About the Book
Coverage includes: the history of NASA, from its origins in the l950s as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Projects Mercury and Gemini; the history and timeline, triumphs and tragedies of the famed Apollo missions, including the historic Apollo 11, which put the first men on the Moon in l969; NASA's contributions to our everyday life, most notably on robotics and the creation of cutting-edge research on aerodynamics and chapters on important NASA discoveries: the Pioneer and Voyager Spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope, communications satellites such as the Echo, Telstar, and Syncom.
Table of Contents:
I. From Tang, to the moon, and now the universe. 1. My Adventures in Space. First Flight of the Space Radar Laboratory. Back to Earth. From Earth to Space: Eight-and-a-Half Very Long Minutes. STS-68. Anatomy of My Space Suit. My Third Mission: STS-80. STS-98. Oh, All Right, Here's How We Go to the Bathroom. 2. NASA Today: Unlocking the Secrets of the Universe. Who We Are. Goals and Objectives. Programs. Education. Distance Learning Expeditions. Realities: The Need to Stay on Budget. 3. What Makes a Rocket Go Up? From China to the Fourth of July: A Brief History of Rocketry. How a Rocket Works. The Founding Fathers of Space Travel. 4. So You Want to Be an Astronaut? Requirements to Be an Astronaut. How to Apply. For a Well-Grounded Career. Tips for Youngsters. Tips for College Students. Tips for Those Entering the Military. Space Cowboys, Cowgirls, and the Final Frontier. 5. Visiting NASA: Y'all Come On Down, Hear? Kennedy Space Center. Space Camp. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Cape Canaveral. Johnson Space Center. Ames Research Center. Marshall Space Flight Center. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Goddard Space Flight Center. Stennis Space Center. II. The early days. 6. Wernher von Braun and Early U.S. Rockets. Son of a Baron. How von Braun's Efforts Helped the Allies. Operation Paperclip. Viking and Redstone: First U.S. Efforts. First Space Pix. Jupiter-C and Atlas. Titan and Thor. Media Starts Space Craze. Cuban Missile Crisis. Reaching for Doomsday: Delivering an H-Bomb Reliably to a Target. Threat of Nuclear War. Controlling the "High Ground": Control of Space As Military Advantage. 7. Russia First Out of the Space Gate. Sputnik: Starting Gun of the Space Race. K9 Adventure. NASA Is Born. 8. Early Frustrations: Project Kaboom (A.K.A. Vanguard). You Can't Blame NASA. First Rocket Designed to Orbit Satellites. First Attempt Explodes on Launch Pad. Finally, Success: March 17, 1958. Technology Testbed. 9. Explorer and Pioneer. U.S. in Orbit (Finally): Explorer I. The Pioneer Program. 10. Early Communications and Weather Satellites. Communications. Meteorology. The Delta Rocket. The Scout Rocket. III. Humans in space. 11. Catching Up: Yuri Gagarin, Alan Shepard, and Project Mercury. "The Curvature of the Earth". Two Theories of Manned Space Travel. Project Mercury. President Kennedy's Promise. Liberty Bell 7. 12. Around the World in 90 Minutes: Astronauts in Orbit. Friendship 7: First U.S. Orbital Flight. Aurora 7: Carpenter's Flawed Mission. 13. Near Perfection. Sigma 7: Engineering Precision. Russians Still Winning the Space Race. Faith 7: A Lengthier Stay in Space. Are There UFOs in Space? 14. From Blecch to Yum: History of Space Food. Of Course, John Glenn Was First. Skylab: Room for a Dining-Room Table. Today's Space Diner. Food Stories to Chew On. The Astronaut's Nutritional Needs. 15. Two Heads Are Better Than One: Project Gemini. New Features of the Gemini. Gemini 2: Last Unmanned Test. Gemini 3: The Molly Brown. Gemini IV: These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Gemini V: Endurance Test. Gemini VI: The Mission That Almost Wasn't. Gemini VII: Fortnight in Space. 16. Ironing Out Gemini's Bugs. Gemini VIII: Momentary Success and a Very Close Call. Gemini IX: A Tragic Revamping. Dual Rendezvous: Gemini X. First Tethered Flight: Gemini XI. Grand Finale: Gemini XII's Five-Hour Space Walk. Bodily Changes. 17. Scouting the Solar System. Mariner. Red-Planet Reconnaissance. Venusian Voyage: Mariner 5. Twin Missions to Mars: Mariners 6 and 7. First Man-Made Object to Orbit Another Planet: Mariner 9. A List of Firsts: Mariner 10 Heads Sunward. Ranger: Live from the Moon. Lunar Orbiters and Surveyors. Viking: Exploring the Surface of Mars. Voyager. IV. Moonwalkin'. 18. Early Apollo Missions. Options. Apollo 1: Disaster at Pad 34. Panel Investigates. Apollo 7: First U.S. Three-Man Crew. Apollo 8: Christmas at the Moon. 19. Apollo Hardware. The Saturn V Rocket. Apollo 9: First Piloted Test of the Lunar Module. Down to the Last Nine Miles: Apollo 10. 20. First Steps: Footprints for Eternity. Apollo 11: The Historic Voyage Begins. Did We Really Land on the Moon? Department of Space Salvage: Apollo 12. 