Chief engineer Thomas J. Kelly gives a firsthand account of designing, building, testing, and flying the Apollo lunar module. It was, he writes, “an aerospace engineer’s dream job of the century.” Kelly’s account begins with the imaginative process of sketching solutions to a host of technical challenges with an emphasis on safety, reliability, and maintainability. He catalogs numerous test failures, including propulsion-system leaks, ascent-engine instability, stress corrosion of the aluminum alloy parts, and battery problems, as well as their fixes under the ever-present constraints of budget and schedule. He also recaptures the exhilaration of hearing Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong report that “The Eagle has landed,” and the pride of having inadvertently provided a vital “lifeboat” for the crew of the disabled Apollo 13.

A true story from one of the Women of NASA! Margaret Hamilton loved numbers as a young girl. She knew how many miles it was to the moon (and how many back). She loved studying algebra and geometry and calculus and using math to solve problems in the outside world. Soon math led her to MIT and then to helping NASA put a man on the moon! She handwrote code that would allow the spacecraft’s computer to solve any problems it might encounter. Apollo 8. Apollo 9. Apollo 10. Apollo 11. Without her code, none of those missions could have been completed. Dean Robbins and Lucy Knisley deliver a lovely portrayal of a pioneer in her field who never stopped reaching for the stars.

A tour of outer space explores the solar system as well as stars, galaxies, and the birth of planets, and speculates on whether other intelligent beings exist in the universe.

“Iconic images of the Space Age . . . a narrative that takes the Apollo 11 story up to the present, supplemented by moonwalker Buzz Aldrin’s foreword.” —GeekWire Acclaimed science author Rod Pyle (Missions to the Moon) returns with a beautiful and insightful book commemorating Apollo 11. First on the Moon offers an exciting behind-the-scenes look at America’s journey to the Moon—from the space race to the landing on the Sea of Tranquility to splashdown on Earth and the aftermath. Pyle spent years combing NASA archives and private collections for memorabilia from the mission, and the book includes everything from accessible explanations of the enormous challenges facing NASA to reproductions of original 1969 documents. It also features a number of specially commissioned photocompositions created from NASA Apollo images released in 2015. Many were parts of photomontages taken by the astronauts, and these compositions have now been carefully restored to their originally intended montage formats. With compelling firsthand accounts and a gripping narrative, this gorgeously designed volume fully immerses readers in the Space Age. Includes a foreword by Buzz Aldrin, and exclusive interviews with the adult children of the Apollo 11 astronauts. “Combines firsthand accounts of the mission, archival photos, reproductions of mission documents and more to tell the story of the Apollo program, the technology created to make it happen and the forces driving it . . . Experienced space writer (and Space.com contributor) Rod Pyle weaves it all together with a deft hand to tell the story of an era.” —Space.com

The New York Times bestselling, “meticulously researched and absorbingly written” (The Washington Post) story of the trailblazers and the ordinary Americans on the front lines of the epic Apollo 11 moon mission. President John F. Kennedy astonished the world on May 25, 1961, when he announced to Congress that the United States should land a man on the Moon by 1970. No group was more surprised than the scientists and engineers at NASA, who suddenly had less than a decade to invent space travel. When Kennedy announced that goal, no one knew how to navigate to the Moon. No one knew how to build a rocket big enough to reach the Moon, or how to build a computer small enough (and powerful enough) to fly a spaceship there. No one knew what the surface of the Moon was like, or what astronauts could eat as they flew there. On the day of Kennedy’s historic speech, America had a total of fifteen minutes of spaceflight experience—with just five of those minutes outside the atmosphere. Russian dogs had more time in space than US astronauts. Over the next decade, more than 400,000 scientists, engineers, and factory workers would send twenty-four astronauts to the Moon. Each hour of space flight would require one million hours of work back on Earth to get America to the Moon on July 20, 1969. “A veteran space reporter with a vibrant touch—nearly every sentence has a fact, an insight, a colorful quote or part of a piquant anecdote” (The Wall Street Journal) and in One Giant Leap, Fishman has written the sweeping, definitive behind-the-scenes account of the furious race to complete one of mankind’s greatest achievements. It’s a story filled with surprises—from the item the astronauts almost forgot to take with them (the American flag), to the extraordinary impact Apollo would have back on Earth, and on the way we live today. From the research labs of MIT, where the eccentric and legendary pioneer Charles Draper created the tools to fly the Apollo spaceships, to the factories where dozens of women sewed spacesuits, parachutes, and even computer hardware by hand, Fishman captures the exceptional feats of these ordinary Americans. “It’s been 50 years since Neil Armstrong took that one small step. Fishman explains in dazzling form just how unbelievable it actually was” (Newsweek).

Describes Apollo 11's journey to the moon, the landing of the Eagle, and the moon walk of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in July 1969.

"Picturing Apollo 11 is an unprecedented photographic history of the space mission that defined an era. Through a wealth of unpublicized and recently discovered images, this book presents new and rarely-seen views of the people, places, and events involved in the pioneering first moon landing of July 20, 1969."--Amazon.com.