Apollo 13

Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

by Gene Kranz  · 7 Jan 2000  · 549pp  · 162,164 words

AN OPTION 1 THE FOUR-INCH FLIGHT “Houston, we have a problem.” At some time in the hours that followed that terse announcement from Apollo 13, many of us in NASA’s Mission Control Center wondered if we were going to lose the crew. Each of us had indelible memories of

…

come from Gemini. It had a profound effect on our future success as flight controllers. The lesson learned on Gemini 8 would be invaluable on Apollo 13. 9 THE ANGRY ALLIGATOR Spring 1966 John Hodge departed the ranks of Gemini flight directors to prepare for the unmanned Apollo Saturn rocket flight testing

…

The general public, of course, knows the main flights in the lunar sequence by number—G was Apollo 11, H2 the all-too-well-named Apollo 13, and so forth. The summer and fall of 1967 were the busiest times I had ever known. Nothing seemed stable. Change was constant. The

…

,” symbolized the first mission of the new decade as well as the challenge and excitement of the increasingly difficult and risky lunar missions. When the Apollo 13 crew named their LM Aquarius, the song moved to the “top of the pops” for the controllers. The CSM was dubbed Odyssey. Lunar exploration

…

began in earnest after the pinpoint landing of Apollo 12. Mission targeting moved to more difficult and hazardous landing areas. The landing point for Apollo 13 was a target 3,000 feet in diameter, located north of a large crater dubbed Fra Mauro. The crater was located in a geologic formation

…

was no stranger to the MCC teams. After two days of refresher training he was ready to go. I was the lead flight director on Apollo 13, a transition mission in many ways. The new flight directors, Griffin, Frank, and Windler, were pulling more weight, preparing to alternate the lead responsibility

…

another option. By the time someone graduated to the front room consoles either he was ready—or he was gone before he got there. The Apollo 13 flight director chemistry was unique. Windler and I were jet fighter pilots; Griffin flew as a radar operator. For the first time we were

…

on a mission. Lunney, the fourth flight director, was the last of the original flight dynamics officers, the master of his craft. April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 Milt Windler, a veteran of three Apollo missions, drew the launch flight director’s assignment. He had earned his spurs as a test director in

…

emulated Charlesworth’s low-key and patient demeanor. He was fully in command of his team when the moment came to light the fire on Apollo 13. The liftoff occurred at 13:13 Central Daylight Time, and proceeded uneventfully through first-stage flight. The five engines of the second stage of

…

gimlet-eyed focus on the job at hand while gathering their reserves for what lay ahead. With the exception of the live TV broadcast from Apollo 13, my second shift of the mission was also uneventful. Mattingly had been pestering us for access to the MCC, his medical status still indefinite.

…

would speak out if needed. Kraft went up to brief the NASA brass, who had congregated in the viewing room, on our plan to get Apollo 13 home. The Trench returned to their consoles to start developing the return trajectory plan and brief their back room. The systems guys would have to

…

would routinely shift every eight hours, with Lunney, Griffin, and Windler steering the return course. But at this moment the battle for the return of Apollo 13 shifted to the back rooms and factories where the components were assembled and tested. We needed their data and we needed it fast. We needed

…

a turning point in the struggle to get our guys home, anchoring the return time and placing many tough decisions behind us. Two hours after Apollo 13 passed behind the Moon, the crew ignited the small descent engine designed for the Moon landing, burning for four and a half minutes and increasing

…

options was our business, and options remained as long as there was power, water, oxygen, and propellant. My controllers kept finding options. April 17, 1970, Apollo 13—Reentry Three hours before dawn, the White Team took its place next to Windler’s Maroon Team controllers. The eighty hours of uncertainty were now

…

only when the crew is on the carrier and we have handed our responsibility to the aircraft carrier task force commander. When this happened on Apollo 13 we finally realized that Flight Control and the people in the back rooms, factories, and laboratories had won the day. Our crew was home.

…

bowls were engraved, the lawyers decided we could keep them.) I think everyone, once in his life, should be given a ticker-tape parade. The Apollo 13 debriefing had few surprises. We learned that the tank failure was due to a combination of a design flaw, mishandling during change-out, a draining

…

range for the heater temperatures. The debriefing party at the Hofbraugarten was merciless, beginning with a parody of the mission. The tape prepared by the Apollo 13 backup crew and the CapComs was not for the thin-skinned. The parody began and ended with the “immortal words” Liebergot and I exchanged early

…

understand that, Sy” were forever embedded in memory. There were no more missions in 1970. After we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on Apollo 13, the rest of the year was a time of change, hard work, and frustration as further cuts were ordered in the flight schedule. Winners,

…

a grab bag of other experiments. The Skylab space station would use the leftover hardware from the canceled Apollo missions. During the period after the Apollo 13 mission, a small team of controllers continued to follow the redesign of the oxygen system, while others were reassigned to the developing Skylab program. John

…

, the crew of Apollo 14 had named the spaceship the Kitty Hawk. Apollo 14 lifted off on the last day in January, headed for the Apollo 13 landing site, Fra Mauro. Alan Shepard, the first American in space, was the mission commander. Shepard had been scheduled to lead one of the

…

the Moon on the final orbit, one hour before starting the lunar descent. All was looking good in both spacecraft and in the MCC. After Apollo 13, the controllers’ console warning light logic had been reversed to aid the controller in rapidly recognizing a changing status in critical systems. Of the hundreds

…

his engine systems. “Gerry, I’m Go,” he confirmed. “All of the data is in correctly. The abort program is bypassed.” Fred Haise, the Apollo 13 LM pilot, then talked Mitchell through the rest of the workaround procedure. With a lyrical comment from Alan Shepard—“It’s a beautiful day to

…

Providence watched over us all. Kraft was now preoccupied with the future and his inevitable promotion to MSC director. Seated in Kraft’s chair since Apollo 13 was Sig Sjoberg. In many ways, I felt vaguely uncomfortable without Kraft in charge, almost as if he were our bearer of good luck,

…

be scrubbed and the lunar phase of the mission would be terminated. The TEI maneuver would be performed while docked to the LM, like on Apollo 13, to provide a backup engine to return to earth.) When the burn for the maneuver was scrubbed, Griffin temporarily waved off the LM descent

…

a high-tech management consulting firm. • Gerry Griffin became director of the Johnson Space Center, president of the Houston Chamber of Commerce, consulted on the Apollo 13 movie, and as an actor has appeared in several space-related movies. • Jerry Bostick became Space Shuttle program deputy manager, and after NASA retirement, vice

…

president of Grumman Space Operations. He consulted on the Apollo 13 movie and the TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. • Arnie Aldrich was named the NASA headquarters director of the Space Shuttle program after

…

Bender, who made this book a reality. Andy Chaikin, author of A Man on the Moon, and Al Reinart, one of the scriptwriters for the Apollo 13 movie, got me started. They coached me on writing a book proposal, developing an outline, and using a storyboard. The completed outline showed me

…

Rose Knot Victor ship TEX Used as a training site only INDEX Aaron, John and Apollo 1 fire and Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 and Apollo 13 crisis Abort in mission rules training sessions Abort command Abort switch problem Agena Africa tracking sites Air Force Agena upper-stage rocket Atlas program Fighting

