Originally published: 2018. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
58. pt. I The Journey Continues. 1. October Sky -- 2. The Abbeys -- 3. Annapolis" -- 4. Air Force -- 5. Dyna-Soar -- 6. Boeing -- pt. II "Before This Decade Is Out" -- 7. Destination: Moon -- 8. North American Aviation -- 9. Houston and the Manned Spacecraft Center -- 10. Astronaut Abbey -- 11. The Phillips Report -- 12. Flight -- 13. Countdown -- 14. Ashes -- 15. Commitment -- 16. From the Earth to the Moon -- 17. Challenge -- 18. One Week in August -- pt. III "The Quintessential Staffer" -- 19. Mission Accomplished -- 20. Apollo 13 -- 21. Stability -- 22. Gravity -- 23. The Space Shuttle -- 24. The Soviets -- 25. Skylab -- 26. The Ace Moving Company -- 27. Apollo-Soyuz -- pt. IV "Ten Consecutive Miracles Followed by an Act of God" -- 28. The Right Stuff -- 29. The Next Generation -- 30. Approach and Landing -- 31. Thirty-Five New Guys -- 32. Problems -- 33. Those Other Astronauts -- 34. STS-1 -- pt. V "Go at Throttle Up" -- 35. The Used Spaceship -- 36. Operational Flight -- 37. Frequent Flying -- 38. 1984 -- 39. The Breaking Point -- 40. The Day the Earth Stood Still -- 41. Recovery -- 42. Marooned -- pt. VI "A National Quasi-Emergency" -- 43. PEPCON -- 44. The Space Exploration Initiative -- 45. Synthesis -- 46. Space Council -- 47. DanGoldin -- 48. Space Cowboys -- 49. Redesign -- 50. Hubble Rescue -- 51. A Space Odyssey -- 52. Return to JSC -- pt. VII "Together to the Stars" -- 53. A New Direction -- 54. The Total Equation -- 55. Crises on Mir -- 56. First Element -- 57. End Game -- 58. The Journey Continues.
Summary:
One of the most elusive and controversial figures in NASA's history, George W.S. Abbey was said to be secretive, despotic, a Space Age Machiavelli. Yet Abbey had more influence on human spaceflight than almost anyone in history. His story has never been told-until now. The Astronaut Maker takes readers inside NASA to learn the real story of how Abbey rose to power, from young pilot and wannabe astronaut to engineer, bureaucrat, and finally director of the Johnson Space Center. During a thirty-seven-year career, mostly out of the spotlight, he oversaw the selection of every astronaut class from 1978 to 1987, deciding who got to fly and when. He was with the Apollo 1 astronauts the night before the fatal fire in January 1967. He was in mission control the night of the Apollo 13 accident and organized the recovery effort. Abbey also led NASA's recruitment of women and minorities as space shuttle astronauts and was responsible for hiring Sally Ride. The Astronaut Maker is the ultimate insider's account of ambition and power politics at NASA.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.