Amazing Stories of the Space Age : True Tales of Nazis in Orbit, Soldiers on the Moon, Orphaned Martian Robots, and Other Fascinating Accounts From the Annals of Spaceflight

Award-winning science writer and documentarian Rod Pyle presents an insider's perspective on the most unusual and bizarre space missions ever devised inside and outside of NASA. The incredible projects described here were not merely flights of fancy dreamed up by space enthusiasts, but actual missions planned by leading aeronautical engineers. Some were designed but not built; others were built but not flown; and a few were flown to failure but little reported: A giant rocket that would use atomic bombs as propulsion (never mind the fallout), military bases on the moon that could target enemies on earth with nuclear weapons, a scheme to spray-paint the lenses of Soviet spy satellites in space, the rushed Soyuz 1 spacecraft that ended with the death of its pilot, the near-disaster of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the mysterious Russian space shuttle that flew only once and was then scrapped—these are just some of the unbelievable tales that Pyle has found in once top-secret documents as well as accounts that were simply lost for many decades. These stories, complimented by many rarely-seen photos and illustrations, tell of a time when nothing was too off-the-wall to be taken seriously, and the race to the moon and the threat from the Soviet Union trumped all other considerations. Readers will be fascinated, amused, and sometimes chilled. From the Trade Paperback edition. Reveals The Most Unusual Space Missions Ever Devised Inside And Outside Of Nasa During A Time When Nothing Was Too Odd To Be Taken Seriously, And The Race To The Moon And The Threat From The Soviet Union Trumped All Other Considerations. --publisher. Nazis In Space: Project Silverbird -- Red Moon: Countering The Communist Threat On Earth And In Space -- Das Marsprojekt: Red Planet Armada -- Project Orion: We Come In Peace (with Nuclear Bombs!) -- Lunex: Earth In The Crosshairs -- The Wheel: An Inflatable Space Station -- Venusian Empire: Nasa's Mars/venus Flyby Adventure -- Blue Gemini: Weaponizing Orbit -- Flirting With Death: The Terrifying Flight Of Gemini 8 -- Manned Orbiting Laboratory: How To Design, Test, And Never Fly A Space Program -- Apollo 11: Danger On The Moon -- The First Space Shuttle: Project Dyna-soar -- Beyond The Edge Of Space: The X-15b -- The Sad, Strange Tale Of Soyuz 1 -- The Turtlenauts -- Falling To Earth: The Dangerous Science Of Reentry -- Funeral For A Viking: The End Of Viking 1 -- Saving Skylab: Cowboys In Space -- Near Misses: Danger Stalks The Space Shuttle -- Showdown In Space: Firearms On The Moon -- Buran: The Soviet Union's One-flight Wonder -- Major Matt Mason: A Man For The New Space Age. Rod Pyle. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. 341 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : 23 cm