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Into the Black
- The Extraordinary Untold Story of the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the Astronauts Who Flew Her
- Narrated by: Eric Meyers
- Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins
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Publisher's summary
The real-life techno-thriller from a best-selling author and aviation expert that recaptures the historic moments leading up to the launch of the space shuttle Columbia and the exciting story of her daring maiden flight.
Using interviews, NASA oral histories, and recently declassified material, Into the Black pieces together the dramatic untold story of the Columbia mission and the brave people who dedicated themselves to help the United States succeed in the age of space exploration. On April 12, 1981, NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral. It was the most advanced, state-of-the-art flying machine ever built, challenging the minds and imagination of America's top engineers and pilots. Columbia was the world's first real spaceship: a winged rocket plane, the size of an airliner and capable of flying to space and back before preparing to fly again.
Onboard were moonwalker John Young and test pilot Bob Crippen. Less than an hour after Young and Crippen's spectacular departure from the Cape, all was not well. Tiles designed to protect the ship from the blowtorch burn of reentry were missing from the heat shield. If the damage to Columbia was too great, the astronauts wouldn't be able to return safely to Earth. NASA turned to the National Reconnaissance Office, a spy agency hidden deep inside the Pentagon whose very existence was classified. To help the ship, the NRO would attempt something never done before. Success would require skill, perfect timing, and luck.
Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, Into the Black is a thrilling race against time and the incredible true story of the first space shuttle mission that celebrates our passion for spaceflight.
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The Dream Machine
- The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey
- By: Richard Whittle
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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When the Marines decided to buy a helicopter-airplane hybrid "tiltrotor" called the V-22 Osprey, they saw it as their dream machine. The tiltrotor was the aviation equivalent of finding the Northwest Passage: an aircraft able to take off, land, and hover with the agility of a helicopter yet fly as fast and as far as an airplane. Many predicted it would reshape civilian aviation. The Marines saw it as key to their very survival. Opponents called it one of the worst boondoggles in Pentagon history.
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Innovation runs into government
- By Cx30 on 09-25-10
By: Richard Whittle
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The Crash Detectives
- Investigating the World's Most Mysterious Air Disasters
- By: Christine Negroni
- Narrated by: Christine Negroni
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Crash Detectives, veteran aviation journalist and air safety investigator Christine Negroni takes us inside crash investigations from the early days of the jet age to the present, including the search for answers about what happened to the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. As Negroni dissects what happened and why, she explores their common themes and, most important, what has been learned from them to make planes safer.
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MISSLEADING TITLE.
- By Daniel Schneider on 11-02-16
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Vulcan Boys
- From the Cold War to the Falklands: True Tales of the Iconic Delta V Bomber
- By: Tony Blackman
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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The Vulcan, the second of the three V bombers built to guard the UK during the Cold War, has become an aviation icon like the Spitfire, its delta shape instantly recognizable, as is the howling noise it makes when the engines are opened for takeoff. Vulcan Boys is the first Vulcan book recounted completely firsthand by the operators themselves.
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a compelling work but slow to start
- By Josh Boyle on 08-06-16
By: Tony Blackman
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Last Days of the Concorde
- The Crash of Flight 4590 and the End of Supersonic Passenger Travel
- By: Samme Chittum
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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On July 25, 2000, a Concorde, the world's fastest passenger plane, was taking off from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris when it suddenly burst into flames. An airliner capable of flying at more than twice the speed of sound, the Concorde had completed 25 years of successful flights, whisking wealthy passengers - from diplomats to rock stars to corporate titans - between continents on brief and glamorous flights. Yet on this fateful day, the chartered Concorde jet, en route to America, crashed and killed all 109 passengers and crew onboard and four people on the ground.
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A Solid Introduction
- By Reggie on 03-03-19
By: Samme Chittum
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Neil Armstrong
- A Life of Flight
- By: Jay Barbree
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Much has been written about Neil Armstrong, America's modern hero and history's most famous space traveler. Yet, shy of fame and never one to steal the spotlight, Armstrong was always reluctant to discuss his personal side of events. Here for the first time is the definitive story of Neil's life of flight he shared for five decades with a trusted friend - Jay Barbree.
