Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965It was a time of bold new technology, historic moments, and international jousting on the final frontier. But it was also a time of human drama, of moments less public but no less dramatic in the lives of those who made the golden age of space flight happen. These are the moments and the lives that Into That Silent Sea captures, a book that tells the intimate stories of the men and women, American and Russian, who made the space race their own and gave the era its compelling character. ø These pages chronicle a varied and riveting cavalcade of human stories, including a look at Yuri Gagarin?s harrowing childhood in war-ravaged Russia and Alan Shepard?s firm purchase on the American dream. It also examines the controversial career of cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and the remarkable struggle and ultimate disappointment of her American counterparts. It tries to uncover the truth behind the allegations that shadowed Gus Grissom and Scott Carpenter and then allows the reader to share the heart-stopping suspense of Alexei Leonov?s near-fatal first space walk. Through dozens of interviews and access to Russian and American official documents and family records, the authors bring to life the experiences that shaped the lives of the first astronauts and cosmonauts and forever changed their world and ours. ø |
Contents
First to Fly | 1 |
Lighting the Candle | 37 |
The Pursuit of Liberty | 76 |
Flight of the Eagle | 99 |
To Rise Above | 127 |
Heavenly Twins | 171 |
The Two Wallys | 198 |
A Change of Attitude | 247 |
A Seagull in Flight | 289 |
Stepping into the Void | 332 |
References | 385 |
Index | 398 |
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aboard Air Force aircraft airplane Alan Shepard Alexei American Andrian Apollo asked aviation backup became began Belyayev booster Bykovsky candidates Cape capsule Cobb Colin Burgess commander cosmonaut cosmonaut training craft crew Deke Slayton Despite Earth engineering father feel felt Feoktistov fighter finally flew flight fly in space Gemini Gherman Titov going Gordon Cooper Gus Grissom hatch helicopter interview Jerrie Cobb John Glenn Kamanin knew Komarov Korolev landing Leonov Liberty Bell looked Lovelace Mercury astronauts Mercury program miles military minutes mission moon Moscow NASA NASA's naut never Nikolayev O'Hara once orbit parachute Pavel planned Popovich Project Mercury reentry reported rocket Russian Scott Carpenter selected soon Soyuz space program spacecraft spaceflight spacesuit Tereshkova test pilot things tion told took Valentina Valery Valery Bykovsky Voskhod Vostok Wally Schirra wanted Webb weightlessness woman women astronauts Yuri Gagarin