Godspeed, John Glenn

Godspeed, John Glenn PDF Author:
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
ISBN: 9781590783849
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
Picture-book biography of John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth.

Godspeed, John Glenn

Godspeed, John Glenn PDF Author:
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
ISBN: 9781590783849
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
Picture-book biography of John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth.

Friendship 7

Friendship 7 PDF Author: Colin Burgess
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319156543
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
In this spellbinding account of an historic but troubled orbital mission, noted space historian Colin Burgess takes us back to an electrifying time in American history, when intrepid pioneers were launched atop notoriously unreliable rockets at the very dawn of human space exploration. A nation proudly and collectively came to a standstill on the day this mission flew; a day that will be forever enshrined in American spaceflight history. On the morning of February 20, 1962, following months of frustrating delays, a Marine Corps war hero and test pilot named John Glenn finally blazed a path into orbit aboard a compact capsule named Friendship 7. The book’s tension-filled narrative faithfully unfolds through contemporary reports and the personal recollections of astronaut John Glenn, along with those closest to the Friendship 7 story, revealing previously unknown facts behind one of America’s most ambitious and memorable pioneering space missions. Friendship 7. The book’s tension-filled narrative faithfully unfolds through contemporary reports and the personal recollections of astronaut John Glenn, along with those closest to the Friendship 7 story, revealing previously unknown facts behind one of America’s most ambitious and memorable pioneering space missions. Friendship 7 story, revealing previously unknown facts behind one of America’s most ambitious and memorable pioneering space missions.

Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War

Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War PDF Author: Jeff Shesol
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324003251
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
A riveting history of the epic orbital flight that put America back into the space race. If the United States couldn’t catch up to the Soviets in space, how could it compete with them on Earth? That was the question facing John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War—a perilous time when the Soviet Union built the wall in Berlin, tested nuclear bombs more destructive than any in history, and beat the United States to every major milestone in space. The race to the heavens seemed a race for survival—and America was losing. On February 20, 1962, when John Glenn blasted into orbit aboard Friendship 7, his mission was not only to circle the planet; it was to calm the fears of the free world and renew America’s sense of self-belief. Mercury Rising re-creates the tension and excitement of a flight that shifted the momentum of the space race and put the United States on the path to the moon. Drawing on new archival sources, personal interviews, and previously unpublished notes by Glenn himself, Mercury Rising reveals how the astronaut’s heroics lifted the nation’s hopes in what Kennedy called the "hour of maximum danger."

John Glenn: A Memoir

John Glenn: A Memoir PDF Author: John Glenn
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0553581570
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 594

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Book Description
He was the first astronaut to orbit the Earth. Nearly four decades later, as the world's oldest astronaut, his courage reveted a nation. But these two historical events only bracketed a life that covers the sweep of an extraordinary century. John Glenn's autobiography spans the seminal events of the twentieth century. It is a story that begins with his childhood in Ohio where he learned the importance of family, community, and patriotism. He took these values with him as a marine fighter pilot during World War II and into the skies over Korea, for which he would be decorated. Always a gifted flier, it was during the war that he contemplated the unlimited possibilities of aviation and its frontiers. We see the early days of NASA, where he first served as a backup pilot for astronauts Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom. In 1962 Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first manned orbital mission of the United States. Then came several years in international business, followed by a twenty-four year career as a U.S. Senator-and in 1998 a return to space for his remarkable Discover mission at the age of seventy-seven.

Breaking the Chains of Gravity

Breaking the Chains of Gravity PDF Author: Amy Shira Teitel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472911199
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
The incredible story of spaceflight before the establishment of NASA. NASA's history is a familiar story, one that typically peaks with Neil Armstrong taking his small step on the Moon in 1969. But America's space agency wasn't created in a vacuum. It was assembled from pre-existing parts, drawing together some of the best minds the non-Soviet world had to offer. In the 1930s, rockets were all the rage in Germany, the focus both of scientists hoping to fly into space and of the German armed forces, looking to circumvent the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. One of the key figures in this period was Wernher von Braun, an engineer who designed the rockets that became the devastating V-2. As the war came to its chaotic conclusion, von Braun escaped from the ruins of Nazi Germany, and was taken to America where he began developing missiles for the US Army. Meanwhile, the US Air Force was looking ahead to a time when men would fly in space, and test pilots like Neil Armstrong were flying cutting-edge, rocket-powered aircraft in the thin upper atmosphere. Breaking the Chains of Gravity tells the story of America's nascent space program, its scientific advances, its personalities and the rivalries it caused between the various arms of the US military. At this point getting a man in space became a national imperative, leading to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, otherwise known as NASA.

