1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910959154003321

Autore

Leopold George <1955->

Titolo

Calculated Risk : The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom, Revised and Expanded / / by George Leopold

Pubbl/distr/stampa

West Lafayette, Indiana : , : Purdue University Press, , [2016]

©[2016]

ISBN

9781612494586

1612494587

9781612494593

1612494595

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (417 p.)

Disciplina

629.450092

B

Soggetti

Astronauts - United States

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (pages 349-356) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction: Pure Oxygen; 1. 1926; 2. Work; 3. Purdue; 4. Wingman; 5. Test Pilot; 6. Mercury Seven; 7. Extracurricular Activities; 8. The Flight of Liberty Bell 7; 9. Down a Peg; 10. Apogee; 11. Risk and Reward; 12. How Astronauts Talk; 13. Front of the Line; 14. Death at 218 Feet; 15. Abandon in Place; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

Unlike other American astronauts, Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom never had the chance to publish his memoirs. Killed along with his crew in a launch pad fire on January 27, 1967, Grissom also lost his chance to walk on the moon and return to describe his journey. Others went in his place. The stories of the moon walkers are familiar. Less appreciated are Grissom's contributions.   The international prestige of winning the Moon Race cannot be understated, and Grissom played a pivotal and enduring role in securing that legacy for the United States. Indeed, Grissom was first and foremost a Cold Warrior, a member of the first group of Mercury astronauts whose goal it was to beat the Soviet Union into space and eventually to the moon.   Drawing on extensive



interviews with fellow astronauts, NASA engineers, family members, and friends of Gus Grissom, George Leopold delivers a comprehensive and corrective account of Grissom's life that places his career in the context of the Cold War and the history of human spaceflight.   Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom adds significantly to our understanding of that tumultuous and ultimately triumphant period in American history.