"On the fiftieth anniversary of the first lunar landing, acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley takes a fresh look at the American space program, President John F. Kennedy's inspiring challenge, and the race to the moon. Just months after being elected President of the United States, John F. Kennedy made an astonishing announcement to the nation: we would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In this engrossing epic of contemporary history,...

"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, began in 1958. With its creation, the United States hoped to ensure it won the space race against the Soviet Union. Author Sarah Fabiny describes the origins of NASA, the launching of the Apollo program that landed the first human on the moon, and the many missions and discoveries that have taken place since then. NASA has a rich history and still plays an important role in...

"The riveting true story of the women who launched America into space. During World War II, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate jet velocities and plot missile trajectories, they recruited an elite group of young women--known as human computers--who, with only pencil, paper, and mathematical prowess, transformed rocket design and helped bring about America's first ballistic missiles. But...

"As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their young wives. Overnight, these women were transformed from military spouses into American royalty. They had tea with Jackie Kennedy, appeared on the cover of Life magazine, and quickly grew into fashion icons. Annie Glenn, with her picture-perfect marriage, was the envy of the other wives; platinum-blonde Rene Carpenter...

"This narrative nonfiction work recounts the early years of air and space exploration and the daring exploits of America's first astronauts--both the men and women who were called upon to train."-- "In the 1960s, locked in a heated race to launch the first human into space, the United States selected seven superstar test pilots and former military air fighters to NASA's astronaut class -- the Mercury 7. The men endured grueling training and constant...

Presents the story of NASA's Apollo program and the lunar landings by American astronauts made between 1968 and 1972. Features rare archival footage and interviews with surviving astronauts.

Depicts, in brief verse and illustrations, the 1969 Apollo 11 mission when man first walked on the moon.

"In this follow-up to the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Chesapeake Requiem, Earl Swift rediscovers the final three Apollo Moon landings, arguing that these overlooked missions--distinguished by the use of the revolutionary Lunar Roving Vehicle--were the pinnacle of human exploration"-- December 12, 1972. Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt had flown nearly a quarter-million miles to the man in the moon's left eye, landed, and...

Less than 20 years after its founding, SpaceX boasts the largest constellation of commercial satellites in orbit, has pioneered reusable rockets, and in 2020 became the first private company to launch human beings into orbit. Berger takes readers inside the wild early days that made SpaceX. Focusing on the company's first four launches of the Falcon 1 rocket, he charts the bumpy journey from scrappy underdog to aerospace pioneer. He draws upon interviews...