This novel is often attributed to Curt Siodmak, not surprisingly, as his name appears on the cover and the spine... On the title page is this text: "novelization by Robert Smith based upon the screenplay by CURT SIODMAK"
Like the film, the novel is meant to be taken as hard SF and it spends a great deal of time on detail and procedure but the central concept is... well... rather goofy.
It is the dawn of the space age. The government has sought out a group of men, all former fighter pilots, all with technical backgrounds - for a top secret mission. The problem is that once above most of the earth's atmosphere rockets encounter cosmic rays which break down the structure of their metal. A solution to this problem must be found or practical space travel will be impossible. Meteors, however, seem to travel incalculable distances in space without being destroyed by those ubiquitous cosmic rays... Obviously, meteors in space must be covered in some outer coating which protects them but which is destroyed by their passage through Earth's atmosphere. Obviously.
So.
The plan is to send up several manned rockets to catch a meteor in space and return it to Earth for study. Oh, and this is, naturally, in aid of ... well, the term Pax Americana come up in the text.
And, yes, I am embarrassed to admit that I love the movie and the book.