The Sky Below: A True Story of Summits, Space, and Speed

Inside the helmet of a NASA legend. Astronaut Dr. Scott Parazynski was raised in the shadow of the Apollo Program, where his father, a rocket scientist and engineer, worked. In The Sky Below, his intimate memoir, he offers a rare portrait of NASA from the inside. As an era of moon missions transitioned to the era of the space shuttle, space station, and Mars research, Parazynski flew five missions to outer space and conducted seven spacewalks in his seventeen-year career. Mission highlights include a global ozone mapping mission on STS-66, leading the first joint US-Russian spacewalk during STS-86 while docked to the Russian space station Mir, and serving as Senator John Glenn's crewmate and personal physician during STS-95. In October 2007, Parazynski famously led the spacewalking team on STS-120, a highly complex space station assembly flight. His spacewalk was regarded by many as one of the most challenging and dangerous ever performed. He is the only astronaut to have climbed Mount Everest, which he achieved in 2009 after a near-death injury on his first attempt the year before. The Sky Below is an unparalleled opportunity to viscerally feel what it's like to train for-and deploy to-a home in zero gravity, while also portraying a passionate astronaut's engagement with the challenges of Earth and the destiny of love.

About the Author :
Scott Parazynski is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including five NASA Spaceflight Medals, two NASA Distinguished Service Medals, two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, two Flight Achievement Awards from the American Astronomical Association, the Aviation Week Laureate Award, the Antarctica Service Medal, the National Eagle Scout Association's Outstanding Eagle Award, and the Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club. A top-ten competitor in the 1988 US Olympic luge team trials and coach for the Philippines during the 1988 Calgary Olympic Winter Games, he was selected as an honorary captain of the 2010 US Olympic luge team for the Vancouver Games. He lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife, Meenakshi Wadhwa, the director of the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University, and is working on new ventures related to commercial human space flight. Susy Flory is the New York Times bestselling author or co-author of eleven books. She is a member of the Authors Guild and was recently named director of a San Francisco Bay Area writers conference. A breast cancer survivor, Susy celebrates life by riding a crazy ex-racehorse named Stetson, hiking in the High Sierras, and skiing black diamond runs whenever she can.