A Runaway Train in Space ...a Supersonic Cyclone over the Great Plains ...Air Traffic Controllers Swilling Coffee While the Sky Falls ...A General Strike on the Moon ...a M.U.S.H. Gone Too Far ...Keep-Away on a Space Station and a Loving, Toxic Touch...Short Stories of the 21st Century that will drag you back for more Short-story collection, ASCENT STAGE. Fourth Edition Regular Print Trade Softcover Only at lulu.com and selected sf trade shows in USA
Chief engineer Thomas J. Kelly gives a firsthand account of designing, building, testing, and flying the Apollo lunar module. It was, he writes, “an aerospace engineer’s dream job of the century.” Kelly’s account begins with the imaginative process of sketching solutions to a host of technical challenges with an emphasis on safety, reliability, and maintainability. He catalogs numerous test failures, including propulsion-system leaks, ascent-engine instability, stress corrosion of the aluminum alloy parts, and battery problems, as well as their fixes under the ever-present constraints of budget and schedule. He also recaptures the exhilaration of hearing Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong report that “The Eagle has landed,” and the pride of having inadvertently provided a vital “lifeboat” for the crew of the disabled Apollo 13.
The incredible story of spaceflight before the establishment of NASA. NASA's history is a familiar story, one that typically peaks with Neil Armstrong taking his small step on the Moon in 1969. But America's space agency wasn't created in a vacuum. It was assembled from pre-existing parts, drawing together some of the best minds the non-Soviet world had to offer. In the 1930s, rockets were all the rage in Germany, the focus both of scientists hoping to fly into space and of the German armed forces, looking to circumvent the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. One of the key figures in this period was Wernher von Braun, an engineer who designed the rockets that became the devastating V-2. As the war came to its chaotic conclusion, von Braun escaped from the ruins of Nazi Germany, and was taken to America where he began developing missiles for the US Army. Meanwhile, the US Air Force was looking ahead to a time when men would fly in space, and test pilots like Neil Armstrong were flying cutting-edge, rocket-powered aircraft in the thin upper atmosphere. Breaking the Chains of Gravity tells the story of America's nascent space program, its scientific advances, its personalities and the rivalries it caused between the various arms of the US military. At this point getting a man in space became a national imperative, leading to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, otherwise known as NASA.
Allow me to blast a ray of sunshine through the murky clouds hovering over advertising agencies and marketing departments alike. If you've got talent, I can keep you from rolling an embarrassing string of gutter balls. Chew With Your Mind Open is here to make it make sense to the degree that advertising ever will. The politics. The personalities. The nonstop problems in need of smart and effective solutions. I was lucky. I had a great thinker in my corner for over two decades. A rock-solid, real-live 24/7 mentor. My father, Guy Day, knew the advertising racket well and was no stranger to remarkable creative work. He co-founded Chiat/Day as a writer and was the agency's president, twice. My dad helped inspire some of the best advertising of the 20th century, Apple's "1984" Super Bowl spot for example. He also inspired me. What my father gave me, is what I'm now ready to give you. Just enough big-picture guidance to be dangerous. My advice can keep you from falling into unproductive time-sucks and sinking in conceptual quicksand. I'll help you avoid the chronic wallowing, unneeded politicking, and blame game that's all too common in the business. I'll help you develop good habits that will serve you well in the worst of times. Throughout my book, I'll share how I got -- and still get -- my best thinking through the gauntlet without collecting a huge assortment of knives in my back. Granted, a few of them will be unavoidable. I'll address that part, too. My knowledge comes from real-life experiences, and my book is broken down by subject and is served one easily digestible nugget at a time. Sometimes my experiences are funny, other times embarrassing, but they always reveal an underlying truth and a learning opportunity that could spare you some scar tissue. Along the way, readers will be in the room with me as I present work, defend it, debate clients, and push the best thinking forward.
“This behind-the-scenes look at the first Apollo moon landing has the feel of a public television documentary in its breadth and detail” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Here is a rare perspective on a story we only thought we knew. For Apollo 11, the first moon landing, is a story that belongs to many, not just the few and famous. It belongs to the seamstress who put together twenty-two layers of fabric for each space suit. To the engineers who created a special heat shield to protect the capsule during its fiery reentry. It belongs to the flight directors, camera designers, software experts, suit testers, telescope crew, aerospace technicians, photo developers, engineers, and navigators. Gathering direct quotes from some of these folks who worked behind the scenes, Catherine Thimmesh reveals their very human worries and concerns. Culling NASA transcripts, national archives, and stunning NASA photos from Apollo 11, she captures not only the sheer magnitude of this feat but also the dedication, ingenuity, and perseverance of the greatest team ever—the team that worked to first put man on that great gray rock in the sky. Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award “An edge-of-your-seat adventure . . . Lavishly illustrated . . . This exhilarating book . . . will captivate.” —Chicago Sun-Times “Thimmesh gives names and voices to the army that got Neil Armstrong and company to the moon and back. The result is a spectacular and highly original addition to the literature of space exploration.” —The Horn Book “This beautiful and well-documented tribute will introduce a new generation to that triumphant time.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
