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In the run-up to America's attempt to land on the moon "before the decade [of the 1960s] is out," NASA recruited the best of the best from anywhere they could find them. Petrone was an engineer with the U.S. Army, and the Army loaned him to NASA, where as the Saturn Project Officer he helped develop the Saturn rocket that launched the U.S. to the moon. He also oversaw the construction of the Vehicle Assembly Building, a huge facility that could hold four fully assembled Saturn rockets, and the Crawler-Transporter, the gigantic platform that moved the completed Saturn rockets (and still moves the assembled Space Shuttle) from the VAB to the launch pad. Once finished with those tasks, he became Director of Launch Operations at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and in 1969 was promoted to Apollo Program Director at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. After the program ended he became the director of the Marshall Space Flight Center and, after retiring from NASA in 1975, became head of shuttle programs for prime shuttle contractor Rockwell. There, he recommended against the launch of the shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986. His recommendation was ignored, leading to the first deaths of American astronauts during spaceflight. Petrone retired from Rockwell in 1989, and died August 24 after fighting heart problems and diabetes. He was 80. From This is True for 27 August 2006 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Richard Platt List Price: $29.99 Amazon Price: $19.79 Editorial Review: "This wonderful book retells our story vividly. I should know; I was there." ? Buzz Aldrin Trace the history of people's fascination with the moon ? and the scientific developments that led to a ground-breaking mission ? in an out-of-this-world novelty book marking the first moon landing. Acclaimed author Richard Platt focuses on humankind's dreams of traveling to the moon, the race to conquer space, the technology needed to reach the moon and sustain the astronauts in space, and the moon landing itself. Re-creating the excitement of the expedition are extraordinary pop-ups depicting a rocket, the lunar module, a spaceship, and a spectacular spherical moon, while booklets and flaps offer readers a wealth of intriguing facts. * Published in anticipation of the fortieth anniversary of the first moon landing on July 20, 1969 * Features official NASA photographs, two mini-books, and fun informational flaps  By: Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum List Price: $14.99 Amazon Price: $9.39 Editorial Review: Experience one of the most momentous events in human history--the first-ever successful moon landing--in Universe's exciting 3-D pop-up format. This yearlong celebration of the mission's 40th anniversary re-creates the excitement of its triumph and significance, and presents the still awe-inspiring iconic images taken during the journey. * Features 12 full-size, full-color, 3-D pop-up images along with 12 bonus images on the grids. * Detailed captions provide fun facts about the mission and astronauts. * Incredible images of the astronauts walking on the moon, the earth from the moon, and the spacecraft lifting off, among others, will be fun for amateur astronomers.  By: Tahir Rahman List Price: $39.50 Amazon Price: $32.69 Editorial Review: Nearly four decades ago Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left some mementos on the ancient lunar soil of the Sea of Tranquility. Among these was a small brittle silicon disc with microscopic messages of goodwill from 73 world leaders. In 1969, with only weeks left before the Apollo 11 liftoff, NASA worked feverishly on a crash project to miniaturize messages from American and world leaders to enshrine them on a material suited for the harsh environment of the Moon. This book reveals a never-before-told story of the disc, along with many rare and astounding photographs.  By: Dennis R. JenkinsJorge R. Frank List Price: $19.95 Amazon Price: $13.57  By: Courtney BrooksJames GrimwoodLoyd swenson List Price: $0.99 Amazon Price: $0.99 Editorial Review: The story of Apollo is a remarkable chapter in the history of mankind. How remarkable will be determined by future generations as they attempt to assess and understand the relationship and significance of the Apollo achievements to the development of mankind. We hope that this book will contribute to their assessments and assist in their judgments. Writing the history of Apollo has been a tremendous undertaking. There is so much to tell; there are so many facets. The story of Apollo is filled with facts and figures about complex machines, computers, and facilities, and intricate maneuvers?these are the things with which the Apollo objectives were achieved. But a great effort has also been made to tell the real story of Apollo, to identify and describe the decisions and actions of men and women that led to the creation and operation of those complex machines. |
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