Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon - Softcover

Burgess, Colin; Doolan, Kate; Vis, Bert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0803262124 ISBN 13: 9780803262126

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 2003

Synopsis

Near the end of the Apollo 15 mission, David Scott and fellow moonwalker James Irwin conducted a secret ceremony unsanctioned by NASA: they placed on the lunar soil a small tin figurine called “The Fallen Astronaut,” along with a plaque bearing a list of names. This book enriches the saga of mankind’s greatest scientific undertaking, Project Apollo, and conveys the human cost of the space race – by telling the stories of those sixteen astronauts and cosmonauts who died reaching for the moon.

 

Many people are aware of the Apollo launch pad disaster in which three men lost their lives, but few know of the other five fallen astronauts whose stories this book tells as well: among them, Ted Freeman and C.C. Williams, who died in the crashes of their -38 jets; the “Gemini Twins,” Charlie Bassett and Elliot See, killed when their jet slammed into the building where their Gemini capsule was undergoing final construction; and Ed Givens, whose fatal car crash has until now been obscured by rumors. The extraordinary lives and accomplishments of these and other fallen astronauts – including eight Russian cosmonauts who lost their lives during training – unfold here in intimate and compelling detail, supported by extensive interviews and archival material. Their stories return us to a stirring time in the history of our nation and remind us of the cost of fulfilling our dreams.

About this title

About the Author

Colin Burgess is the author of books on space flight, including Teacher in Space: Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger Legacy (Nebraska 2000). Kate Doolan is a co-author of Australia Post’s 1992 International Space Yearbook, Mission to Planet Earth. Bert Vis is a Dutch space analyst who conducts research on the Soviet/CIS Space program. Captain Eugene A. Cernan lives and works in Texas, and is the author of the The Last Man on the Moon.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803262124
• ISBN 13: 9780803262126
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272