21. Houston Solves a Problem. Apollo 13: Courage and Ingenuity. Nixon Proclaims Success. 22. Dune Buggies, Golf Clubs, and Especially Moon Rocks. Tee Time on the Moon: Apollo 14. Apollo 15: The Happy Wanderers. And You Thought Mexico City Was High!: Apollo 16. Good Night, Moon: Apollo 17. V. After the moon. 23. Skylab and Space Detente. A Look at Skylab. Damaged During Launch. Skylab 2. Skylab 3: Docked for 59 Days. Skylab 4: All-Rookie Mission. Skylab's End. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. 24. Launches Like a Rocket, Lands Like a Plane: The Space Shuttle. How the Space Shuttle Works. First Orbital Test: STS-1. Columbia STS-2. Columbia STS-3: Testing of Alternate Landing Site. Columbia STS-4: A Job for the Pentagon. Columbia STS-5: First U.S. Four-Person Crew. Challenger STS-6: First Flight of Challenger. Sally K. Ride: First American Woman in Space. Guion S. Bluford Jr.: First African American in Space. Columbia STS-9: First Spacelab Mission. 25. Loss of Challenger. How It Happened. Aftermath. History of Challenger. Safety Is Always #1. 26. Return to Flight. Back in Business. Back to the Planets. Two "Great Observatories". John Glenn's Return to Space. Politicians in Space. Tourist in Space. 27. The International Space Station--Call Sign "Alpha". Reagan's Dream. Sunrise, Unity, and Star. Politics. NASA-Mir. Progress Cargo Ship. Destiny in Space. The Robotic Arm. New Airlock. Human Research Facility. Tough Duty. Struggle Is Worth It. 28. How a Space Mission Gets Off the Ground. Behind the Scenes, Department by Department. 29. Revealing the Planets: Today's Robotic Explorers. Hubble Space Telescope. Clementine: Back to the Moon. Cassini Mission to Saturn and Titan. Martian Mysteries: The Mars Observer. Galileo: Mission to Jupiter. Mars Pathfinder 1997. Mars Global Surveyor '98. Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander. Mars Odyssey. Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous--NEAR-Perfect! Genesis: Catching a Piece of the Sun. 30. Our Future in Space. Beyond Low Earth Orbit. Return to the Moon? Visiting Asteroids. Should We Go to Mars? Europa. Other Solar Systems. Searching for the Origin of the Universe. Types of Human Spaceflight. VI. Appendixies. Appendix A. Suggested Reading. Appendix B. Glossary. Index.
About the Author :
NASA astronaut Thomas D. Jones (Ph.D.) was born January 22, 1955, in Baltimore, Maryland. He enjoys baseball, hiking, biking, camping, skiing, and recreational flying. An avid reader and author, his favorite subjects are space aviation and American military history. Dr. Jones is the co-author of Mission: Earth-A Voyage to the Home Planet and The Scholastic Encyclopedia of the United States at War. Dr. Jones graduated from Kenwood Senior High School, Essex, Maryland, in 1973; received a Bachelor of Science degree in basic sciences from the United States Air Force (USAF) Academy in Colorado Springs in 1977; and a Doctorate in planetary science from the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1988. As a Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Academy, Dr. Jones served on active duty as an Air Force officer for six years. After pilot training in Oklahoma, he flew strategic bombers at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. As pilot and aircraft commander of a B-52D Stratofortress, he led a combat crew of six, accumulating over 2,000 hours of jet experience before resigning as a captain in 1983. From 1983 to 1988 he worked toward a Ph.D. at the University of Arizona in Tucson. His research interests included the remote sensing of asteroids, meteorite spectroscopy, and applications of space resources. From 1989 to 1990, he was a program management engineer in Washington, D.C., at the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Development and Engineering. In 1990 he joined Science Applications International Corporation in Washington, D.C. as a senior scientist. Dr. Jones performed advanced program planning for NASA's Solar System Exploration Division, investigating future robotic missions to Mars, asteroids, and the outer solar system. After a year of training following his selection by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Jones became an astronaut in July 1991. He has logged over 52 days (1,272 hours) in space. Michael Benson is the former editor of the Military Technical Journal and the author of 18 books, including the Encyclopedia of the JFK Assassination and Ballparks of North America. He was a contributor to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Professional Wrestling, Second Edition. Originally from Rochester, N.Y., Benson has a B.A. in Communications Arts from Hofstra University and currently lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with his wife and two children.
