posted 05-17-2026 08:07 PM               

A never-before-told story from a NASA insider — experience the highs and lows of the golden era of spaceflight through the eyes of a former Apollo flight director.

As a flight director for all of the Apollo program's crewed missions, Gerry Griffin was instrumental in the Apollo 11 landing, the rescue of the Apollo 13 crew, and the successes of Apollo missions 12, 15, and 17, for which he served as lead flight director. His storied NASA career took him through the Gemini program, Apollo missions, and the shuttle era before he became the director of the Johnson Space Center.

Space historian and author Rod Pyle worked with Griffin to recount incredible and untold stories from across his NASA years in the fascinating "Boldly into the Darkness," including:

• early and challenging days of Project Gemini where missions flew within weeks of one another and plans changed abruptly

• the tragedy of the Apollo 1 fire, the investigations, and its impact on the program and workforce

• the daring adventure that was Apollo 8, which flew the unproven Saturn V rocket and orbited the Moon for the first time

• white-knuckling experiences working in Mission Control

Griffin's reflections are a transportive, insider's look at what it was like to work on vital missions. "Boldly into the Darkness" is a valuable record of the glory days of space exploration and of a man who helped lead NASA through unexpected challenges and groundbreaking accomplishments.

• Hardcover, 224 pages
  
• Smithsonian Books (Feb. 2, 2027)
  
• ISBN-10: ‎1588348318
  
• ISBN-13: ‎978-1588348319