Sharkman Six

Sharkman Six PDF Author: Owen West
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9780743217477
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
When Lieutenant Gavin Kelly's recon platoon swims ashore a Mogadishu beach under the glare of hundreds of news camera lights, it is an appropriately surreal beginning to Operation Restore Hope. This modern war is vastly different from the battles Kelly's father and grandfather fought and from the young lieutenant's own experience during Operation Desert Storm. Minutes after the Marines' celebrated landing, one of Kelly's men kills an armed Somali bodyguard. The circumstances of the killing are unclear and Kelly finds himself in the center of a maelstrom. He must act quickly to deflect a vociferous outcry from members of the international press corps, censure by his Marine superiors, and the possibility of losing the loyalty of his men -- particularly two enlisted leaders in the platoon who have vouched for the necessity of the kill. Thus begins Sharkman Six, a stinging morality tale in which Kelly is torn between his men, his confusing mission, and the international rules of engagement he has sworn to uphold. As his platoon descends into the lawless, violent underbelly of Somalia, Lieutenant Kelly must determine his own values -- and allegiances -- in a country where murders are commonplace and constant. With heart-pounding, intricate military detail, rapier wit, and stunning verisimilitude, Sharkman Six speaks to the violent urges lurking in us all and the lengths to which we will go to control them. In Gavin Kelly, West has created an authentic, sympathetic, and wholly compromised young officer of war who will put you in mind of the best of military heroes and antiheroes.

For Spacious Skies

For Spacious Skies PDF Author: Malcolm Scott Carpenter
Publisher: Signet
ISBN: 9780451211057
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
Writing with his daughter, astronaut Scott Carpenter breaks his 40 year silence to set the record straight about the 1962 "Aurora 7" mission that captivated a nation. Now in paperback, the "New York Times" bestseller features new materials and photos.

Countdown to a Moon Launch

Countdown to a Moon Launch PDF Author: Jonathan H. Ward
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319177923
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
Thousands of workers labored at Kennedy Space Center around the clock, seven days a week, for half a year to prepare a mission for the liftoff of Apollo 11. This is the story of what went on during those hectic six months. Countdown to a Moon Launch provides an in-depth look at the carefully choreographed workflow for an Apollo mission at KSC. Using the Apollo 11 mission as an example, readers will learn what went on day by day to transform partially completed stages and crates of parts into a ready-to-fly Saturn V. Firsthand accounts of launch pad accidents, near misses, suspected sabotage, and last-minute changes to hardware are told by more than 70 NASA employees and its contractors. A companion to Rocket Ranch, it includes many diagrams and photographs, some never before published, to illustrate all aspects of the process. NASA’s groundbreaking use of computers for testing and advanced management techniques are also covered in detail. This book will demystify the question of how NASA could build and launch Apollo missions using 1960s technology. You’ll discover that there was no magic involved – just an abundance of discipline, willpower, and creativity.

Engines of Empire

Engines of Empire PDF Author: Douglas R. Burgess Jr.
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804798982
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
In 1859, the S.S. Great Eastern departed from England on her maiden voyage. She was a remarkable wonder of the nineteenth century: an iron city longer than Trafalgar Square, taller than Big Ben's tower, heavier than Westminster Cathedral. Her paddles were the size of Ferris wheels; her decks could hold four thousand passengers bound for America, or ten thousand troops bound for the Raj. Yet she ended her days as a floating carnival before being unceremoniously dismantled in 1889. Steamships like the Great Eastern occupied a singular place in the Victorian mind. Crossing oceans, ferrying tourists and troops alike, they became emblems of nationalism, modernity, and humankind's triumph over the cruel elements. Throughout the nineteenth century, the spectacle of a ship's launch was one of the most recognizable symbols of British social and technological progress. Yet this celebration of the power of the empire masked overconfidence and an almost religious veneration of technology. Equating steam with civilization had catastrophic consequences for subjugated peoples around the world. Engines of Empire tells the story of the complex relationship between Victorians and their wondrous steamships, following famous travelers like Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Jules Verne as well as ordinary spectators, tourists, and imperial administrators as they crossed oceans bound for the colonies. Rich with anecdotes and wry humor, it is a fascinating glimpse into a world where an empire felt powerful and anything seemed possible—if there was an engine behind it.

Space Stations

Space Stations PDF Author: Gary Kitmacher
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
ISBN: 1588346323
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
A rich visual history of real and fictional space stations, illustrating pop culture's influence on the development of actual space stations and vice versa Space stations represent both the summit of space technology and, possibly, the future of humanity beyond Earth. Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space takes the reader deep into the heart of past, present, and future space stations, both real ones and those dreamed up in popular culture. This lavishly illustrated book explains the development of space stations from the earliest fictional visions through historical and current programs--including Skylab, Mir, and the International Space Station--and on to the dawning possibilities of large-scale space colonization. Engrossing narrative and striking images explore not only the spacecraft themselves but also how humans experience life aboard them, addressing everything from the development of efficient meal preparation methods to experiments in space-based botany. The book examines cutting-edge developments in government and commercial space stations, including NASA's Deep Space Habitats, the Russian Orbital Technologies Commercial Space Station, and China's Tiangong program. Throughout, Space Stations also charts the fascinating depiction of space stations in popular culture, whether in the form of children's toys, comic-book spacecraft, settings in science-fiction novels, or the backdrop to TV series and Hollywood movies. Space Stations is a beautiful and captivating history of the idea and the reality of the space station from the nineteenth century to the present day.