Flight My Life in Mission Control

by Kraft, Christopher

• ISBN13: 9780452283046
• ISBN10: 0452283043
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-02-26
• Publisher: Plume

Summary

In his New York Timesbestseller, Chris Kraft delivers an unforgettable account of his life in Mission Control. The first NASA flight director, Kraft emerged from boyhood in small-town America to become a visionary who played an integral role in what would become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It's all here, from the legendary Mercury missions that first sent Americans into space through the Gemini and Apollo missions that landed them on the moon. The great heroes of space are here, too-Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Buzz Aldrin-leading the space race that would change the course of U.S. history. From NASA's infancy to its greatest triumphs . . . from the calculated gambles to the near disasters to the pure luck that accompanied each mission, Flight relives the spellbinding events that captured the imagination of the world. It is a stirring tribute to the U.S. space program and to the men who risked their lives to take America on a flight into the unknown-from the man who was there for it all. "A highly readable memoir." (The New York Times Book Review) "A rewarding look at the brief, shining moment when space pathfinders held sway over space warriors." (The Washington Post)

Author Biography

Chris Kraft was the director of the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, from 1972 to 1982. Since his retirement from federal service, he has served as an aerospace consultant to Rockwell International, IBM, and other companies.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Preface	1	(8)
Section I: A Boy from Phoebus
Raised in a Town That No Longer Exists	9	(17)
The Boy Becomes a Man	26	(24)
Flight Tests and a Stubborn Marine	50	(11)
Section II: The Mercury Missions
Reds and Red Tape	61	(17)
Inventing Mission Control	78	(18)
Rockets	96	(17)
``We're Go, Flight''	113	(19)
Launch Day	132	(17)
Around the World in Ninety Minutes	149	(13)
The Man Malfunctioned	162	(9)
The End of Mercury	171	(16)
Section III: The Gemini Missions
How Do You Get a Man to the Moon?	187	(21)
Space Walk	208	(17)
How We Left the Russians Behind	225	(23)
Out of Control	248	(9)
Blinded in Space	257	(12)
Section IV: The Apollo Missions
``We're on Fire!''	269	(14)
Suddenly the Moon Comes Up	283	(19)
The Last Few Steps	302	(9)
...And a Giant Leap	311	(15)
Inevitably, Apollo Changes	326	(7)
Near Failure and Great Successes	333	(7)
Good-bye to the Moon	340	(9)
Epilogue	349	(7)
Index	356