Overview

From the longest-serving Flight Director in NASA's history, comes a revealing first-person account of the high-stakes work of Mission Control and the captivating story of the Space Shuttle program that has redefined our relationship with the universe.A compelling look inside the Space Shuttle missions that helped lay the groundwork for the Space Age, Shuttle, Houston explores the determined personalities, technological miracles, and eleventh-hour saves that have given us human spaceflight. Relaying stories of missions (and their grueling training) in vivid detail, Paul Dye, NASA's longest-serving Flight Director, examines the split-second decisions that the directors and astronauts were forced to make in a field where mistakes are unthinkable, where errors led to the loss of national resources-and more importantly one's crew. Dye's stories from the heart of Mission Control explain the mysteries of flying the Shuttle-from the powerful fiery ascent to the majesty of on-orbit operations to the high-speed and critical re-entry and landing of a hundred-ton glider. The Space Shuttles flew 135 missions. Astronauts conducted space walks, captured satellites, and docked with the Mir Space Station, bringing space into our everyday life, from GPS to satellite TV. Shuttle, Houston puts readers in his own seat at Mission Control, the hub that made humanity's leap into a new frontier possible.

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9781549188374

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An excellent portrait of Mission Control, the teams, and the later missions. This should be required reading for anyone aspiring to be part of human space flight. -- Gene Kranz, Former Flight Director, NASA, and New York Times bestselling author

An excellent portrait of Mission Control, the teams, and the later missions. This should be required reading for anyone aspiring to be part of human space flight. -- Gene Kranz, Former Flight Director, NASA, and author Failure Is Not an Option

Author Information

Paul Dye has over forty years of aviation experience as an engineer, builder, and pilot. He earned his degree in Aeronautical Engineering with a specialization in aircraft design and flight testing from the University of Minnesota in 1982. He retired from NASA in 2013 as the longest-serving Flight Director in U.S. history, having been involved in thirty-nine missions as a Flight Director, nine of those as the lead Flight Director. He has received a NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, a NASA Exceptional Service Medal (three times), and a Presidential Medal. Dye is now a leadership consultant and speaker, as well as the former Editor-in-Chief (currently Editor-at-Large) of Kitplanes magazine. John Pruden is an Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator. His exposure to many people, places, and experiences throughout his life provides a deep creative well from which he draws his narrative and vocal characterizations. His narration of The Killing of Crazy Horse by Thomas Powers was chosen by the Washington Post as a Best Audiobook of 2010.

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