The book is devoted to the stage of emergence and development of cruise missile and space systems , who were born on the "coupling of three elements" - aviation, Space and Missile Engineering , and absorbed not only the design features of these types of equipment , but also the whole heap of technical and military-political problems accompanying them . The history of the creation of aerospace vehicles of the world is described in detail - from the first aircraft with rocket engines of the Second World War to the beginning of the implementation of the Space Shuttle (USA) and Energia-Buran (USSR) programs. The book, designed for a wide range of readers interested in the history of aviation and astronautics, design features and unexpected twists of fate of the first projects of aerospace systems, contains about 700 illustrations, a significant part of which is published for the first time.