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A Profound Personal Impact
- By Michael on 08-21-14
By: Jay Barbree
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Harnessing the Sky
- Frederick "Trap" Trapnell, the U.S. Navy's Aviation Pioneer, 1923-1952
- By: Frederick M. Trapnell Jr., Dana Trapnell Tibbitts
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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A pilot of calculated courage, "Trap" entered the Navy when test pilots were more like stuntmen than engineers. Airplanes had not yet come into their own as weapons of war, and they had an undeveloped role in the fleet. His vision and leadership shaped the evolution of naval aviation through its formative years and beyond. When the threat of war in 1940 raised an alarm over the Navy's deficiency in aircraft - especially fighters - Trap was appointed to lead the Flight Test Section to direct the development of all-new Navy airplanes.
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Superb Book
- By Peter H. Christensen on 09-27-19
By: Frederick M. Trapnell Jr., and others
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Rocket Men
- The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon
- By: Robert Kurson
- Narrated by: Ray Porter, Robert Kurson
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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By August 1968, the American space program was in danger of failing in its two most important objectives: to land a man on the moon by President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline and to triumph over the Soviets in space. With its back against the wall, NASA made an almost unimaginable leap: It would scrap its usual methodical approach and risk everything on a sudden launch, sending the first men in history to the moon - in just four months.
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The Men Who Saved 1968
- By Gillian on 04-04-18
By: Robert Kurson
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Our Robots, Ourselves
- Robotics and the Myth of Autonomy
- By: David A. Mindell
- Narrated by: David Chandler
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In Our Robots, Ourselves, David Mindell offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the cutting edge of robotics today, debunking commonly held myths and exploring the rapidly changing relationships between humans and machines. Drawing on firsthand experience, extensive interviews, and the latest research from MIT and elsewhere, Mindell takes us to extreme environments-high atmosphere, deep ocean, and outer space - to reveal where the most advanced robotics already exist.
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MUST READ
- By ryan salcido on 10-01-16
By: David A. Mindell
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Topgun Days
- Dogfighting, Cheating Death, and Hollywood Glory as One of America's Best Fighter Jocks
- By: Dave "Bio" Baranek
- Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Dave Baranek (callsign "Bio") was one of 451 young men to receive his Wings of Gold in 1980 as a naval flight officer. Four years later, seasoned by intense training and deployments in the tense confrontations of the Cold War, he became the only one of that initial group to rise to become an instructor at the navy's elite Fighter Weapons School. As a Topgun instructor, Bio was responsible for teaching the navy's and Marine Corps' best fighter pilots how to be even better. He schooled them in the classroom and then went head-to-head with them in the skies.
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Top Gun or Topgun
- By Randy on 02-19-13
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Flying from the Black Hole
- The B-52 Navigator-Bombardiers of Vietnam
- By: Robert O. Harder
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Air Force navigators and bombardiers have long labored under the shadow of pilots - their contributions undervalued, misunderstood, or unknown to the general public. This was especially the case with the non-pilot officer aircrew in the Vietnam and Cold War-era B-52 Stratofortress. Of the six people who operated the bomber, three wore navigator wings - two of those men were also bombardiers, the other an electronic warfare officer. Without the navigator-bombardiers in particular, executing the nuclear war strike plan or flying Southeast Asian bombing sorties would have been impossible.
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Today I learned something new.
- By Rob Wilson on 02-20-21
By: Robert O. Harder
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Before Topgun Days
- The Making of a Jet Fighter Instructor
- By: Dave Bio Baranek
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Before becoming an instructor in the Navy's Topgun program, Dave "Bio" Baranek was just another kid with a dream. Upon graduating from college, he joined the Navy with the goal of becoming a fighter pilot. But, his eyesight waning, he knew that he would never be able to reach that goal. Undaunted, he plowed ahead and found his niche as a radar intercept operator in the backseat of the sleek, new Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
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SHB
- By Kindle Customer on 06-10-23
By: Dave Bio Baranek
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Harrier Boys, Volume 1
- From the Cold War Through the Falklands, 1969-1990
- By: Robert Marston
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In Harrier Boys, Volume One: Cold War Through the Falklands, 1969-1990, Robert Marston, who flew Harriers for many years, draws together accounts from others who worked with this unique jet through its history. The excitement, camaraderie, and pride of Harrier operators shine through in the personal stories of those whose lives were changed by their experience of this iconic aircraft, both on land and at sea.
