Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story (Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Spaceflight)

as The United States And The Soviet Union Went From Exploring Space To Living In It, A Space Station Was Conceived As The Logical Successor To The Apollo Moon Program. But Between Conception And Execution There Was The Vastness Of Space Itself, To Say Nothing Of Monumental Technological Challenges. homesteading Space , By Two Of Skylab’s Own Astronauts And A Nasa Journalist, Tells The Dramatic Story Of America’s First Space Station From Beginning To Fiery End. homesteading Space Is Much More Than A Story Of Technological And Scientific Success; It Is Also An Absorbing, Sometimes Humorous, Often Inspiring Account Of The Determined, Hardworking Individuals Who Shepherded The Program Through A Near-disastrous Launch, A Heroic Rescue, And An Exhausting Study Of Comet Kohoutek, As Well As The Lab's Ultimate Descent Into The Indian Ocean. Featuring The Unpublished In-flight Diary Of Astronaut Alan Bean, The Book Is Replete With The Personal Recollections And Experiences Of The Skylab Crew And Those Who Worked With Them In Training, During The Mission, And In Bringing Them Safely Home. coalition For Space Exploration a Well-told Saga Of Skylab From Start To Fiery Fall. From Booklist Pioneering long-duration spaceflight, the three Skylab missions are chronicled here by an authorial team that includes Skylab astronauts Owen Garriott and Joe Kerwin. Written largely in oral-history style, with extensive quotation from participants in the Skylab program, the work explains the genesis of the space-station concept, the decisions that led to its actual configuration, and the station’s near-death experience when launched in 1973. As space-history readers know, critical pieces of Skylab ripped off during its launch, causing a crisis overcome by repairs the first crew made in one of NASA’s finer moments. Less known was a danger confronted by the second crew that compelled NASA to prepare an improvised rescue mission (which proved unnecessary), and not known at all is the fact that astronaut Alan Bean secretly wrote a journal during his sojourn on Skylab. Published here for the first time, Bean’s diary, added to voice transcripts of space walks, produces the you-are-there immediacy that buffs crave. They’ll be delighted to encounter this original work, which is ideal for browsing. --Gilbert Taylor Review "A worthy account of an important but largely forgotten program. . . . For those who would like to learn more about the achievement, Homesteading Space offers valuable personal recollections from those who were there."—Roger Launius, Air & Space (Air & Space Roger Launius 20081115) "A well-told saga of Skylab from start to fiery fall."—_Coalition for Space Exploration_ (_Coalition for Space Exploration_ 20081231) "Savvy consumers of space history have come to expect high quality in the "Outward Odyssey—A People''s History of Spaceflight" series edited by Colin Burgess. This fourth volume definitely does not disappoint."—Rick W. Sturdevant, Air Power History (Rick W. Sturdevant Air Power History ) "Published here for the first time, [Alan] Bean''s diary, added to voice transcripts of space walks, produces the you-are-there immediacy that buffs crave."—Gilbert Taylor, Booklist (Gilbert Taylor Booklist ) "_Homesteading Space_ is not just about the scientific knowledge that was obtained in orbit—this is the story of the astronauts who conducted the experiments, who lived in space for weeks or months at a time, and how they coped."—Andrew J. Liptak, Worlds in a Grain of Sand blog (Andrew J. Liptak Worlds in a Grain of Sand ) Technology & Engineering,Science,20th Century,Astrophysics & Space Science,Astronomy,Aeronautics & Astronautics,History,Outer space,United States,Manned Space Flight - History - 20th Century,Manned Space Flight,Outer Space - Exploration - United States - History - 20th Century,Manned Space Flight - United States - History - 20th Century,Skylab Program,Astronautics "Homesteading Space, by two of Skylab's own astronauts and a NASA journalist, tells the dramatic story of America's first space station from beginning to fiery end." "Homesteading Space is much more than a story of technological and scientific success; it is also an absorbing, sometimes humorous, often inspiring account of the determined, hardworking individuals who shepherded the program through a near-disastrous launch, a heroic rescue, and an exhausting study of Comet Kohoutek, as well as the lab's ultimate descent into the Indian Ocean. Featuring the unpublished in-flight diary of astronaut Alan Bean, the book is replete with the personal recollections and experiences of the Skylab crew and those who worked with them in training, during the mission, and in bringing them safely home."--Jacket Tells the story of America's first space station from beginning to end. This work provides an account of the determined, hardworking individuals who shepherded the program through a near-disastrous launch, a heroic rescue, and an exhausting study of Comet Kohoutek, and its ultimate descent into the Indian Ocean.