Posts: 390
From: Yeovil, England
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 12-26-2011 03:00 PM               

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I was just wondering after reading a few books recently, whether there are many more out there in regards to the men and women of the US space program. I would love to read more about the men and women, past and present, who did such an amazing job of working at the Cape and Kennedy Space Center.

Plus after visiting the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum and Patrick Air Force Base and speaking with some of the people who worked on the various programs in Brevard, I wish to research more on this. I would be grateful for any help.

Posts: 1179
From: Canada
Registered: Jul 2001

Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007

posted 01-02-2012 09:48 AM               

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There are a couple that I've read.

Guenter Wendt's "The Unbroken Chain" provides a nice narrative of space workers from Mercury to early shuttle, at least from his perspective as a contractor.

Randy Avera's "The Truth About Challenger" is a pretty good narrative of what went on at KSC before, during and after the Challenger Disaster as he was a NASA worker based there.

I hope there will be some other books coming out, although admittedly the pickings are a bit thin in spots. Scott Phillips is working on his own book which will tell his story about working on the External Tanks for Martin Marietta at Huntsville. Granted he isn't based at KSC, but to really get a whole picture of what it means to work in the space program, one can't necessarily focus on JUST one aspect of it at one center (unless that is the primary focus of your research).

Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 01-02-2012 10:41 AM               

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If you are interested in the people who built KSC, I have long felt NASA's SP-4204 Moonport - A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations is a fascinating read. It tells the story of the civil engineering behind these facilities.

This book is available used for about $30 and has recently been "re-published" as an e-book on Amazon for $9.99.

Posts: 2212
From: Worcestershire, England, UK.
Registered: Apr 2008

Posts: 390
From: Yeovil, England
Registered: Oct 2004

Posts: 399
From: North Carolina
Registered: Mar 2002

Posts: 390
From: Yeovil, England
Registered: Oct 2004

Posts: 244
From: Adelaide, South Australia
Registered: Apr 2005

Posts: 318
From: West Sussex, England
Registered: Jan 2011

posted 01-03-2012 03:46 AM               

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On the other hand I enjoyed both books. Not as much as others but still good. They just gave another angle on the whole period. In a way it was quite refreshing to read about the lives of individuals who were deeply involved without examining every screw, bolt and rivet of the programs.

Henry, I'm not in any way having a dig (it's too far from here anyway. ) We are all different and that's what keeps the world turning!

Posts: 244
From: Adelaide, South Australia
Registered: Apr 2005

posted 01-27-2012 04:28 AM            

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quote:

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Originally posted by Jay Chladek:
Randy Avera's "The Truth About Challenger" is a pretty good narrative of what went on at KSC before, during and after the Challenger Disaster as he was a NASA worker based there.

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In response to Jay's post, I went and tracked down a copy of this book. I hadn't heard of this one before. It has done a good job of staying buried.

I agree with Jay, this is a pretty good contemporaneous account of the goings-on at KSC during the post-Challenger investigation, particularly given the author's role in the breakup analysis task group for the Challenger crew module.

This book is definitely worth a read, subject to the following qualifications. It is not a literary masteriece: it has that slightly awkward style that many engineers-turned-authors seem to have. It also follows a somewhat disjointed format, and is peppered with lots of "mankind must explore because it is destiny" sort of comments, many out of place. It also quotes verbatim large slabs of other works, incl. the Roger Commission Report (reasonable enough in that case, given the author outlines an alternate hypothesis for the Challenger incident).

That said, it is still worth a read. I understand the author also wrote a post-Columbia book called "Memories of Columbia", but I haven't managed to track that one down. Has anybody read that one??

Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007

posted 01-27-2012 07:00 AM               

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Don't bother on the Columbia one. Even Randy is not happy with it as the editor he had working on it mucked it up and there wasn't enough budget left to hire a new editor to more tightly reign it in.

I have a copy and have struggled through it (I haven't even finished the whole thing), but if you thought "Challenger" was awkward, this one may make your head explode (which is why I didn't mention it when I brought up "Challenger"). Granted it has some interesting stories. But it really goes from topic to topic like one is watching "Whose Line is it Anyway".

Posts: 244
From: Adelaide, South Australia
Registered: Apr 2005

posted 01-27-2012 08:42 PM            

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Thanks Jay, I'll stay clear of it then.

On a related issue, I recall a KSC worker present at the Apollo 1 fire was going to write a book. I take it that never eventuated?

Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

Posts: 244
From: Adelaide, South Australia
Registered: Apr 2005