Star Bound is a book for anyone who wants to learn about the American space program but isn't sure where to start. First and foremost, it's a history-short, sweet, and straightforward. From rocketry pioneer Robert Goddard's primitive flight tests in 1926 through the creation of NASA, from our first steps on the moon to construction of the International Space Station and planning a trip to Mars, readers will meet the people and projects that have put the United States at the forefront of space exploration. Along the way, they'll learn: * How the United States beat the Soviets to the moon * Why astronauts float in space (Hint: It's not for lack of gravity!) * How fast rockets have to go to stay in orbit around Earth * How we can "look back in time" through a space telescope With technology evolving and humanity's understanding of the universe expanding, we are entering an exciting period of space exploration. Authored by two veteran space writers with unique insights into the topic, Star Bound offers up the story of Americans in space with a focus on the cultural and societal contexts of the country's most important missions rather than engineering and technical minutiae. Vibrant, positive, and humorous, Star Bound is packed with facts and stories for novice space fans. And sprinkled in with the history are lists of the greatest space songs, books, movies, and more-all designed to make space exploration accessible to even the casual reader.
Emily Carney is a former nuclear technician for the U.S. Navy and an accomplished space journalist. She is the manager of public engagement and social media for the Space 3.0 Foundation, founder of the popular spaceflight group Space Hipsters, and cohost of the Space and Things podcast. Bruce McCandless III is a novelist, an attorney, and the son of a shuttle astronaut. He is the author of Wonders All Around: The Incredible True Story of Astronaut Bruce McCandless II and the First Untethered Flight in Space.
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments A Few Dates to Remember NASA's Crewed Spaceflights (So Far) 1. First Principles 2. The Wizard of Worcester 3. Rocketry and Death 4. The SS Major and the Suicide Squad The All-Time Greatest Space Exploration Playlist 5. A Starting Gun Called Sputnik 6. Shadows in the Sky 7. Project Mercury Eleven Boffo Space Books to Launch at Your Brain 8. Gemini's Forgotten Flights 9. The Rise and Fall of the American Astronaut The Best Space Stuff You Can Watch 10. Apollo and the First Man on the Moon 11. Skylab and the Renaissance of American Science NASA's Eleven Coolest Astronauts 12. Probes, Rovers, and the Golden Record 13. The Butterfly and the Bullet NASA's Eleven Greatest Missions 14. Sleeping with the Russians 15. False Starts, Missteps, and the Promise of Artemis America's Eleven Biggest Space Losses 16. The New Space Race 17. The Commercialization of Space Eleven Everyday Benefits of the American Space Program 18. Curse You, Gene Roddenberry! The Eleven Most Persistent Rumors, Riddles, and Conspiracy Theories about the American Space Program 19. Looking Outward Eleven Fearless Space Predictions 20. Why It's Worth It Sources
"An outstanding overview of American space exploration. . . . The trivia fascinates . . . and the authors ground their narrative in colorful character portraits. . . . This soars."-Publishers Weekly, starred review "[Star Bound] digs impressively deep to place the growth of America's space program in context. . . . [Carney and McCandless are] a writing marriage made in heaven's starry skies."-Rebecca Coffey, Forbes "With Carney and McCandless's breezy style, this enthusiastic and accessible history will engage the curiosity of both general readers and seasoned space enthusiasts alike."-Library Journal, starred review "The authors should be commended for concisely charting a path through dozens of topics and telling interesting stories."-Mary Damon, Quest "There are so many topics that Carney and McCandless explore that I suspect any reader will still learn a sizeable amount-and their wit and unabashed geekiness over all things space make for a delightful read and may remind you why you fell in love with spaceflight."-Jaime Herndon, Mercury Magazine "Two of the world's foremost space history chroniclers have joined forces to tell the tale of how spaceflight developed and nurtured our existence over the last century or more. They fly us through the decades with their characteristic wry humor, making Star Bound both an entertaining and an informative read."-Francis French, coauthor of Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965 "A sweeping, comprehensive, and detailed spaceflight history and primer, Star Bound is not just informative, it's engaging and fun-less an academic text than a lively conversation with that one cool friend who's funny, snarky, and oh-so-smart."-David Hitt, author of Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story