…

69th man in space program satellite missions 6555th test wing Aldrich, Arnold (Arnie) and Apollo 13 crisis Aldrin, Edwin (Buzz) Apollo 11 as CapCom EVA training America American flag on Moon American public and space program Anders, William Apollo Anderson Anderton

…

fire Apollo 4 Apollo 5 Apollo 6 Apollo 7 Apollo 8 Apollo 9 Apollo 10 Apollo 11 astronaut badge phase assignments Apollo 12 lightning strike Apollo 13 explosion reentry Apollo 14 Apollo 15 Apollo 16 Apollo 17 Apollo 18 Apollo 19 Apollo Application Program Apollo missions canceled duration of final splashdown parties

…

Let the Sun Shine In,” Arabian, Don Armed Forces Judo Association Armstrong, Neil Apollo 11 Gemini 8 remote site assignment Army Redstone Arsenal Astronauts in Apollo 13 crisis resolution ejection expected loss of experiments performed by food hands-on control of spacecraft and Mercury Control Mercury Seven and Mission Control relationship with

…

Jack Collins, Mike Apollo 11 Columbia Columbus, Christopher Command and control principle Command and Service Module (CSM) Apollo 7 Apollo 9 Apollo 11 Apollo 12 Apollo 13 Apollo 14 Apollo 15 Apollo 17 “funnies” in modifications to power provided by qualifying testing Command module Apollo missions Communications blackout(s) Communications system remote

…

Gemini missions by Russians Doctors see also Flight surgeons Doerner, George Douglas, Bill Dowling, Jack Dual launch capability Dual launch missions Duke, Charlie Apollo 11 Apollo 13 Apollo 16 “Dumb shit medals” (DSM) E mission Eagle Earth Resources Project Office Echo check Eisele, Donn Eisenhower, Dwight Ejection seats Electrochemistry Ellington Air

…

Force Base Officers Club Endeavour Engineering Directorate Engineers Apollo and Apollo 13 crisis based at Space Task Group headquarters becoming operators recruiting and rockets Enos (chimpanzee) Ernull, Bob Ernst, Jack Erwin, Sue Escape tower Eshelman (Teletype

…

operator) EVA (extravehicular activity) Apollo 9 Apollo 11 Apollo 13 Apollo 15 Apollo 16 Apollo 17 Apollo missions Gemini 4 Gemini 9 Evans, Ron Apollo 17 Experiment Packages Experiment Systems Branch Experiments F-86F Sabre

…

Simulation Branch Flight Control Operations Branch Flight control team Apollo 11 emblem training of Flight directors colors retired debates among dual honorary title honored for Apollo 13, crisis resolution identifying colors job description lead mandate need for information pre-mission period and NASA management new generation of press conferences role of training

…

and EVA Flight tests manned Four-inch Flight Frank, Pete Freedom 7 Freeman, Ted Frenchman’s Flat Friendship 7 Fucci, Jim Fuel cells Apollo 12 Apollo 13 “Funnies” (anomalies, glitches) Gagarin, Yuri Gardner, Spencer Garman, Jack Gemini 1 Gemini 2 Gemini 3 Gemini 4 Gemini 5 Gemini 6 second launch attempt

…

Gilruth, Robert became director of Manned Spacecraft Center Gimbal lock Glenn, John as CapCom orbital flight Go NoGo criteria for Go NoGo decisions Apollo 11 Apollo 13 reentry Gemini-Titan Mercury-Atlas 6 Mercury-Atlas 9 Go NoGo mission rules EVA Go NoGo points Goddard, Robert Goddard Space Flight Center “Goddard voice

…

Littrow, Johann von Llewellyn, John and Captain Refsmmat and Gemini missions judo reassigned Loden, Hal Loss of signal (LOS) Lousma, Jack Lovell, Jim Apollo 8 Apollo 13 Gemini 7 Low, George Lunar exploration Lunar gravity Lunar landing Apollo 11 Apollo 15 Apollo 16 first reasons to abort rehearsal for second Lunar mission

…

plan Lunar missions alternate phases of Lunar module (LM) Apollo 5 Apollo 9 Apollo 11 Apollo 12 Apollo 13 Apollo 14 Apollo 15 Apollo 16 Apollo 17 “funnies” in modifications in orbital flight test tests see also Computers: lunar module Lunar orbit Lunar orbit

…

Schweickart, Rusty Science and Applications Directorate Scientists Scott, Dave Apollo 9 Apollo 15 field geology trip Gemini 8 Scott, Gary Sealab See, Elliott Service module Apollo 13 redesign of Service propulsion system (SPS) Shaffer, Phil Shea, Joe Shepard, Alan Apollo 14 Cape CapCom first manned mission MCC MR-3 walk on Moon

…

11 MA-3 Simulation technology Simulations Apollo 9 Apollo 11 Gemini 7 Gemini 76 launch Singing Wheel Sjoberg, Sigurd Skylab Slayton, Donald K. (Deke) and Apollo 13 crisis Apollo program coordinator of astronaut corps irregular heartbeat and remote site assignments responsibilities of Sousa, John Philip Soviet Union first space walk joint missions

…

standard time for Trans-Earth coast (TEC) Trans-Earth injection (TEI) Translunar coast (TLC) Translunar injection (TLI) Trench, The Apollo 8 Apollo 11 Apollo 12 Apollo 13 Apollo 14 Apollo 16 Apollo 17 Apollo missions Apollo simulations “Captain Refsmmat” Gemini 6 Gemini 8 Lunney ran Trust UHF-6 test United States State

…

Weather decisions/delays Webb, James Western Electric Whifferdills White, Ed Apollo 1 death of EVA White, Ted White Sands White Team Apollo 5 Apollo 11 Apollo 13 Apollo 15 Apollo 16 Apollo 17 Apollo missions Gemini missions Lewis assumed command of Williams, C. C. Williams, John Williams, Walt Mercury-Atlas 6

Never Panic Early: An Apollo 13 Astronaut's Journey

by Fred Haise and Bill Moore  · 4 Apr 2022  · 263pp  · 72,899 words

Gary Tooth / Empire Design Studio Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Haise, Fred, 1933- author. | Moore, Bill, author. Title: Never panic early : an Apollo 13 astronaut’s journey / Fred Haise with Bill Moore. Identifiers: LCCN 2021053466 (print) | LCCN 2021053467 (ebook) | ISBN 9781588347138 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781588347145 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Haise, Fred

…

, 1933- | United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration–Biography. | Apollo 13 (Spacecraft) | Astronauts–United States–Biography. | Space flight–History. Classification: LCC TL789.85.H35 A3 2022 (print) | LCC TL789.85.H35 (ebook) | DDC 629.450092 [B

…

flight director for the successful flight tests of the two lunar modules that Haise developed and tested in the Grumman plant. His description of the Apollo 13 oxygen tank explosion as one of his never panic early experiences relays a close and personal sense of the event. My team and I had

