love to read a good, accessible to laymen longread on the Soyuz program, putting it into perspective alongside contemporaries and the improvements made over time, along with the attendant systems including training etc.
I had a chance to check out a Soyuz training mock-up and one of the Space Shuttle simulators at the Johnson Space Center a few years ago and this was something that really impressed me about the Space Shuttle.
In the Soyuz the crew sits almost with their knees against their chest.[1] The Space Shuttle flight deck basically felt like an airliner, but in space (at least as someone unfamiliar with airliners) [2].
Even in 2010 knowing that the program was being canceled, it was basically how I'd imagine space flight from the future. Although in reality the tiny-metal-can approach seems like it's still the safest and most cost effective way to get back from space.
Don't forget the gentle "welcome back to Earth" kick in the ass that the passengers get a few seconds before landing, as the re-entry speed is still too fast - so the lander fires some solid-fuel landing engines for a "soft" landing.
I would love to have a good read on the Soviet, then Russian, space program. They've been the only ones to do a station to station flight, for instance, or rescue a mute space station.
"Red Star In Orbit" by James E Oberg has been an incredibly good read so far. The one downside to it all is that it was written a decade before the fall of the USSR. So any fascinating tidbits that were revealed during/after the fall are missing. But don't let that dissuade you from the book! I personally like the cold war feel the book has. My favorite thing about the book is that Oberg covers what the Soviets said happened, what the West speculated had happened, and then finally (as best as he can tell from leaks, defectors, etc.) what really happened. Incredibly good read.
I highly recommend "The Story of Space Station Mir" by Harland. It covers the motivating history for MIR, from Almaz through the Saylut series. It's not a comprehensive history of the full Soviet / Russian program, unfortunately. Branching out from its bibliography ought to get you part of the way there.
