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One of the earliest NASA astronauts, "Pete" Conrad was the third man to walk on the moon. It was the crowning achievement of his NASA career, which included four space trips totaling more than 1,180 hours in space. He also flew twice during the Gemini program, and spent 28 days on the first U.S. space station, Skylab, in 1973. Before joining NASA, Conrad was a flight instructor and test pilot at the Navy Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Md. Lately, he was working on opening up space to civilians for vacation trips. Conrad died July 8 from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident in California. He was 69. From This is True for 4 July 1999 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Steven DickRobert JacobsConstance MooreBertram Ulrich List Price: $50.00 Amazon Price: $31.50 Editorial Review: NASA launches a yearlong celebration of its 50th anniversary in the fall of 2007, and Abrams is privileged to publish this visual history of its many achievements in manned and unmanned space travel. Written and edited by a team of experienced NASA staffers, and illustrated with many unpublished and rare photographs from the voluminous NASA archives scattered across the country, America in Space offers an unparalleled vision of half a century of exploration and discovery. The story of America’s space age is told with more than 400 carefully selected images. The story begins in the 1950s with intrepid test pilots venturing ever faster and higher, and opens out into the now-legendary Mercury and Apollo missions of the 1960s that made astronauts into national heroes. The space shuttle era shows us what everyday space travel might look like, while grand vistas of the universe expand our sense of wonder. The large format of the book captures both the human drama and the vast scale of NASA’s projects. America in Space is a photographic record of the greatest adventure of our time.  By: Francis FrenchColin Burgess List Price: $29.95 Amazon Price: $19.77 Editorial Review: In the Shadow of the Moon tells the story of the most exciting and challenging years in spaceflight, with two superpowers engaged in a titanic struggle to land one of their own people on the moon. While describing awe-inspiring technical achievements, the authors go beyond the missions and the competition of the space race to focus on the people who made it all possible. Their book explores the inspirations, ambitions, personalities, and experiences of the select few whose driving ambition was to fly to the moon. Drawing on interviews with astronauts, cosmonauts, their families, technicians, and scientists, as well as rarely seen Soviet and American government documents, the authors craft a remarkable story of the golden age of spaceflight as both an intimate human experience and a rollicking global adventure. From the Gemini flights to the Soyuz space program to the earliest Apollo missions, including the legendary first moon landing, their book draws a richly detailed picture of the space race as an endeavor equally endowed with personal meaning and political significance. For more information about the series, visit www.outwardodyssey.com. (08/01/2006)  By: Francis FrenchColin Burgess List Price: $29.95 Amazon Price: $19.77 Editorial Review: It was a time of bold new technology, historic moments, and international jousting on the final frontier. But it was also a time of human drama, of moments less public but no less dramatic in the lives of those who made the golden age of space flight happen. These are the moments and the lives that Into That Silent Sea captures, a book that tells the intimate stories of the men and women, American and Russian, who made the space race their own and gave the era its compelling character. These pages chronicle a varied and riveting cavalcade of human stories, including a look at Yuri Gagarin’s harrowing childhood in war-ravaged Russia and Alan Shepard’s firm purchase on the American dream. It also examines the controversial career of cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and the remarkable struggle and ultimate disappointment of her American counterparts. It tries to uncover the truth behind the allegations that shadowed Gus Grissom and Scott Carpenter and then allows the reader to share the heart-stopping suspense of Alexei Leonov’s near-fatal first space walk. Through dozens of interviews and access to Russian and American official documents and family records, the authors bring to life the experiences that shaped the lives of the first astronauts and cosmonauts and forever changed their world and ours. For more information about the series, visit www.outwardodyssey.com. (04/27/2006)  By: Jay Barbree List Price: $26.95 Amazon Price: $17.79 Editorial Review: Some fifty years ago, while a cub reporter, Jay Barbree caught space fever the night that Sputnik passed over Georgia. He moved to the then-sleepy village of Cocoa Beach, Florida, right outside Cape Canaveral, and began reporting on rockets that fizzled as often as they soared. In "Live from Cape Canaveral," Barbree—the only reporter who has covered every mission flown by astronauts—offers his unique perspective on the space program. He shares affectionate portraits of astronauts as well as some of his fellow journalists and tells some very funny behind-the-scenes stories—many involving astronaut pranks. Barbree also shows how much the space program and its press coverage have changed over time. Warm and perceptive, he reminds us just how thrilling the great moments of the space race were and why America fell in love with its heroic, sometimes larger-than-life astronauts.  By: Jay AptMichael HelfertJustin Wilkinson List Price: $25.00 Amazon Price: $16.50 Editorial Review: This awe-inspiring collection of photographs gives those of us stuck on Earth a glimpse of what our home planet looks like from the window of a space craft... and the big blue marble has never looked more beautiful. All the continents are shown, as well as weather events, the Aurora borealis, and the visible effects of anthropogenic environmental change--deforestation and desertification chief among them. Take a sobering look at our lovely planet and realize how small and fragile it really is. On his historic 1962 orbital flight, John Glenn made a request to carry a camera. From that moment forward photography became a vital duty for all astronauts. In this astonishing book, National Geographic gathers the most spectacular images from 41 years of orbital photography—many never before seen—to reveal an astronaut's view of home. Each photograph featured in Orbit was taken by a NASA astronaut with a hand-held camera and features detail that far exceeds the electronic images sent from satellites. These photographs capture the most magnificent sights on earth: Mount Everest casting its shadow over lesser peaks, the sands of the Sahara arrayed in endless patterns, the eerily atmospheric aurora australis. And they document the effects of human negligence on the Earth: pollution, scarred forests, and topsoil washing into the sea. As Americans contemplate the U.S. space program in the wake of recent tragedy, Orbit is an excellent reminder of the magnificent achievements of space travel. Detailed maps, ground-based photographs, and informative captions give further depth to this definitive and remarkable history of how our Earth has changed since we first ventured into space. |
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