By: Robert Marston
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to find yourself strapped to a giant rocket that's about to go from zero to 17,500 miles per hour? Or to look back on Earth from outer space and see the surprisingly precise line between day and night? Or to stand in front of the Hubble Space Telescope, wondering if the emergency repair you're about to make will inadvertently ruin humankind's chance to unlock the universe's secrets? Mike Massimino has been there, and in Spaceman he puts you inside the suit.
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On February 1, 2003, Columbia disintegrated on reentry before the nation's eyes, and all seven astronauts aboard were lost. Author Mike Leinbach was a key leader in the search and recovery effort as NASA, FEMA, the FBI, the US Forest Service, and dozens more federal, state, and local agencies combed an area of rural east Texas the size of Rhode Island for every piece of the shuttle and her crew they could find. Assisted by hundreds of volunteers, it would become the largest ground search operation in US history.
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Consider What You’re Looking For
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Failure Is Not an Option
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Gene Kranz was present at the creation of America's manned space program and was a key player in it for three decades. As a flight director in NASA's Mission Control, Kranz witnessed firsthand the making of history. He participated in the space program from the early days of the Mercury program to the last Apollo mission, and beyond. He endured the disastrous first years when rockets blew up and the United States seemed to fall further behind the Soviet Union in the space race.
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Excellent Book!
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On February 1, 2003, Columbia disintegrated on reentry before the nation's eyes, and all seven astronauts aboard were lost. Author Mike Leinbach was a key leader in the search and recovery effort as NASA, FEMA, the FBI, the US Forest Service, and dozens more federal, state, and local agencies combed an area of rural east Texas the size of Rhode Island for every piece of the shuttle and her crew they could find. Assisted by hundreds of volunteers, it would become the largest ground search operation in US history.
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On January 28, 1986, NASA's space shuttle Challenger exploded after blasting off from Cape Canaveral. Christa McAuliffe, America's "Teacher in Space", was instantly killed, along with the other six members of the mission. At least that's what most of us remember. Kevin Cook tells us what really happened on that ill-fated, unforgettable day. He traces the pressures - leading from NASA to the White House - that triggered the fatal order to launch on an ice-cold Florida morning.
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Not bad, but not much new either
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A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts
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Audie Award, History/Biography, 2016. On the night of July 20, 1969, our world changed forever when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. Based on in-depth interviews with 23 of the 24 moon voyagers, as well as those who struggled to get the program moving, A Man on the Moon conveys every aspect of the Apollo missions with breathtaking immediacy and stunning detail.
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Long, comforting book on moon exploration
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By: Andrew Chaikin
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747
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747 is the thrilling story behind "the Queen of the Skies" - the Boeing 747 - as told by Joe Sutter, one of the most celebrated engineers of the 20th century, who spearheaded its design and construction. Sutter's vivid narrative takes us back to a time when American technology was cutting-edge and jet travel was still glamorous and new. With wit and warmth, he gives an insider's sense of the larger than life-size personalities - and the tensions - in the aeronautical world.
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What a beautiful plane
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By: Joe Sutter
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Truth, Lies, and O-Rings
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On a cold January morning in 1986, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Challenger, despite warnings against doing so by many individuals including Allan McDonald. The fiery destruction of Challenger on live television moments after launch remains an indelible image in the nation's collective memory. In Truth, Lies, and O-Rings, McDonald, a skilled engineer and executive, relives the tragedy from where he stood at Launch Control Center.
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Couldn’t finish...
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In April 1970, during the glory days of the Apollo space program, NASA sent Navy Captain Jim Lovell and two other astronauts on America's fifth mission to the moon. Only 55 hours into the flight of Apollo 13, disaster struck: a mysterious explosion rocked the ship, and soon its oxygen and power began draining away. Written with all the color and drama of the best fiction, Apollo 13 (previously published as Lost Moon) tells the full story of the moon shot that almost ended in catastrophe.
