This is a must read for anyone interested in aerospace history. The book also contains some commentary regarding the expectations of that time, my disappointment in the depth of our achievements and the current lack of interest by many. It culminates in our week-long trip to cape kennedy for the apollo 11 launch. As the first college students fully accredited by nasa, we represented the college press wire network which provided stories to 1200 campus newspapers.
There were no delusions regarding the dangers of manned space travel, but they were brought home on january 27, 1967, when all three astronauts were killed by a fire that ignited in the cabin during a launch rehearsal. To this day, there is still debate over what ignited the fire, but the disaster made clear that the modules being used by nasa had a series of fatal flaws.
In the decades after the apollo program, american space shuttles flew over 130 missions and successfully completed over 98% of them, but unfortunately, the two most famous missions were the ones that ended tragically aboard the challenger and columbia.
The book also contains some commentary regarding the expectations of that time, my disappointment in the depth of our achievements and the current lack of interest by many.