…

faced mission crises before—the Gemini 8 emergency reentry to landing in the West Pacific was the closest call we had ever faced. Apollo 13, however, was a matter of survival. It was as tough a test as could be conceived and put to flight control. If there was any

…

, who at the time was a nurse at Langley. He later became a flight director and was a key leader in Mission Control during our Apollo 13 crisis. I was assigned to be a copilot for Joe Algranti on my first aircraft ferry run to Washington and Langley. The day was pretty

…

how to engage with an audience. I worked with a couple of individuals, including Gene Marianetti, who served as our protocol officer during the post-Apollo 13 travels. Gene prepared me for what we called “our week in the barrel,” which was a weeklong series of events—often several a day. I

…

I attended the meetings, assuming the role of NASA management. LM-7 Aquarius at the Grumman plant getting ready to go to KSC and its Apollo 13 adventure. Courtesy of Northrop Grumman Because of his vast experience and expertise, Tom Kelly was reassigned at Grumman on February 7, 1967. Since the schedule

…

level of diligence concerning the wiring bundles, along with the added requirement of thoroughly potting the electrical-connector interfaces, we would likely have not survived Apollo 13. An electrical short was prevented, despite our diminished power and the buildup of moisture that was visible on our control panel and wiring bundles. Major

…

out by the time I landed on the Moon. * * * — CHAPTER 9 ODYSSEY—A PERFECT NAME Jim, Ken, and I were assigned as prime crew for Apollo 13. So, it was back to the training routine for my third cycle, but this time I would be rewarded with flying to the Moon. The

…

of things going wrong. In events with the general public, I am often asked how we seemed so controlled in handling the inflight failure on Apollo 13. They were not aware of our training, where dealing with failures was business as usual. Ron Howard, doing his homework before filming the movie

…

Apollo 13, said that he listened to all the air-to-ground transmissions provided by NASA and it never seemed to him that we had a problem.

…

to observe and sample. Jim felt that our field training qualified our mission to be the first that officially prioritized science. He worked on the Apollo 13 patch design with Lumen Winters, a New York artist. The motto sewn into it boldly stated, Ex Luna, Scientia or “From the Moon, Knowledge.” We

…

no time for Jack to prepare his. There was a mix of emotion ranging from sadness, elation, and contentment to frustration. The new crew of Apollo 13: Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and me. There was no time to don our spacesuits after the last-minute crew change. Courtesy of NASA Normally, in

…

around the Moon and back to Earth for an entry. As it turned out, this was our only use of the SPS engine on the Apollo 13 Mission. Another one of those things overlooked in the hectic week leading up to the launch was Jack livening things up when his request for

…

philosophy was that God would not be so unkind as to give us more than one failure in one system simultaneously. In the case of Apollo 13, Murphy’s Law prevailed: “What can go wrong will go wrong.” The needles for oxygen tank 2, for both pressure and O2 quantity, read zero

…

BBC covered the situation throughout the night. Australian TV continuously scrawled bulletins across the screen. In America, all three major networks produced live coverage of Apollo 13—a mission they initially didn’t show much interest in. My handwritten calculations on my maneuver card to check if the available battery power and

…

Navy helicopter lowered a basket for each of us to board and be hoisted into the helicopter. NASA had our blue flight suits, sneakers, and Apollo 13 baseball caps there for us to wear for our grand entrance on the Iwo Jima aircraft carrier. Me, Jim Lovell, and Jack Swigert exiting the

…

pilot, and Charlie Duke, LM pilot. My training to go to the Moon was interrupted by the many post-Apollo 13 media events in the first six months. The requests for the Apollo 13 crew made our week in the barrel seem like a cake walk. In a Life magazine article, we wrote “Our

…

the time of their planned second lunar surface EVA. The EVA traverse on the flank of Cone Crater was what I had trained for on Apollo 13. I thought my experience might be of some help to Al and Ed. I enjoyed working through all the integrated simulations as a member of

…

Ed Mitchell. The Apollo 14 Mission launched on January 31, 1971, after a forty-minute weather delay. All of the spacecraft modifications recommended by the Apollo 13 Accident Board were accomplished within nine months. A potential mission-abort problem showed up as Stu Roosa attempted to dock with the LM-8 Antares

…

Mitchell, and John Young while on a training mission for Apollo 16. Courtesy of NASA Apollo 16 launched on April 16, 1972, two years after Apollo 13. As a good backup, I followed the mission from a position by the CapCom in Mission Control. This was the third time I observed others

…

. I was happy to be greeted by Guenter Wendt, the “Pad Fuhrer,” whom I worked with on close-out crews and who was there for Apollo 13’s launch at KSC. He was in charge of on-the-floor operations at Site 1. My first visit to Enterprise was on March 13

…

my head from swelling. He and I sat at the head table while I received the Gold Medal of New York Award in 1970 after Apollo 13. He told me that he had a basket of medals and said, “Never take yourself too seriously!” I understood what he meant, and I also

…

of our contract would oversee the review. Members of the group included Willis Hawkins and Ed Cortright, senior retired Lockheed executives. Ed had led the Apollo 13 Accident Board. Others joining were Owen Morris, retired NASA head of the Space Shuttle Integration Office; Jack Enders, head of the Flight Safety Foundation; and

…

a low-probability threat, though it received press coverage. Jim Lovell (right) and I reprise our end of mission wave at the unveiling of the Apollo 13 astronauts statue at JSC in Houston in 2021. Courtesy of Angela Alexander Amazingly, a number of spacecraft have rendezvoused, orbited, and landed on asteroids and

…

8 Mission (formerly Apollo 9 Mission), 84–92, 86, 116, 117, 140 Apollo 11 Mission, 92–98, 97, 140 Apollo 12 Mission, 126–27 Apollo 13 (film), 100 Apollo 13 Mission, 99–129, 104, 110, 113, 115,, 127, 128, 129, 135, 190 Apollo 14 Mission, 135–37 Apollo 16 Mission, 130, 135, 137, 138

…

Armstrong Flight Research Center (formerly Flight Research Center), 48–49 astronauts on the NASA team Apollo 8 Mission (formerly Apollo 9 Mission), 84, 86, 140 Apollo 13 Mission, 99, 103–04, 104, 127, 129, 190 Apollo 14 Mission, 135 Apollo 16 Mission, 130, 140 closeout crew, 90–91 Group One, 58 Original

…

, Emma Straub (“Danny”) (author’s grandmother), 3–4 Haise, Fred, Jr. Apollo 8 experiences, 84–92, 86, 140 Apollo 11 experiences, 92–98, 97, 140 Apollo 13 experiences, 99–129, 104, 115, 127, 129, 190 Apollo 14 experiences, 135–37 Apollo 16 experiences, 135, 137, 138–40, 139, 140 astronaut selection process

…

, 43 Navy R4D aircraft, 40–42 Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission, 191 Nelson, George, 81 Nelson, John, 156 “never panic early” situations Apollo 13 explosion and reentry, 109–27 Apollo 13 liftoff, 106 approaching MCAS Marine Masters (Miami), 30–32 Confederate Air Force, 146–47 F-86 fire, 37–38 free flight 1 SEP