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The Crash Detectives
- Investigating the World's Most Mysterious Air Disasters
- By: Christine Negroni
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In The Crash Detectives, veteran aviation journalist and air safety investigator Christine Negroni takes us inside crash investigations from the early days of the jet age to the present, including the search for answers about what happened to the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. As Negroni dissects what happened and why, she explores their common themes and, most important, what has been learned from them to make planes safer.
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MISSLEADING TITLE.
- By Daniel Schneider on 11-02-16
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Riding Rockets
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In 1978, the first group of space shuttle astronauts was introduced to the world - 29 men and six women who would carry NASA through the most tumultuous years of the space shuttle program. Among them was USAF Colonel Mike Mullane, who, in his memoir Riding Rockets, strips the heroic veneer from the astronaut corps and paints them as they are - human.
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Not for the young...
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Harrier 809
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April 1982. Argentina invades the Falkland Islands. In response, Britain dispatches a naval Task Force. Eight thousand miles from home, its fate hinges on just 20 Sea Harrier fighters against the 200-strong might of the Argentine Air Force. Combining groundbreaking research with the pace of a thriller, Rowland White reveals the full story of the fleet's knife-edge fight for survival for the first time, and shows how the little jump jet went from airshow novelty to writing its name in aviation legend. And of how a small band of heroes won victory against impossible odds.
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Fast paced thriller
- By J.Brock on 01-28-22
By: Rowland White
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The Last Man On the Moon
- By: Eugene Cernan
- Narrated by: Eugene Cernan
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- Abridged
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This is the story of a unique American hero who came of age as an astronaut during the few dramatic years when man reached the moon. Cernan's career spanned the entire Apollo program, from the tragic fire that killed three of his comrades on Apollo 1, through the moment when he left man's last footprint on the moon as commander of Apollo 17.
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Yet Another Perspective
- By Shellbin on 12-28-12
By: Eugene Cernan
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An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
- What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything
- By: Chris Hadfield
- Narrated by: Chris Hadfield
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. The secret to Col. Hadfield's success - and survival - is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst and enjoy every moment of it.
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Chris Hadfield Is The Real Thing!
- By Kathy in CA on 08-16-16
By: Chris Hadfield
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Moonshot
- A NASA Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible
- By: Mike Massimino
- Narrated by: Mike Massimino
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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When you think of a NASA astronaut, the image that probably comes to mind is one of the All-American hero. But former NASA astronaut turned business speaker and bestselling author Mike Massimino was pretty much the opposite. He was the underdog, one of the weakest swimmers during NASA training and a “gangly, scrawny, working-class kid from Long Island with bad eyesight and a fear of heights." Still, after working hard and working smart, Massimino had a successful career as an astronaut. Moonshot shares Massimino’s hard-earned lessons and how to apply them in work and life.
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Fantastic book!
- By Helm on 02-20-24
By: Mike Massimino
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Rocket Men
- The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon
- By: Craig Nelson
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
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A richly detailed and dramatic account of one of the greatest achievements of humankind. At 9:32 A.M. on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 rocket launched in the presence of more than a million spectators who had gathered to witness a truly historic event. It carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Mike Collins to the last frontier of human imagination: the moon.
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TRULY OUTSTANDING
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What listeners say about Into the Black
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- John
- 12-04-16
Great Story About a Flawed Spacecraft
This book was really very good. It's largely a biography of John Young and Bob Crippen, the first two space shuttle astronauts, and the team that was involved in getting the program off the ground. The book also covers Joe Engel, Richard Truly and other astronauts involved in the early shuttle missions.
I found the background on Crippen's tenure with the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory, a planned observation platform for military intelligence, absolutely fascinating. The program was canceled, but was quite ambitious. I knew almost nothing about this program, even though I grew up in the 1960s and am a bit of a space flight junkie.
The back story about getting USAF support for the shuttle program was also fascinating. The USAF had a love-hate relationship (perhaps a little more hate!) with the shuttle.
The author is an unabashed fan of the shuttle, although he covers the story warts and all. I'm not. Although it was certainly impressive to put something as big as the shuttle into space, it never got out of low earth orbit. Building it with solid fuel boosters was just a mistake--one we learn that gave John Young much trepidation.
