Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon, Revised Edition (Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Spaceflight) - Hardcover

Burgess, Colin; Doolan, Kate

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803285094 ISBN 13: 9780803285095

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 2016

Synopsis

Near the end of the Apollo 15 mission, David Scott and fellow moonwalker James Irwin conducted a secret ceremony unsanctioned by NASA: they placed on the lunar soil a small tin figurine called The Fallen Astronaut, along with a plaque bearing a list of names. By telling the stories of those sixteen astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the quest to reach the moon between 1962 and 1972, this book enriches the saga of humankind’s greatest scientific undertaking, Project Apollo, and conveys the human cost of the space race.

Many people are aware of the first manned Apollo mission, in which Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee lost their lives in a fire during a ground test, but few know of the other five fallen astronauts whose stories this book tells as well, including Ted Freeman and C.C. Williams, who died in the crashes of their T-38 jets; the “Gemini Twins,” Charlie Bassett and Elliot See, killed when their jet slammed into the building where their Gemini capsule was undergoing final construction; and Ed Givens, whose fatal car crash has until now been obscured by rumors. Supported by extensive interviews and archival material, the extraordinary lives and accomplishments of these and other fallen astronauts—including eight Russian cosmonauts who lost their lives during training—unfold here in intimate and compelling detail. Their stories return us to a stirring time in the history of our nation and remind us of the cost of fulfilling our dreams. This revised edition includes expanded and revised biographies and additional photographs.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

"This wonderful book, which brought back many fond and sometimes painful memories of a few who sadly never realized their dreams, is a long overdue tribute to fallen comrades from a truly amazing era in American history."—Walter M. Schirra Jr., Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronaut.

"In Fallen Astronauts we learn of men who may not have shared in the ultimate triumph but who were nevertheless an indelible part of these unparalleled exertions. By recognizing the prodigious debt we owe them, and their loved ones, in this fine history, Burgess and Doolan have made an important contribution to the history of space flight."—Scott Carpenter, Mercury astronaut.

"Every generation learns the hard lesson yet again: space flight is a risky business; not only the missions themselves, but the arduous training. Fallen Astronauts is a long-overdue tribute to a group of men who paid the ultimate price for their tragically unfulfilled dreams of space flight."—Michael Cassutt, author of Who’s Who In Space and coauthor of We Have Capture.

Near the end of the Apollo 15 mission, David Scott and fellow moonwalker James Irwin conducted a secret ceremony unsanctioned by NASA: they placed on the lunar soil a small tin figurine called "The Fallen Astronaut," along with a plaque bearing a list of names. This book enriches the saga of mankind’s greatest scientific undertaking, Project Apollo, and conveys the human cost of the space race—by telling the stories of those sixteen astronauts and cosmonauts who died reaching for the moon.

Many people are aware of the Apollo launch pad disaster in which three men lost their lives, but few know of the other five fallen astronauts whose stories this book tells as well: among them, Ted Freeman and C.C. Williams, who died in the crashes of their -38 jets; the "Gemini Twins," Charlie Bassett and Elliot See, killed when their jet slammed into the building where their Gemini capsule was undergoing final construction; and Ed Givens, whose fatal car crash has until now been obscured by rumors. The extraordinary lives and accomplishments of these and other fallen astronauts—including eight Russian cosmonauts who lost their lives during training—unfold here in intimate and compelling detail, supported by extensive interviews and archival material. Their stories return us to a stirring time in the history of our nation and remind us of the cost of fulfilling our dreams.

About the Author:

Colin Burgess is the author or editor of several books on spaceflight, including Footprints in the Dust: The Epic Voyages of Apollo, 1969–1975 (Nebraska, 2010) and Teacher in Space: Christa McAuliffe and the "Challenger" Legacy (Nebraska, 2000). Kate Doolan is a longtime space researcher and writer. Bert Vis is a Dutch space analyst who conducts research on the Soviet/CIS space program. Capt. Eugene A. Cernan lives and works in Texas and is the author of The Last Man on the Moon.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0803285094
• ISBN 13: 9780803285095
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 416