Bold They Rise: The Space Shuttle Early Years, 1972-1986

After the Apollo program put twelve men on the moon and safely brought them home, anything seemed possible. In this spirit, the team at NASA set about developing the Space Shuttle, arguably the most complex piece of machinery ever created. The world's first reusable spacecraft, it launched like a rocket, landed like a glider, and carried out complicated missions in between. Bold They Rise tells the story of the Space Shuttle through the personal experiences of the astronauts, engineers, and scientists who made it happen--in space and on the ground, from the days of research and design through the heroic accomplishments of the program to the tragic last minutes of the Challenger disaster. In the participants' own voices, we learn what so few are privy to: what it was like to create a new form of spacecraft, to risk one's life testing that craft, to float freely in the vacuum of space as a one-man satellite, to witness a friend's death. A "guided tour" of the shuttle--in historical, scientific, and personal terms--this book provides a fascinating, richly informed, and deeply personal view of a feat without parallel in the human story.

Author: David Hitt,Heather R. Smith
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 06/01/2014
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.50lbs
Size: 9.52h x 6.33w x 1.14d
ISBN: 9780803226487

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2015 pg. 998

About the Author
David Hitt is the coauthor of Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story (Nebraska, 2008). Heather R. Smith has worked as an education writer for NASA. Bob Crippen is a NASA astronaut who piloted the first Space Shuttle flight.