Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space (Bluejacket Books) - Softcover

Ryan, Craig

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1591147484 ISBN 13: 9781591147480

Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 2003

Synopsis

In the 1950s and early 1960s a small fraternity of daring, brilliant men made the first exploratory trips into the upper stratosphere, reaching the edge of outer space in tiny capsules suspended beneath plastic balloons. This book tells the story of these tenacious men as they laboured on the cusp of a new age, seeing things that no one had ever seen and experiencing conditions no one was sure they could survive. <br><br>Mostly U.S. Air Force and Navy officers, among them doctors, physicists, meteorologists, engineers, astronomers, and test pilots, they struggled with meagre budgets, bureaucratic politics, and one another. It is a thrilling story of tremendous personal sacrifice and great risk for the promise of adventure and the opportunity to uncover a few precious aspects of the universe. Capt. Joseph Kittinger, for example, rode a balloon up to 103,000 feet in an open gondola and then stepped out and freefell to Earth, becoming the only person to break the sound barrier without a vehicle. Lt. Col. David Simons stayed aloft for a full day and night in a primitive pressurized capsule to become one of the first to see the curvature of the planet. In this work, Craig Ryan masterfully captures the drama of their spectacular achievements and those of many of the other space pioneers who made America's stratospheric balloon programs possible.

About this title

Review:

"Comprehensive" Air and Space

"Craig Ryan superbly narrates harrowing moments experienced by the balloonists." The Houston Chronicle

"An absolute feast of information." Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1591147484
• ISBN 13: 9781591147480
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 344