…

shuttle carrier aircraft (SCA), 160–67, 166 S-IB Saturn rocket, 79 Silver, Lee, 100–01, 138 Sim-Sup group, 88, 100, 135 simulators before Apollo 13 Mission, 104–05 command module simulator (CMS), 85–86, 87–88 Enterprise orbiter, 156 flight simulator for advanced aircraft (FSAA), 159 LM simulator, 93 Sim

Apollo 13

by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger  · 14 Jun 2000  · 538pp  · 153,734 words

-3 ISBN 978-0-618-05665-1 eISBN 978-0-547-52623-2 v1.1015 This book was previously published as Lost Moon. Frontispiece: Official Apollo 13 emblem, courtesy of NASA This true adventure is dedicated to those earthbound astronauts: my wife, Marilyn, and my children, Barbara, Jay, Susan, and Jeffrey, who

…

still to be determined is an apparent loss of breathing oxygen in the command module. Mission Control confirms the seriousness of the problem. Repeating, the Apollo 13 astronauts are in no immediate danger, but the flight itself is in danger of being aborted.” As quickly as he appeared, Bergman vanished from the

…

at Gemini 12. Manned Apollo missions had started at Apollo 7, and with fourteen manned flights planned, NASA knew it would have to confront an Apollo 13 eventually. Bringing one of humanity’s greatest scientific endeavors eyeball to eyeball with one of its most enduring superstitions had an irresistible appeal, and most

…

Apollo 9, the lunar module’s maiden flight, the ship was nicknamed “Spider,” and the command module was called by an equally descriptive “Gumdrop.” For Apollo 13, Lovell had opted for names with a little more dignity, selecting “Odyssey” for his command module and “Aquarius” for his LEM. (The press had erroneously

…

, and had, like the bullets, done each other some serious damage. In the sixteen seconds following the beginning of the cryo stir, the astronauts of Apollo 13 were executing their next maneuvers and awaiting additional commands when a bang-whump-shudder shook the ship. Swigert, strapped in his seat, felt the spacecraft

…

. Chris Kraft, deputy director of the Manned Spacecraft Center and flight director during the Mercury and Gemini programs, was Kranz’s one-time mentor. During Apollo 13, he would see how well his successor had absorbed his lessons. Rookie astronaut Fred Haise, a leading candidate for one of NASA’s lunar landing

…

-like patch of ground at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Marking his fourth and final trip into space, Jim Lovell was chosen to command Apollo 13, the third lunar landing mission. At Ellington Air Force Base in Houston he answers reporters’ questions after test-piloting the lunar landing training vehicle. Jack

…

Swigert, Apollo 13’s backup command module pilot, was promoted to the prime crew when first-string pilot Ken Mattingly was exposed to German measles. The flight plan

…

, the crew of Apollo 14 (Stu Roosa, Ed Mitchell, and Alan Shepard) confer in Mission Control. The Apollo 14 crew was originally slated to fly Apollo 13, but after delays in Shepard, Roosa and Mitchell’s training schedule, Lovell agreed to swap missions and, significantly, spacecraft. Near the glassed-in VIP gallery

…

in Mission Control, a team of astronauts review data coming back from the blast-damaged Apollo 13. Left to right: chief astronaut Deke Slayton; Ken Mattingly, the grounded command module pilot; Vance Brand, a rookie astronaut and capsule communicator, or Capcom; Jack

…

Kraft, deputy director of the Manned Spacecraft Center; Bob Gilruth, director of the Manned Spacecraft Center. Less than five hours before splashdown, the crew of Apollo 13 jettisoned their service module, seeing for the first time the devastation wrought by the exploding oxygen tank. An entire external panel was blasted away, revealing

…

, was fresh. (Capt. L. E. Kirkemo) A troika of flight directors—Gene Kranz, Glynn Lunney, and Gerald Griffin—puff celebratory cigars in Mission Control after Apollo 13’s splashdown. Haise, Lovell, and Swigert wave to cheering sailors before going below for medical exams. According to the original flight plan, the recovery ship

…

flight. The process was painstaking, but with unlimited amps and unlimited hours at their disposal, NASA engineers preferred to be as careful as possible. With Apollo 13, Aaron would not have this luxury. He and Kranz ran some preliminary power projections and came up with some disquieting numbers. Assuming Odyssey’s third

…

, and the entire rescue crew—frogmen, chopper pilots, deck teams, spotters—would practice retrieving it. For several days, the recovery exercises for the return of Apollo 13 had been proceeding apace, toeing as closely as possible the line that Richmond’s recovery book had drawn. But now, on the spacecraft’s fourth

…

to copy.” “Roger that, Jim,” Kerwin said, letting his acknowledgment serve as his hello. “Whenever you’re ready.” For the next hour, the work aboard Apollo 13 had little more orderliness than a scavenger hunt, and little more technical elegance. With Kerwin reading from the list of supplies Smylie had provided him

…

eastern time tonight.” “Earlier this evening, White House news secretary Ron Ziegler said there is no need for other nations to assist in recovering the Apollo 13 crew, ‘although we do appreciate the offer,’ he said. Nevertheless, the Soviet Union sent six naval vessels toward the Pacific splashdown site, and Britain sent

…

Council, an advisory body traditionally chaired by the vice president—in this case, Spiro Agnew. Last Saturday, when Anders’s old Apollo 8 crewmate boarded Apollo 13, it was the new executive secretary’s responsibility to accompany the vice president down to Florida for the launch. After the crew was safely on

…

in the main auditorium of Mission Control, Neil Armstrong, the commander of Apollo 11, will hold a press conference to discuss various technical aspects of Apollo 13. Also, the president of the Chicago Board of Trade has forwarded the following message to Mission Control: ‘The Chicago Board of Trade suspended trading at

…

Lew Evans, the president of Grumman. Needless to say, all of the distinguished visitors in the control center were most interested in the report from Apollo 13 of the service module condition as the crew moved away following the jettison. This is Apollo Control, Houston.” The group around the EECOM station was

…

in the late 1970s. Ken Mattingly, who through circumstance, good luck, and the absence of rubella antibodies had been denied a seat on the disastrous Apollo 13, eventually flew aboard the successful Apollo 16, and also volunteered his piloting skills for the upcoming space shuttle program. Deke Slayton, who had been promised

…

was necessary to turn it into a catastrophe were other, equally mundane oversights. The Cortright Committee soon found them. The tanks that eventually flew aboard Apollo 13 were shipped on March 11, 1968—complete with their 28-volt switches—to the North American plant in Downey, California. There, they were attached to

…

fully pressurized, the astronauts would be fully suited, and the cabin would be filled with circulating air at the same pressure used at liftoff. During Apollo 13’s countdown demonstration test, with Jim Lovell, Ken Mattingly, and Fred Haise strapped into their seats, no significant problems occurred. At the end of the

…

with the five-nation tour the Agency had planned for them as one of the final chores associated with their mission. Eight months after the Apollo 13 crew returned from their goodwill trip, Apollo 14—equipped with upgraded thermostat switches, shielded wires, and a third oxygen tank installed on a separate

