Forever Young : A Life of Adventure in Air and Space

by Young, John W.; Hansen, James R. (CON); Collins, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780813042091
• ISBN10: 0813042097
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-09-16
• Publisher: UNIV PR OF FLORIDA (SD)

Summary

He walked on the Moon. He flew six space missions in three different programs-more than any other human. He served with NASA for more than four decades. His peers called him the "astronaut's astronaut." Enthusiasts of space exploration have long waited for John Young to tell the story of his two Gemini flights, his two Apollo missions, the first-ever Space Shuttle flight, and the first Spacelab mission. Forever Youngdelivers all that and more: Young's personal journey from engineering graduate to fighter pilot, to test pilot, to astronaut, to high NASA official, to clear-headed predictor of the fate of Planet Earth. Young, with the assistance of internationally distinguished aerospace historian James Hansen, recounts the great episodes of his amazing flying career in fascinating detail and with wry humor. He portrays astronauts as ordinary human beings and NASA as an institution with the same ups and downs as other major bureaucracies. He frankly discusses the risks of space travel, including what went wrong with the Challengerand Columbiashuttles. Forever Youngis one of the last memoirs produced by an early American astronaut. It is the first memoir written by a chief of the NASA astronaut corps. Young's experiences and candor make this book indispensable to everyone interested in the U.S. space program.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Prologue: "Go" or "No-Go"	p. 1
A Flying Career
From Cartersville to Georgia Tech	p. 9
Gunnery Officer to Naval Aviator	p. 23
Fighter Pilot to Test Pilot	p. 32
Pax River	p. 42
Into Orbit
The New Nine and Project Gemini	p. 57
Countdown	p. 71
Three Orbits	p. 79
Dual Rendezvous	p. 86
Lunar Journeys
From a Fire to the Moon	p. 111
Call Sign Charlie Brown	p. 125
From Tranquility to a Lost Moon	p. 140
To the Descartes Highlands	p. 152
In the Briar Patch	p. 172
The End of Moon Landings	p. 191
The Shuttle Era
Enterprise	p. 213
"The Boldest Test Flight in History"	p. 223
Advent of the "Operational" Shuttle	p. 240
A Steep Spiral Staircase	p. 254
The Challenger Disaster	p. 272
A Mountain of Memos	p. 295
"The Next Logical Step"	p. 320
On a Wing and a Prayer	p. 332
Epilogue: When Worlds Collide	p. 356
Abbreviations	p. 375
Notes	p. 379
Index	p. 403
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