CHAPTER 12
ASTRONAUTS

"Astronauts for First Space Shuttle Flights Named." Space World. 7 (July 1978): 12-21. This article profiles the group of astronauts picked for the Shuttle program.

Atkinson, Joseph D., Jr., and Shafritz, Jay M. The Real Stuff: A History of the NASA Astronaut Requirement Program. New York: Praeger Pubs., 1985. Authors present a brief overview of the selection of the first ten groups of NASA astronauts through 1984, then concentrate on covering the watershed selections of 1959, the first group; 1965, the first scientists; and 1978, the first Shuttle selection including women and minorities. Places heavy emphasis on the criteria for selection and the procedures used, and on efforts to bring minorities and women into the Shuttle program.

Baker, David. I Want To Fly the Shuttle. Vero Beach, FL: Rouke Enterprises, 1988. This is a children's book on the Shuttle, describing how astronauts are chosen and trained and what it would be like to fly a mission. It is part of the "Today's World in Space" series of books that are short, highly illustrated accounts of various space exploration activities.

Bird, J.D. "Design Concepts of the Shuttle Mission Simulator." Aeronautical Journal. 92 (June 1978): 247-54. This article presents a solid overview of the Shuttle simulator then being developed for shuttle astronaut training.

Brandenstein, Dan and Hartsfield, James. "Flying the Space Shuttle: A Pilot's Log." NASA Activities. 21 (November/December 1990): 11-15ff. Written for popular consumption, this article describes a Shuttle mission from the astronauts' standpoint.

Briefing by the Astronauts of Shuttle Mission 51-A. Washington, DC: U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 1985. This publication contains the text of the presentation by the crew of Shuttle mission 51-A before the Senate subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space, 99th Cong., 1st Sess., 28 January 1985.

Briefing by the Crew of the Space Shuttle Mission 51-D. Washington, DC: U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 1985. This publication contains the text of the presentation by the crew of Shuttle mission 51-D before the Senate subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space, 99th Cong., 1st Sess., 6 June 1985.

Catchpole, J.E. "EVA and the Space Shuttle." Spaceflight. 20 (May 1978): 174-75. This short article looks at the possibilities inherent for work in space and postulates some technological developments required to make EVAs practical experiences.

Challengers: The Inspiring Life Stories of the Seven Brave Astronauts of Shuttle Mission 51-L. New York: Pocket Books, 1986. This book, written by the staff of the Washington Post, describes the careers of the seven astronauts killed in the Challenger accident of January 1986. It is a relatively standard journalistic account, but it contains considerable background not found elsewhere.

Cohen, Daniel and Susan. Heroes of the Challenger. London: Archway Paperbacks, 1986. Published in July 1986 about the people killed in the Challenger explosion. Provides a media approach to covering the life stories and events of STS-51L in an inexpensive and compact version of Challengers.

Cooper, Henry S.F. Before Life-off: The Making of a Space Shuttle Crew. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987. The first in the New Series in NASA History, this book presents a fine discussion of the selection and training of crews for individual Shuttle missions. Written in a journalistic style without scholarly apparatus, it is an excellent first person account of the 1984 mission of STS-41G.

Covault, Craig. "Shuttle EVA Suits Incorporate Advances." Aviation Week & Space Technology. 16 March 1981, pp. 69-73. A description of the new space suits developed for Shuttle crewmembers for EVA, as well as some discussion of the new maneuvering units under development.

Dwiggins, Don. "Flying the Spaceship 'Enterprise' Simulator." Plane and Pilot. 13 (March 1977): 18-23. This is a personal reminiscence of the experience of flying the Shuttle simulator used for the test orbiter.

Flight of STS-7 with Astronauts Capt. Robert L. Crippen, Capt. Frederick H. Hauck, Col. John M. Fabian, Dr. Sally K. Ride, and Dr. Norman E. Thagard. Washington, DC: U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, 1983. This publication contains the hearing of this committee with the crew and other participants involved in this mission, which was notable for several reasons, among them the flight of the first American female astronaut.

Flight of STS-8 with Astronauts Capt. Richard H. Truly, Comdr. Daniel C. Brandenstein, Lt. Comdr. Dale A. Gardner, Jr., Lt. Col. Guin S. Bluford, Jr., and William Edgar Thornton, M.D. Washington, DC: U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, 1983. This publication contains the hearings of this committee conducted with participants in the mission held on 27 September 1983.

Fox, Mary Virginia. Women Astronauts: Aboard the Shuttle. New York: J. Messner, 1984. This book, written for the youth market, describes the June 1983 flight of the Space Shuttle with emphasis on the experiences of Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space. It also includes brief biographies of the eight women Shuttle astronauts.

Hohler, Robert E. "I Touch the Future . . ." The Story of Christa McAuliffe. New York: Random House, 1986. Written by a journalist of the Concord Monitor, the hometown newspaper of McAuliffe, this book is a well-researched and well-written biography of the teacher killed in the Challenger accident. It tells how she became interested in the Shuttle and how she competed to become an astronaut.

Koch, David C. "Space Shuttle Training." Air Line Pilot. 47 (March 1978): 13-15. A description of the intensive training program undergone by Shuttle astronauts.

Nelson, Bill, with Buckingham, Jamie. Mission: An American Congressman's Voyage to Space. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1988. This book is a personal account of Florida Representative Bill Nelson's flight on the Shuttle Columbia made only 16 days before the 28 January 1986 loss of Challenger. Nelson, the chair of the House Space Science and Applications Subcommittee, was a payload specialist on mission STS-61C. This book relates his training regimen and preparation for the flight as well as the first-person account of the mission. At every level, Mission has an "I was there" quality about it, and is entertaining and insightful in that capacity. Most interesting, the last part of the book analyzes the Challenger accident and examines U.S. space policy. While costly, Nelson concludes, the risks are worth what will come out of the endeavor. He concludes his final chapter with these comments: "If America ever abandoned her space ventures, then we would die as a nation, becoming second-rate in our own eyes, as well as in the eyes of the world. . . . Our prime reason for commitment can be summed up . . . space is our next frontier" (p. 296).

Peebles, Curtis. "Training for the Space Shuttle." Spaceflight. 20 (November 1978): 393-95. This is a synopsis of the training activities of the Shuttle astronauts. It should be used in conjunction with Henry S.F. Cooper's Before Lift-off.

Siepmann, H.R., and Shayler, D.J. From the Flightdeck 4: NASA Space Shuttle. London: Ian Allen, Ltd., 1987. This book is a popularly-oriented work that follows a typical Shuttle mission from take-off to landing, observing events and the crew's routine operations from the perspective of astronauts. It contains transcripts of dialogue between the Shuttle and mission control, a lot of pictures, and a mission statement on each of the first 25 flights. There is no scholarly apparatus.

Spangenburg, Ray, and Moser, Diane. Living and Working in Space. New York: Facts on File, 1989. This publication contains information about the operational activities of NASA's Shuttle missions designed for an informed non-specialist audience that uses the library to track down information.

Velupillai, David "Shuttle Training: The Final Countdown." Flight International. 13 December 1980, pp. 2177-82. This is a short discussion of the training program for Shuttle astronauts. Should be read in conjunction with Henry S.F. Cooper's book, Before Lift-Off.