Of course, the heat shield made of ceramic tiles was a problem for the spacecraft from the first flight to the last. I had forgotten that there were tiles knocked off on the first flight. The story about how NASA finallly got DOD photos of the underside of the shuttle while it was in that first flight was just amazing.
One thing that we tend to forget is just how primitive the computers were that were used in the space program in the early years. What NASA was able to accomplish with Apollo and then the shuttle was truly impressive.
Even if you have mixed feelings about the shuttle, this book is well worth reading.
Today, despite all the computers and hard won knowledge, we can't even put a man in space except by hitching a ride on a vintage Russian rocket. That's sad and a bit of a national disgrace.
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- Blake
- 09-07-16
Interesting but not "Extraordinary"
This book is subtitled "The Extraordinary Untold Story of the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the Astronauts that Flew Her.” Being familiar with the many dramatic life and mission threatening issues of multiple Mercury, Gemini and Apollo flights there's nothing particularly “extraordinary" in this telling of the STS-1 Columbia story.
That's not to say the story isn't interesting nor try to diminish the courage of the astronauts and the technical breakthroughs accomplished, it's just that the book is over billed. Sure, there are the biographies of the astronauts and details about the technology that you’d expect in such a story. The story is solidly researched and if you can get past the first 12 hours of biography and background it gets interesting in the last four hours when the actual mission begins and troubles, common on so many space missions, develop.
I could have done without the narrator’s cartoonish accents, his willowy impersonations of female speakers and his comical imitations of historical figures. At times his over dramatization sounds like he’s putting on a one man play. Better audio narrations are much more subtle than this one.
The book tells the story of the Columbia's first flight and even reveals some information not commonly known about the Manned Orbiting Laboratory and spy satellite capabilities. But, being a mission I was fortunate to experience first hand, I would have liked to see a more riveting story.
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- Richard LeBlanc
- 06-28-16
The story of the shuttle 👍👍👍
The story of the dream and incredible inventions, political, in fighting and dedication of the Flyers and the countries finest brains the US could put together. Built a vehicle that had to be designed as it was invented. Tested on simulators that were a huge jump forward, fly by wire technology. A giant glider that was launched by the most powerful, and unorthodox set of a triple part launch Rocket ever dreamed of. This is a very detailed story that anyone who lived from 1969 to the 2000's will find fascinating.
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- Hulagirl/Woody
- 05-06-16
Great
Great book loved the detail and side stories. The narrator was the best really took the book to the next level. Highly recommend this book.
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- cbspock
- 05-16-21
I learned some things I didn’t know
I really enjoyed this book. I remember as a kid watching Columbia lift off the pad the first time. It was great learning about all the details of the shuttle’s development in this book as well as unpublished details about STS 1’s flight we didn’t know back then.
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- Dale
- 02-21-21
A must read for any Pilot, STS Enthusiast.
Definitely the best space shuttle book I have read yet. Very well written And detailed.
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- PT
- 06-13-19
It was a slog
Really hard going, long on detail, short on enjoyable narrative. Also found the accents of the astronauts to be kind of cheesy.
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- William Wallace
- 04-21-19
could not put down
for anyone interested in NASA's history or that of the shuttle this is the de facto work to truly understand the profoundly dangerous and pioneering work it took to accomplish the first human powered space shuttle mission
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- D. Davis
- 03-16-19
Remember the Glory
The space program has been a part of my whole life. I waited for hours in front of our black and white TV for man’s first step on lunar soil. I watched Columbia’s maiden lift off. I drove out to Edwards Air Force Base and camped overnight to witness Columbia’s return home. I cried when the missions of Challenger and Columbia ended in disaster. Into the Black vividly brought back all the memories of the many, many successes and couple of failures of the glory years of the space program. The epilogue was very emotional for me. The space program with everyone working together made America great. This book is very well written and read. I couldn’t put it down. I’m going to listen to it again.
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- Sam the Man
- 10-16-18
Good stuff
Great Book on a bit of space flight and the first shuttle flights. Performance is very well done though they all sound Southern
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