…

142:40:46 Fri. April 17 11:53 A.M. Reentry begins 142:54:41 Fri. April 17 12:07 P.M. Splashdown Appendix B Apollo 13 Dramatis Personae John Aaron Electrical and environmental command officer (EECOM), Maroon Team Arnie Aldrich Systems chief, Flight Operations Directorate Don Arabian Director, Mission Evaluation Room

…

Director, NASA’s Langley Research Center Chuck Deiterich Retrofire officer (RETRO), Gold Team Brian Duff Director of Public Affairs, Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston Charlie Duke Apollo 13 backup LEM pilot; Apollo 16 prime LEM pilot Charlie Dumis EECOM, White Team Max Faget Director, engineering and development branch, Manned Spacecraft Center Bill Fenner

…

, Manned Spacecraft Center Alan Glines Instrumentation and communications officer (INCO), White Team Jay Greene FIDO, Maroon Team Gerald Griffin Flight director, Gold Team Fred Haise Apollo 13 lunar module pilot Jerry Hammack Chief of spacecraft recovery team Willard Hawkins Flight surgeon, White Team Bob Heselmeyer Telemetry, electrical, EVA mobility unit officer (TELMU

…

lithium hydroxide adapter Bobby Spencer RETRO, White Team Bill Stoval FIDO, White Team Bill Strable GNC, White Team Larry Strimple CONTROL, White Team Jack Swigert Apollo 13 command module pilot Ray Teague GUIDO, White Team Dick Thorson CONTROL, Gold Team Glenn Watkins Propulsion officer, TELMU backroom John Wegener CONTROL, Maroon Team Tom

…

Weichel RETRO, Black Team Terry White NASA Public Affairs officer Buck Willoughby GNC, Gold Team Milt Windier Flight director, Maroon Team John Young Apollo 13 backup commander; Apollo 16 prime commander Appendix C The Manned Apollo Missions APOLLO 7 Crew: Wally Schirra, commander Donn Eisele, command module pilot Walt Cunningham

…

lunar landing. Conrad and Bean land in Ocean of Storms, collect rocks and retrieve parts from unmanned Surveyor spacecraft, which landed nearby in April 1967. APOLLO 13 Crew: Jim Lovell, commander Jack Swigert, command module pilot Fred Haise, lunar module pilot Launched: April 11, 1970 Splashdown: April 17, 1970 Mission: Third attempted

…

: January 31, 1971 Splashdown: February 9, 1971 Mission: Third lunar landing. Shepard and Mitchell touch down in the Fra Mauro highlands, the intended destination of Apollo 13. APOLLO 15 Crew: Dave Scott, commander Al Worden, command module pilot Jim Irwin, lunar module pilot Launched: July 26, 1971 Splashdown: August 7, 1971 Mission

…

achieve this kind of omniscient sweep, the third-person voice seemed the only way to go. Happily, even twenty-three years after the mission of Apollo 13 ended, reconstructing the flight was a relatively straightforward matter. Thousands of pages of documents and hundreds of hours of tapes pertaining to both the mission

…

. Providing special insight was also a small and decidedly elite corps of men who could understand, perhaps better than anyone else, what the crew of Apollo 13 experienced during their voyage, and who gave their time to share their thoughts. That rarefied group includes Buzz Aldrin, Bill Anders, Neil Armstrong, Frank Borman

…

, 4, 87–88, 106, 108, 196 Apollo 12, 75, 76, 106, 108, 114, 166, 200, 241, 316 lightning strikes, 157–58, 159 press coverage, 196 Apollo 13 biomedical system, 270, 272 changes in plan Lovell assigned to, 56 Mattingly dumped, 82–83 command module, see “Odyssey” electrical system, 345–46 flight plan

…

, 88–89, 91–93, 108–9, 110, 128, 138 TV network coverage of, 80, 88, 109, 138, 194 voodoo concerning number, 81 See also Apollo 13 crisis Apollo 13 crisis beginning of, 92–105, 106–35 (see also “Odyssey”) CO2 problem, see Asphyxiation, dangers of family/friend reactions, 111–13, 133–35 flight simulation

…

(during flight), 161, 162, 220, 223, 225, 287 ground crew and, 2–3 (see also Mission Control and Apollo 13 crisis) lack of sleep, 202–4, 207, 246–50, 255, 313 “lifeboat” for; see LEM (“Aquarius”) as “lifeboat” media and, see TV/press mission shut

…

, 252 carbon dioxide (CO2) eliminated by use of lithium hydroxide (LiOH), 42, 166–67, 216, 250–52, 254–57, 258, 261 See also Oxygen supply (Apollo 13) Atlas booster rocket, 177, 178, 179, 181 Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), 294, 295–96, 302 Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine, 182 B Babbitt, Donald, 17

…

) burn; TEI (trans-Earth injection) burn C Capcom (capsule communicator) Apollo 1, 15, 16, 18 Apollo 8, 41–47 passim, 54 Apollo 13 flight simulation and launch, 77, 79, 84, 89 Apollo 13 problems, 93, 104, 118, 121–29 passim, 140, 141, 149 burn, 155, 160–64, 204, 235–36, 241, 282 and media

…

. (Jane), 108, 110, 111, 112, 134, 192, 229 Consumable(s), 91 time as most important, 210 See also LEM (“Aquarius”) as “lifeboat”; Oxygen supply (Apollo 13); Power; Water supply (Apollo 13) CONTROL (guidance officer), 122, 127, 141, 149, 153 and burn, 142, 152, 160, 163, 164–65, 206, 259, 260 Cooper, L. Gordon, Jr

…

., 81–82, 161, 162, 220, 223, 225 Dumis, Charles, 322, 323, 327 E Eagle Picher company, 268 EECOM (electrical and environmental command officer), 75, 158 Apollo 13, 89–102 passim, 105, 119–29 passim, 141, 157, 159, 206, 280 flight simulation, 78 reentry, 302, 308, 322–24, 327, 331 “8 ball,” 117

…

, 185 “Hot mike” (“vox”), 153–55, 205, 226 House of Representatives, U.S., 197, 340 Houston. See Manned Spacecraft Center; Mission Control; Mission Control and Apollo 13 crisis Houston Post, 44 Hubbard Medal, 337 Humphrey, Hubert, 11–12, 25 Hydrogen-oxygen mixture. See Cryo stir Hypergolics, 47–48, 132, 133, 226 I

…

) Lunokhod probes, 353 M McCarthy, Eugene, 11 McCullough, Carmie, 111, 133–34, 192 McDivitt, James A. (Jim), 187 Apollo 8 and 9, 33, 36, 137 Apollo 13, 139, 208, 267, 268–69 press conferences, 140, 195, 198 McDonnell Douglas Corp., 182, 352 McMurrey, Robert (Bob), 109–10, 112 Manned Spacecraft Center (Houston

…

), 35, 157, 208, 343 Apollo 1, 22 Apollo 13, 113–14, 134, 351 Engineering and Development branch, 246 monitors launches, 15 Public Affairs office, 140, 194–98, 206, 244, 301–2, 341 Real Time

