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Wheels stop : the tragedies and triumphs of the Space Shuttle Program, 1986-2011 / Rick Houston ; foreword by Jerry Ross.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Outward odysseyPublisher: Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, [2013]Description: xxiv, 428 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 0803235348 (cloth : alkaline paper)
  • 9780803235342 (cloth : alkaline paper)
Subject(s):
Contents:
Back in the Game -- Cloak and Dagger, Science on Orbit -- Hubble Huggers -- Sleeping with the Enemy -- A Home on Orbit -- "The Debris was Talking to Me" -- We Came Home -- A Kick in the Pants -- The End of an Era -- A Magnificent Machine.
Summary: Humanity's first reusable spacecraft and the most complex machine ever built, NASA's Space Shuttle debuted with great promise and as a dependable source of wonder and national pride. But with the Challenger catastrophe in 1986, the whole Space Shuttle program came into question, as did NASA itself, so long an institution that was seemingly above reproach. Wheels Stop tells the stirring story of how, after the Challenger disaster, the Space Shuttle not only recovered but went on to perform its greatest missions. From the Return to Flight mission of STS-26 in 1988 to the last shuttle mission ever on STS-135 in 2011, Wheels Stop takes readers behind the scenes as the shuttle's crews begin to mend Cold War tensions with the former Soviet Union, conduct vital research, deploy satellites, repair the Hubble Space Telescope, and assist in constructing the International Space Station. It also tells the heart-wrenching story of the Columbia tragedy and the loss of the magnificent STS-107 crew. As complex as the shuttle was, the people it carried into orbit were often more so--and this is their story, too. Close encounters with astronauts, flight controllers, and shuttle workers capture the human side of the Space Shuttle's amazing journey--and invite readers along for the ride.
List(s) this item appears in: NASA's 65th Anniversary Fiction notes: Click to open in new window
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 629.441 H843 Available 33111007494632
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Humanity's first reusable spacecraft and the most complex machine ever built, NASA's Space Shuttle debuted with great promise and as a dependable source of wonder and national pride. But with the Challenger catastrophe in 1986, the whole Space Shuttle program came into question, as did NASA itself, so long an institution that was seemingly above reproach. Wheels Stop tells the stirring story of how, after the Challenger disaster, the Space Shuttle not only recovered but went on to perform its greatest missions. From the Return to Flight mission of STS-26 in 1988 to the last shuttle mission ever on STS-135 in 2011, Wheels Stop takes readers behind the scenes as the shuttle's crews begin to mend Cold War tensions with the former Soviet Union, conduct vital research, deploy satellites, repair the Hubble Space Telescope, and assist in constructing the International Space Station. It also tells the heart-wrenching story of the Columbia tragedy and the loss of the magnificent STS-107 crew.

As complex as the shuttle was, the people it carried into orbit were often more so--and this is their story, too. Close encounters with astronauts, flight controllers, and shuttle workers capture the human side of the Space Shuttle's amazing journey--and invite readers along for the ride.

Purchase the audio edition.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 389-401) and index.

Back in the Game -- Cloak and Dagger, Science on Orbit -- Hubble Huggers -- Sleeping with the Enemy -- A Home on Orbit -- "The Debris was Talking to Me" -- We Came Home -- A Kick in the Pants -- The End of an Era -- A Magnificent Machine.

Humanity's first reusable spacecraft and the most complex machine ever built, NASA's Space Shuttle debuted with great promise and as a dependable source of wonder and national pride. But with the Challenger catastrophe in 1986, the whole Space Shuttle program came into question, as did NASA itself, so long an institution that was seemingly above reproach. Wheels Stop tells the stirring story of how, after the Challenger disaster, the Space Shuttle not only recovered but went on to perform its greatest missions. From the Return to Flight mission of STS-26 in 1988 to the last shuttle mission ever on STS-135 in 2011, Wheels Stop takes readers behind the scenes as the shuttle's crews begin to mend Cold War tensions with the former Soviet Union, conduct vital research, deploy satellites, repair the Hubble Space Telescope, and assist in constructing the International Space Station. It also tells the heart-wrenching story of the Columbia tragedy and the loss of the magnificent STS-107 crew. As complex as the shuttle was, the people it carried into orbit were often more so--and this is their story, too. Close encounters with astronauts, flight controllers, and shuttle workers capture the human side of the Space Shuttle's amazing journey--and invite readers along for the ride.

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