Out of This World: New Mexico's Contribution to Space Travel - Hardcover

Hall, Loretta

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1890689866 ISBN 13: 9781890689865

Publisher: Rio Grande Books, 2011

Synopsis

Out of this World: New Mexico & Space Travel People have dreamed of traveling into space for thousands of years, but atmospheric flight by balloon was not achieved until the late eighteenth century. Powered flight took another 120 years to became a reality. Progress toward space travel accelerated rapidly during the twentieth century, with manned orbital flights being achieved less than sixty years after the Wright Brothers' first airplane flight. The amazingly quick development of the United States' space program resulted from the efforts of thousands of people scattered throughout the country. Many crucial experiments took place in New Mexico. Out of this World tells the stories-ranging from hair raising to humorous-of people and animals who worked to develop powerful liquid-fuel rockets, determine the hazards of cosmic radiation, examine the physical and psychological effects of weightlessness, test spacecraft components and safety equipment, devise and implement procedures to evaluate astronaut candidates, search the skies for destinations, scrutinize UFO appearances and possible alien landings on Earth, train astronauts for Moon missions, and-ultimately-construct the first purpose-built spaceport for recreational and commercial flights. New Mexico has provided fertile soil for cultivating space travel for fun and profit.

About this title

From the Author

What does New Mexico have to do with space exploration? A lot. Between 1930 and 1971, New Mexico researchers found answers to the most pressing challenges of manned spaceflight, including rocket design and propulsion; effects on the human body from cosmic radiation, prolonged weightlessness, acceleration and deceleration forces; psychological effects of confinement and isolation in a space capsule; and criteria for selection and training of astronauts. Those answers provided essential support for NASA's mission of sending Americans to explore the moon. During the rest of the twentieth century, organizations in the state provided crucial support for the Space Shuttle program and constructed important observatories including the Very Large Array and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey telescope. In the early twenty-first century, New Mexico entrepreneurs and politicians tackled new questions as NASA encouraged the commercialization of the nation's space program and private companies sought to offer space tourism flights to the general public. Construction of Spaceport America positions this state to be a leader in commercial spaceflight for both scientific research and recreation in the decades to come. This book provides an inside look at fascinating people who helped get this country's space program off the ground and who are now leading the way in commercial space travel.

From the Back Cover

People have dreamed of traveling into space for thousands of years, but atmospheric flight by balloon was not achieved until the late eighteenth century. Powered flight took another 120 years to become a reality. Progress toward space travel accelerated rapidly during the twentieth century, with manned orbital flights being achieved less than sixty years after the Wright Brothers' first airplane flight. The amazingly quick development of the Untied States' space program resulted from the efforts of thousands of people scattered throughout the country. Many crucial experiments took place in New Mexico.

Out of this World tells the stories---ranging from hair raising to humorous---of people and animals who worked to develop powerful liquid-fuel rockets, determine the hazards of cosmic radiation, examine the physical and psychological effects of weightlessness, test spacecraft components and safety equipment, devise and implement procedures to evaluate astronaut candidates, search the skies for destinations, scrutinize UFO appearances and possible alien landings on Earth, train astronauts for Moon missions, and---ultimately---construct the first purpose-built spaceport for recreational and commercial flights. New Mexico has provided fertile soil for cultivating space travel for fun and profit.

What People are Saying about this Book
"We must rekindle the sense of adventure and the irresistible urge for exploration beyond this planet that took us to the Moon, and, I hope, will take us to Mars. In her entertaining, inspiring Out of this World, Loretta Hall reveals the grit, determination, daring, and down-to-earth humanness of adventurers who brought us to the verge of making space travel available to everyone."---Buzz Aldrin, Gemini and Apollo astronaut

"I knew Spaceport America was an extension of important New Mexico space history. I had heard the names and I knew the basic storylines: Goddard, von Braun, Stapp and Ham. But I didn't know, in detail, the drama, the intrigue, and the level of risk and passion until I read Loretta Hall's Out of this World: New Mexico's Contributions to Space Travel. I know it's a cliché, but here goes: I couldn't put this book down. I was absolutely riveted by the very human stories. Goddard battling tarantulas and rattlesnakes in Roswell. Kittinger's parachute line wrapping his neck on his first jump. Ham dodging the reporters and cameras after his successful launch, flight and recovery. And Stapp's eyes filled with blood after his record-breaking rocket-sled ride. Most importantly, this book truly establishes New Mexico's vital role in the history of space travel. It makes me very proud to be a New Mexican and honored to help carry on the state's leading role through our work at Spaceport America."---Rick Homans, Founding Chairman, New Mexico Spaceport Authority

Edition details

• Publisher: Rio Grande Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1890689866
• ISBN 13: 9781890689865
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 182