…

promises landings on, 33, 136, 274 and LOI (lunar orbit insertion), 45–50, 54 “Mount Marilyn,” 52, 241 and “parking orbit,” 41 view of, from Apollo 13, 205, 223, 239–41, 253 Zond spacecraft, 34 N NACA (National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics), 174 NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), 50, 75, 174

…

, 197 Schick, William, 16, 18 Schirra, Walter M. (Wally), 114, 173 Apollo 1, 13–14 and investigation, 32–33 Apollo 7, 28, 33, 36, 347 Apollo 13, 106–8, 112 Gemini 6, 39 joins space program, 176, 178–79, 181 receives medal for Mercury flight, 22, 26 Schmitt, Harrison, 339 Schneider, William

…

NASA and, 139, 194–95, 199–200, 212–13, 244 press conferences, 139–40, 196–98, 206–7, 302 reentry, 273–74, 316–17, 341 Apollo 13 monitored, 113–14, 154, 253 Emmy award, 337 Gemini program, coverage, 182 Lovell interviewed, 232–33, 341–43 Mercury program coverage, 50 Public Affairs office

Geek Wisdom

by Stephen H. Segal  · 2 Aug 2011

with no particular answer: What does it say about our cultural values that a hit movie has been made out of a moon-mission disaster (Apollo 13), but not out of any of the successful moon voyages? “WE’RE ON A MISSION FROM GOD.” —ELWOOD BLUES, THE BLUES BROTHERS CONVICTION. Without it

Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in Histroy

by Ben Mezrich  · 11 Jul 2011  · 301pp  · 96,359 words

like this were taking place all over the JSC; tonight had been the annual co-op ritual where everyone gathered together to watch the movie Apollo 13—the story of one of the ill-fated attempts to duplicate Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon. Having spent time in the old Mission

Leaving Orbit: Notes From the Last Days of American Spaceflight

by Margaret Lazarus Dean  · 18 May 2015  · 338pp  · 112,127 words

the expense of Apollo even before the missions to the moon had gotten started. After a brief resurgence in interest caused by the drama on Apollo 13, Americans went back to caring less and less about Apollo, saying in larger numbers that it was pointless and too expensive. A scaled-back space

…

to lunar orbit on Apollo 8 July 1969: Apollo 11 crew makes first moon landing; Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on moon April 1970: Apollo 13 crew prevented from landing on the moon by oxygen tank explosion July 1971: First use of lunar rover on Apollo 15 December 1972: Final moon

Holdout: A Novel

by Jeffrey Kluger  · 2 Aug 2021

coauthor Jim Lovell The Apollo Adventure: The Making of the Apollo Space Program and the Movie Apollo 13 Journey Beyond Selene: Remarkable Expeditions Past Our Moon and to the Ends of the Solar System Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio

…

editor at large at Time, where he has written more than forty cover stories. He is the author or coauthor of twelve other books, including Apollo 13—which served as the basis of the 1995 movie—as well as two novels for young adults. What’s next on your reading list? Discover

Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives

by Michael Specter  · 14 Apr 2009  · 281pp  · 79,958 words

to the moon, helped hold back the Russians, and made millions believe there was nothing we couldn’t accomplish. Even our most compelling disaster—the Apollo 13 mission—was a successful failure, ending with the triumph of technological mastery needed to bring the astronauts safely back to earth. By 1986, America had

…

) American Museum of Natural History, New York American Neurological Association, Eugenical Sterilization Ames, Bruce N. amorphadiene Amyris Biotechnologies anthrax attacks (2002) antibiotics antioxidents APOE protein Apollo 13 mission APP (amyloid precursor protein) APPROVe study Armstrong, Neil artemisinin arthritis, and Vioxx ashwagandha Asilomar Conference, California (1975) aspirin asthma: and genetics in Hispanics AstraZeneca

The Sellout: A Novel

by Paul Beatty  · 2 Mar 2016  · 271pp  · 83,944 words

, House Boy, Box Boy, Copy Boy, Delivery Boy, Boy Toy (stag film), Errand Boy, and token Aerospace Engineer Boy in the Academy Award–winning film Apollo 13. He wishes to thank his many fans who have supported him throughout the years. What a long, strange trip it’s been. If that naked

Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space

by Carl Sagan  · 8 Sep 1997  · 356pp  · 102,224 words

shuttle Challenger in 1986, remind us that there will be a certain irreducible chance of disaster in future human flights to Mars and elsewhere. The Apollo 13 mission, which was unable to land on the Moon and barely returned safely to Earth, underscores how lucky we've been. We cannot make perfectly

The Race: The Complete True Story of How America Beat Russia to the Moon

by James Schefter  · 2 Jan 2000  · 366pp  · 119,981 words

Seveneves

by Neal Stephenson  · 19 May 2015  · 945pp  · 292,893 words

The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World

by David Deutsch  · 30 Jun 2011  · 551pp  · 174,280 words

Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, From Missiles to the Moon to Mars

by Nathalia Holt  · 4 Apr 2016  · 288pp  · 92,175 words

The Moon: A History for the Future

by Oliver Morton  · 1 May 2019  · 319pp  · 100,984 words

Of a Fire on the Moon

by Norman Mailer  · 2 Jun 2014  · 477pp  · 165,458 words

4th Rock From the Sun: The Story of Mars

by Nicky Jenner  · 5 Apr 2017  · 294pp  · 87,986 words

Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story

by Jeffrey Kluger  · 11 Nov 2025  · 305pp  · 98,394 words

Spacewalker: My Journey in Space and Faith as NASA's Record-Setting Frequent Flyer

by Jerry Lynn Ross and John Norberg  · 31 Jan 2013  · 259pp  · 94,135 words

Presentation Zen

by Garr Reynolds  · 15 Jan 2012

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

by Mary Roach  · 1 Jan 2010  · 300pp  · 87,725 words

Where Good Ideas Come from: The Natural History of Innovation

by Steven Johnson  · 5 Oct 2010  · 298pp  · 81,200 words

Moon Rush: The New Space Race

by Leonard David  · 6 May 2019

Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon

by Robert Kurson  · 2 Apr 2018  · 361pp  · 110,905 words

Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon

by Jeffrey Kluger  · 15 May 2017  · 396pp  · 112,354 words

Space at the Speed of Light: The History of 14 Billion Years for People Short on Time

by Becky Smethurst  · 1 Jun 2020  · 71pp  · 20,766 words

Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe

by Mike Massimino  · 3 Oct 2016  · 286pp  · 101,129 words

In the Shadow of the Moon: A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965-1969

by Francis French, Colin Burgess and Walter Cunningham  · 1 Jun 2010  · 628pp  · 170,668 words

