Infinity Beckoned: Adventuring Through the Inner Solar System, 1969–1989 (Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Spaceflight)

Infinity Beckoned illuminates a critical period of space history when humans dared an expansive leap into the inner solar system. With an irreverent and engaging style, Jay Gallentine conveys the trials and triumphs of the people on the ground who conceived and engineered the missions that put robotic spacecraft on the heavenly bodies nearest our own. These dedicated space pioneers include such individuals as Soviet Russia’s director of planetary missions, who hated his job but kept at it for fifteen years, enduring a paranoid bureaucracy where even the copy machines were strictly regulated. Based on numerous interviews, Gallentine delivers a rich variety of stories involving the men and women, American and Russian, responsible for such groundbreaking endeavors as the Mars Viking missions of the 1970s and the Soviet Venera flights to Venus in the 1980s. From the dreamers responsible for the Venus landing who discovered that dropping down through heavy clouds of sulfuric acid and 900-degree heat was best accomplished by surfing to the five-man teams puppeteering the Soviet moon rovers from a top-secret, off-the-map town without a name, the people who come to life in these pages persevered in often trying, thankless circumstances. Their legacy is our better understanding of our own planet and our place in the cosmos. (https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Beckoned-Adventuring-Through-1969-1989/dp/B01N5WLGCW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=infinity+beckoned&qid=1582297528&s=audible&sr=1-1) Purchase the audio edition. Account Of Unmanned Lunar And Planetary Exploration From The Early 1970s To The Early 1990s-- Infinity Beckoned Illuminates A Critical Period Of Space History When Humans Dared An Expansive Leap Into The Inner Solar System. With An Irreverent And Engaging Style, Jay Gallentine Conveys The Trials And Triumphs Of The People On The Ground Who Conceived And Engineered The Missions That Put Robotic Spacecraft On The Heavenly Bodies Nearest Our Own. These Dedicated Space Pioneers Include Such Individuals As Soviet Russia's Director Of Planetary Missions, Who Hated His Job But Kept At It For Fifteen Years, Enduring A Paranoid Bureaucracy Where Even The Copy Machines Were Strictly Regulated. Based On Numerous Interviews, Gallentine Delivers A Rich Variety Of Stories Involving The Men And Women, American And Russian, Responsible For Such Groundbreaking Endeavors As The Mars Viking Missions Of The 1970s And The Soviet Venera Flights To Venus In The 1980s. From The Dreamers Responsible For The Venus Landing Who Discovered That Dropping Down Through Heavy Clouds Of Sulfuric Acid And 900-degree Heat Was Best Accomplished By Surfing To The Five-man Teams Puppeteering The Soviet Moon Rovers From A Top-secret, Off-the-map Town Without A Name, The People Who Come To Life In These Pages Persevered In Often Trying, Thankless Circumstances. Their Legacy Is Our Better Understanding Of Our Own Planet And Our Place In The Cosmos-- Beach Brainstorm -- What If -- Dead At Birth -- Failure To Communicate -- Halt The Work, Destroy All Materials -- There And Back Again -- Sitting Cosmonauts -- Cauldron Of Contradictions -- Buy-in -- Prepared Area -- Laying Eggs (somehow) -- How Low Can You Go? -- Three Mistakes -- Devil From Redondo -- The Boy To Be Beaten -- How To Buy A Computer That Does Not Exist -- Downsurfing -- Gulliver's Travels -- Too Much Too Soon -- Scientific Charity -- Last Man Home -- Bonneville, Notch Rock, Double Squirt, Sudden Death -- Postmortem -- Sons Of A Bitch -- The Sum Of All Nations -- Hang Time -- The Rules Of Resigning -- Wonders Never Cease. Jay Gallentine ; Foreword By Bobak Ferdowsi. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. What we know today about the Moon, Mars, and Venus has been erected on a colorful foundation of human experience reaching back to the 1960s. Where to begin? - A flawless machine telling us that Mars had life was conjured-up by a guy whod only been trying to provide clean water. - Soviet moon rovers were puppeteered by hush-hush five-man teams working behind three layers of guarded gates inside a top-secret, off-the-map town without even a name. - The dreamers responsible for landing on Venus realized that dropping down through heavy clouds of sulfuric acid and 900-degree heat was best accomplished by surfing. - Soviet Russias director of planetary missions absolutely hated the job. But he spent fifteen years there anyway, enduring a paranoid bureaucracy where even the copy machines were strictly regulated. Why did these people do it? Drawn to the unknown to the majestic mystery of just what lay out there in the great beyond they submitted to curiosity and wonder. In sum, Infinity Beckoned . This new work by Jay Gallentine delivers a rich complement of never-before-heard stories from first-person perspectives. Built upon a slew of brand-new interviews, Infinity Beckoned provides an immediate human context. Its not even about space so much as it is about driven people engaged in brand-new undertakings. Learn how the clean-water machine got to Mars. How the top-secret town came to be. Learn much more: all from the point of view of those who actually lived it, and whose tireless efforts have expanded our knowledge of the inner solar system. Infinity Beckoned illuminates a critical period of space history when humans dared an expansive leap into the inner solar system. With an irreverent and engaging style, Jay Gallentine conveys the trials and triumphs of the people on the ground who conceived and engineered the missions that put robotic spacecraft on the heavenly bodies nearest our own. These dedicated space pioneers include such individuals as Soviet Russia’s director of planetary missions, who hated his job but kept at it for fifteen years, enduring a paranoid bureaucracy where even the copy machines were strictly regulated. Based on numerous interviews, Gallentine delivers a rich variety of stories involving the men and women, American and Russian, responsible for such groundbreaking endeavors as the Mars Viking missions of the 1970s and the Soviet Venera flights to Venus in the 1980s. From the dreamers responsible for the Venus landing who discovered that dropping down through heavy clouds of sulfuric acid and 900-degree heat was best accomplished by surfing to the five-man teams puppeteering the Soviet moon rovers from a top-secret, off-the-map town without a name, the people who come to life in these pages persevered in often trying, thankless circumstances. Their legacy is our better understanding of our own planet and our place in the cosmos. [Purchase the audio edition.](https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Beckoned-Adventuring-Through-1969-1989/dp/B01N5WLGCW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=infinity+beckoned&qid=1582297528&s=audible&sr=1-1) "Infinity Beckoned illuminates a critical period of space history when humans dared an expansive leap into the inner solar system. With an irreverent and engaging style, Jay Gallentine conveys the trials and triumphs of the people on the ground who conceived and engineered the missions that put robotic spacecraft on the heavenly bodies nearest our own. These dedicated space pioneers include such individuals as Soviet Russia's director of planetary missions, who hated his job but kept at it for fifteen years, enduring a paranoid bureaucracy where even the copy machines were strictly regulated. Based on numerous interviews, Gallentine delivers a rich variety of stories involving the men and women, American and Russian, responsible for such groundbreaking endeavors as the Mars Viking missions of the 1970s and the Soviet Venera flights to Venus in the 1980s. From the dreamers responsible for the Venus landing who discovered that dropping down through heavy clouds of sulfuric acid and 900-degree heat was best accomplished by surfing to the five-man teams puppeteering the Soviet moon rovers from a top-secret, off-the-map town without a name, the people who come to life in these pages persevered in often trying, thankless circumstances. Their legacy is our better understanding of our own planet and our place in the cosmos"-- Provided by publisher