Rocheworld (1990)

A laser-driven interstellar ship reaches a pair of closely linked worlds whose environments demand a new set of habits from its explorers. Forward gives scientific problem-solving a large share of the adventure, with discovery extending into encounters with unfamiliar intelligence. Rocheworld is the expanded version of the earlier The Flight of the Dragonfly. Its long explanations will suit readers who enjoy the machinery and physical assumptions behind a journey as much as arriving at its destination.