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children

by John Wood  · 28 Aug 2006  · 310pp  · 91,151 words

Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys: 50th Anniversary Edition

by Michael Collins and Charles A. Lindbergh  · 15 Apr 2019

The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success

by Ross Douthat  · 25 Feb 2020  · 324pp  · 80,217 words

Case for Mars

by Robert Zubrin  · 27 Jun 2011  · 437pp  · 126,860 words

The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts

by Loren Grush  · 11 Sep 2023  · 375pp  · 127,360 words

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

by Chris Hadfield  · 29 Oct 2013  · 255pp  · 88,987 words

That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea

by Marc Randolph  · 16 Sep 2019  · 334pp  · 102,899 words

Our Robots, Ourselves: Robotics and the Myths of Autonomy

by David A. Mindell  · 12 Oct 2015  · 265pp  · 74,807 words

The Planet Remade: How Geoengineering Could Change the World

by Oliver Morton  · 26 Sep 2015  · 469pp  · 142,230 words

Space 2.0

by Rod Pyle  · 2 Jan 2019  · 352pp  · 87,930 words

Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth

by Andrew Smith  · 3 Apr 2006  · 409pp  · 138,088 words

The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos

by Christian Davenport  · 20 Mar 2018  · 390pp  · 108,171 words

Chasing the Moon: The People, the Politics, and the Promise That Launched America Into the Space Age

by Robert Stone and Alan Andres  · 3 Jun 2019

Falling to Earth

by Al Worden  · 26 Jul 2011  · 357pp  · 121,119 words

Shoot for the Moon: The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11

by James Donovan  · 12 Mar 2019

Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation

by Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber  · 29 Oct 2024  · 292pp  · 106,826 words

The Mission: A True Story

by David W. Brown  · 26 Jan 2021

Aurora

by Kim Stanley Robinson  · 6 Jul 2015  · 488pp  · 148,340 words

Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race

by Tim Fernholz  · 20 Mar 2018  · 328pp  · 96,141 words

Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations

by Arnold van de Laar Laproscopic Surgeon  · 1 Oct 2018  · 371pp  · 108,105 words

Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto

by Alan Stern and David Grinspoon  · 2 May 2018  · 323pp  · 94,156 words

Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

by Allan J McDonald and James R. Hansen  · 25 Apr 2009  · 787pp  · 249,157 words

How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight

by Julian Guthrie  · 19 Sep 2016

Voyage

by Stephen Baxter  · 23 May 2011

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting

by Syd Field  · 17 Dec 2007  · 355pp  · 108,420 words

Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier

by Neil Degrasse Tyson and Avis Lang  · 27 Feb 2012  · 476pp  · 118,381 words

Inviting Disaster

by James R. Chiles  · 7 Jul 2008  · 415pp  · 123,373 words

Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings

by Earl Swift  · 5 Jul 2021  · 410pp  · 120,234 words

"Live From Cape Canaveral": Covering the Space Race, From Sputnik to Today

by Jay Barbree  · 18 Aug 2008  · 386pp  · 92,778 words

The Martian

by Andy Weir  · 1 Jan 2011  · 410pp  · 103,421 words

Thirteen: The Apollo Flight That Failed

by Henry S. F. Cooper  · 31 Dec 2013  · 141pp  · 49,239 words

Apollo

by Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox  · 1 Jan 1989  · 619pp  · 197,256 words

Nobody's Perfect: Writings From the New Yorker

by Anthony Lane  · 26 Aug 2002  · 879pp  · 309,222 words

Amazing Stories of the Space Age

by Rod Pyle  · 21 Dec 2016

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

by Malcolm Gladwell  · 1 Jan 2005  · 264pp  · 90,379 words

The Orbital Perspective: Lessons in Seeing the Big Picture From a Journey of 71 Million Miles

by Astronaut Ron Garan and Muhammad Yunus  · 2 Feb 2015

Building Habitats on the Moon: Engineering Approaches to Lunar Settlements

by Haym Benaroya  · 12 Jan 2018  · 571pp  · 124,448 words

The Wisdom of Crowds

by James Surowiecki  · 1 Jan 2004  · 326pp  · 106,053 words

Apollo 11: The Inside Story

by David Whitehouse  · 7 Mar 2019  · 308pp  · 87,238 words

Light This Candle: The Life & Times of Alan Shepard--America's First Spaceman

by Neal Thompson  · 2 Jan 2004  · 577pp  · 171,126 words

The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space

by Eugene Cernan and Donald A. Davis  · 1 Jan 1998  · 453pp  · 142,717 words

The Ultimate Engineer: The Remarkable Life of NASA's Visionary Leader George M. Low

by Richard Jurek  · 2 Dec 2019  · 431pp  · 118,074 words

The Little Black Book of Decision Making

by Michael Nicholas  · 21 Jun 2017

Speed

by Bob Gilliland and Keith Dunnavant  · 319pp  · 84,772 words

Moonshot: The Inside Story of Mankind's Greatest Adventure

by Dan Parry  · 22 Jun 2009  · 370pp  · 100,856 words

A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?

by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith  · 6 Nov 2023  · 490pp  · 132,502 words

Come Fly With Us: NASA's Payload Specialist Program

by Melvin Croft, John Youskauskas and Don Thomas  · 1 Feb 2019  · 609pp  · 159,043 words

Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life

by Ozan Varol  · 13 Apr 2020  · 389pp  · 112,319 words

Go, Flight!: The Unsung Heroes of Mission Control, 1965-1992

by Rick Houston and J. Milt Heflin  · 27 Sep 2015  · 472pp  · 141,591 words

Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey Into Space

by Stephen Walker  · 12 Apr 2021  · 546pp  · 164,489 words

Beyond: Our Future in Space

by Chris Impey  · 12 Apr 2015  · 370pp  · 97,138 words

A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life

by Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman  · 6 Apr 2014  · 302pp  · 74,878 words

After Apollo?: Richard Nixon and the American Space Program

by John M. Logsdon  · 5 Mar 2015

A Man on the Moon

by Andrew Chaikin  · 1 Jan 1994  · 816pp  · 242,405 words

The Slow Fix: Solve Problems, Work Smarter, and Live Better in a World Addicted to Speed

by Carl Honore  · 29 Jan 2013  · 266pp  · 87,411 words

Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky and Braden Kowitz  · 8 Mar 2016  · 233pp  · 58,561 words

Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight

by David A. Mindell  · 3 Apr 2008  · 377pp  · 21,687 words

John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon (Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology)

by John M. Logsdon  · 15 Dec 2010  · 306pp  · 36,032 words

Hidden Figures

by Margot Lee Shetterly  · 11 Aug 2016  · 425pp  · 116,409 words

Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Apollo Moon Landings

by Jay Barbree, Howard Benedict, Alan Shepard, Deke Slayton and Neil Armstrong  · 1 Jan 1994  · 469pp  · 124,784 words

Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew

by Michael Leinbach and Jonathan H. Ward  · 23 Jan 2018  · 424pp  · 114,094 words

Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle

by Dan Senor and Saul Singer  · 3 Nov 2009  · 285pp  · 81,743 words

Into the Black: The Extraordinary Untold Story of the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the Astronauts Who Flew Her

by Rowland White and Richard Truly  · 18 Apr 2016  · 570pp  · 151,609 words

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space

by Adam Higginbotham  · 14 May 2024  · 523pp  · 204,889 words

How to Spend a Trillion Dollars

by Rowan Hooper  · 15 Jan 2020  · 285pp  · 86,858 words

Netflixed: The Epic Battle for America's Eyeballs

by Gina Keating  · 10 Oct 2012  · 347pp  · 91,318 words

The Narcissist Next Door

by Jeffrey Kluger  · 25 Aug 2014  · 295pp  · 89,280 words

The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World

by David Eagleman and Anthony Brandt  · 30 Sep 2017  · 345pp  · 84,847 words

Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission

by Eileen M. Collins and Jonathan H. Ward  · 13 Sep 2021  · 394pp  · 107,778 words

