Riding Rockets : The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut

Cover; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; 1. Bowels and Brains; 2. Adventure; 3. Polio; 4. Sputnik; 5. Selection; 6. The Space Shuttle; 7. Arrested Development; 8. Welcome; 9. Babes and Booze; 10. Temples of History; 11. The F\*\*\*ing New Guys; 12. Speed; 13. Training; 14. Adventures in Public Speaking; 15. Columbia; 16. Pecking Order; 17. Prime Crew; 18. Donna; 19. Abort; 20. MECO; 21. Orbit; 22. Coming to America; 23. Astronaut Wings; 24. Part-time Astronauts; 25. The Golden Age; 26. Challenger; 27. Castle Intrigue; 28. Falling; 29. Change; 30. Mission Assignment; 31. God Falls;In 1978, the first group of space shuttle astronauts, 29 men and six women, were introduced to the world. USAF Colonel Mike Mullane was a member of this astronaut class, and this is his story. Mullane strips the heroic veneer from the astronaut corps and paints them as they are--human, with tales of military flyboys, feminist pioneers and post-doc scientists. He portrays every aspect of the astronaut experience, and is brutally honest in his criticism of a NASA leadership whose bungling would precipitate the Challenger disaster.--From publisher description.

on February 1, 1978, The First Group Of Space Shuttle Astronauts, Twenty-nine Men And Six Women, Were Introduced To The World. Among Them Would Be History Makers, Including The First American Woman And The First African American In Space. This Assembly Of Astronauts Would Carry Nasa Through The Most Tumultuous Years Of The Space Shuttle Program. Four Would Die On challenger.

Usaf Colonel Mike Mullane Was A Member Of This Astronaut Class, And riding Rockets Is His Story -- Told With A Candor Never Before Seen In An Astronaut's Memoir. Mullane Strips The Heroic Veneer From The Astronaut Corps And Paints Them As They Are -- Human. His Tales Of Arrested Development Among Military Flyboys Working With Feminist Pioneers And Post-doc Scientists Are Sometimes Bawdy, Often Hilarious, And Always Entertaining.

Mullane Vividly Portrays Every Aspect Of The Astronaut Experience -- From Telling A Female Technician Which Urine-collection Condom Size Is A Fit; To Walking Along A Florida Beach In A Last, Tearful Goodbye With A Spouse; To A Wild, Intoxicating, Terrifying Ride Into Space; To Hearing Taps Played Over A Friend's Grave. Mullane Is Brutally Honest In His Criticism Of A Nasa Leadership Whose Bungling Would Precipitate The challenger Disaster.

riding Rockets Is A Story Of Life In All Its Fateful Uncertainty, Of The Impact Of A Family Tragedy On A Nine-year-old Boy, Of The Revelatory Effect Of A Machine Called Sputnik, And Of The Life-steering Powers Of Lust, Love, And Marriage. It Is A Story Of The Human Experience That Will Resonate Long After The Call Of Wheel Stop.

publishers Weekly

with A Testosterone-fueled Swagger And A Keen Eye For Particulars, Mullane Takes Readers Into The High-intensity, High-stress World Of The Shuttle Astronaut In This Rough-hewn Yet Charming Yarn Of Low-rent Antics, Bureaucratic Insanity And Transcendent Beauty. Mullane Opens This Tale Face Down On A Doctor's Table Awaiting A Colorectal Exam That Will Determine His Fitness For Astronaut Training. I Was Determined When The Nasa Proctologist Looked Up My Ass, He Would See Pipes So Dazzling He Would Ask The Nurse To Get His Sunglasses, He Writes, Setting The Tone For The Crude And Often Hilarious Story That Follows. Chosen As A Trainee In 1978, Mullane, A Vietnam Vet, Quickly Finds Himself At Odds With The Buttoned-up Post-apollo Nasa World Of Scientists, Technocrats And Civilian Astronauts He Describes As Tree-huggers, Dolphin Friendly Fish Eaters, Vegetarians, And Subscribers To The New York Times. He Holds Female Astronauts In Special Disregard, Though He Later Grudgingly Acknowledges The Achievement And Heroism Of Both The Civilians And Women. The Book Hits Its Stride With Mullane's Space Adventures: A Difficult Takeoff, The Shift Into Zero Gravity, His First View Of The Earth From Space: To Say The View Was Overwhelmingly Beautiful Would Be An Insult To God. (feb. 14) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Selected as a Mission Specialist in 1978 in the first group of shuttle astronauts, Mike Mullane completed three missions and logged 356 hours aboard the Discovery and Atlantis shuttles. It was a dream come true. As a boy, Mullane could only read about space travel in science fiction, but the launch of Sputnik changed all that. Space flight became a possible dream and Mike Mullane set out to make it come true. In this absorbing memoir, Mullane gives the first-ever look into the often hilarious, sometime volatile dynamics of space shuttle astronauts - a class that included Vietnam War veterans, feminists, and propeller-headed scientists. With unprecedented candour, Mullane describes the chilling fear and unparalleled joy of space flight. As his career centred around the Challenger disaster, Mullane also recounts the heartache of burying his friends and colleagues. And he pulls no punches as he reveals the ins and outs of NASA, frank in his criticisms of the agency. A blast from start to finish, Riding Rockets is a straight-from-the-gut account of what it means to be an astronaut, just in time for this latest generation of stargazers Cover Dedication Contents Acknowledgments 1. Bowels and Brains 2. Adventure 3. Polio 4. Sputnik 5. Selection 6. The Space Shuttle 7. Arrested Development 8. Welcome 9. Babes and Booze 10. Temples of History 11. The F***ing New Guys 12. Speed 13. Training 14. Adventures in Public Speaking 15. Columbia 16. Pecking Order 17. Prime Crew 18. Donna 19. Abort 20. MECO 21. Orbit 22. Coming to America 23. Astronaut Wings 24. Part-time Astronauts 25. The Golden Age 26. Challenger 27. Castle Intrigue 28. Falling 29. Change 30. Mission Assignment 31. God Falls 32. Swine Flight33. Classified Work 34. "No reason to die all tensed up" 35. Riding a Meteor 36. Christie and Annette 37. Widows 38. "I have no plans past MECO" 39. Holding at Nine and Hurting 40. Last Orbits 41. The White House 42. Journey's End Epilogue Glossary Photographs Copyright Loved by Jon Stewart (The Daily Showon Channel 4), lavishly praised by Entertainment Weekly, profiled in The New York Times Science section, and reprinted four times, Mike Mullane's laugh-out-loud, attention-grabbing memoir about his life as an astronaut is finally available in paperback. A memoir of the author's career with the space shuttle program describes his work as a Mission Specialist in the first group of shuttle astronauts, and hundreds of hours spent aboard Discovery and Atlantis.