Automate This: How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World

by Christopher Steiner  · 29 Aug 2012  · 317pp  · 84,400 words

The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life

by Sahil Bloom  · 4 Feb 2025  · 363pp  · 94,341 words

More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity

by Adam Becker  · 14 Jun 2025  · 381pp  · 119,533 words

Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator

by Keith Houston  · 22 Aug 2023  · 405pp  · 105,395 words

Risk: A User's Guide

by Stanley McChrystal and Anna Butrico  · 4 Oct 2021  · 489pp  · 106,008 words

1,000 Places to See in the United States and Canada Before You Die, Updated Ed.

by Patricia Schultz  · 13 May 2007  · 2,323pp  · 550,739 words

Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War

by Paul Scharre  · 23 Apr 2018  · 590pp  · 152,595 words

To Pixar and Beyond

by Lawrence Levy

The Battery: How Portable Power Sparked a Technological Revolution

by Henry Schlesinger  · 16 Mar 2010  · 336pp  · 92,056 words

USA Travel Guide

by Lonely, Planet

Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

by Marc Goodman  · 24 Feb 2015  · 677pp  · 206,548 words

Bank 3.0: Why Banking Is No Longer Somewhere You Go but Something You Do

by Brett King  · 26 Dec 2012  · 382pp  · 120,064 words

The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win

by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr and George Spafford  · 14 Jul 2013  · 395pp  · 110,994 words

Peers Inc: How People and Platforms Are Inventing the Collaborative Economy and Reinventing Capitalism

by Robin Chase  · 14 May 2015  · 330pp  · 91,805 words

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

by Timothy Ferriss  · 1 Jan 2007  · 426pp  · 105,423 words

Retire Before Mom and Dad

by Rob Berger  · 10 Aug 2019  · 239pp  · 60,065 words

Kissinger: A Biography

by Walter Isaacson  · 26 Sep 2005  · 1,330pp  · 372,940 words

It's Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO

by Felix Gillette and John Koblin  · 1 Nov 2022  · 575pp  · 140,384 words

What Technology Wants

by Kevin Kelly  · 14 Jul 2010  · 476pp  · 132,042 words

Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models

by Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann  · 17 Jun 2019

Data Science for Business: What You Need to Know About Data Mining and Data-Analytic Thinking

by Foster Provost and Tom Fawcett  · 30 Jun 2013  · 660pp  · 141,595 words

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

by Walter Isaacson  · 9 Mar 2021  · 700pp  · 160,604 words

The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career

by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha  · 14 Feb 2012  · 176pp  · 55,819 words

Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries

by Safi Bahcall  · 19 Mar 2019  · 393pp  · 115,217 words

Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America

by Rick Perlstein  · 1 Jan 2008  · 1,351pp  · 404,177 words

Binge Times: Inside Hollywood's Furious Billion-Dollar Battle to Take Down Netflix

by Dade Hayes and Dawn Chmielewski  · 18 Apr 2022  · 414pp  · 117,581 words

The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth's Past)

by Cixin Liu  · 11 Nov 2014  · 420pp  · 119,928 words

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

by Malcolm Gladwell  · 30 Sep 2013  · 271pp  · 82,159 words

The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets

by Simon Singh  · 29 Oct 2013  · 262pp  · 65,959 words

As the Future Catches You: How Genomics & Other Forces Are Changing Your Work, Health & Wealth

by Juan Enriquez  · 15 Feb 2001  · 239pp  · 45,926 words

Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning About a Highly Connected World

by David Easley and Jon Kleinberg  · 15 Nov 2010  · 1,535pp  · 337,071 words

Big Dead Place: Inside the Strange and Menacing World of Antarctica

by Nicholas Johnson  · 31 May 2005  · 363pp  · 109,417 words

Steve Jobs

by Walter Isaacson  · 23 Oct 2011  · 915pp  · 232,883 words

Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation

by Blake J. Harris  · 12 May 2014

Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley From Building a New Global Underclass

by Mary L. Gray and Siddharth Suri  · 6 May 2019  · 346pp  · 97,330 words

Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World

by Donald Sull and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt  · 20 Apr 2015  · 294pp  · 82,438 words

State of Emergency: The Way We Were

by Dominic Sandbrook  · 29 Sep 2010  · 932pp  · 307,785 words

The Golden Passport: Harvard Business School, the Limits of Capitalism, and the Moral Failure of the MBA Elite

by Duff McDonald  · 24 Apr 2017  · 827pp  · 239,762 words

Art of Creative Nonfiction: Writing and Selling the Literature of Reality

by Lee Gutkind and Purba  · 1 Jan 1997  · 196pp  · 65,045 words

Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local - and Helped Save an American Town

by Beth Macy  · 14 Jul 2014  · 473pp  · 140,480 words

In Pursuit of Memory: The Fight Against Alzheimer's

by Joseph Jebelli  · 30 Oct 2017  · 294pp  · 87,429 words

Dual Transformation: How to Reposition Today's Business While Creating the Future

by Scott D. Anthony and Mark W. Johnson  · 27 Mar 2017  · 293pp  · 78,439 words

Web Scraping With Python: Collecting Data From the Modern Web

by Ryan Mitchell  · 14 Jun 2015  · 255pp  · 78,207 words

Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning

by Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris  · 6 Mar 2007  · 233pp  · 67,596 words

The Moral Animal: Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life

by Robert Wright  · 1 Jan 1994  · 604pp  · 161,455 words

Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq

by Peter R. Mansoor, Donald Kagan and Frederick Kagan  · 31 Aug 2009  · 423pp  · 126,375 words

Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny

by Robert Wright  · 28 Dec 2010

What's Mine Is Yours: How Collaborative Consumption Is Changing the Way We Live

by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers  · 2 Jan 2010  · 411pp  · 80,925 words

The End of Work: Why Your Passion Can Become Your Job

by John Tamny  · 6 May 2018  · 165pp  · 47,193 words

Who Needs the Fed?: What Taylor Swift, Uber, and Robots Tell Us About Money, Credit, and Why We Should Abolish America's Central Bank

by John Tamny  · 30 Apr 2016  · 268pp  · 74,724 words

Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required

by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung  · 8 Jul 2019  · 389pp  · 81,596 words

What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures

by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson  · 17 Sep 2024  · 588pp  · 160,825 words

Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream

by Arianna Huffington  · 7 Sep 2010  · 300pp  · 78,475 words

SQL Hacks

by Andrew Cumming and Gordon Russell  · 28 Nov 2006  · 696pp  · 111,976 words

Reaganland: America's Right Turn 1976-1980

by Rick Perlstein  · 17 Aug 2020

Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry

by Peter Warren Singer  · 1 Jan 2003  · 482pp  · 161,169 words

Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence

by Amy B. Zegart  · 6 Nov 2021