We've all heard the expression "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to be able to ...." Well, these Memoirs explain many aspects of what a rocket scientist does have to be able to do. The author, Dr. Mark Salita, has modeled a very wide range of phenomena in rocket chambers, nozzles, and plumes, as well as on the Shuttle launch pad and inside Minuteman ICBM silos........... The purpose of this memoir is to share his multitude of experiences in the rocket industry. It is meant to be entertaining and insightful for rocket colleagues, and for students or young engineers who want to know how one rocket scientist solved the many technical problems assigned to him. Many "lessons learned" are discussed. Recommendations are made about the process of problem solving in general........... Dr. Salita is best known around the world for his modeling of O-ring erosion on Shuttle boosters, which he presented to NASA before the Challenger accident, and after to the Presidential Commission. His subsequent computer model of O-ring deformation and activation was the first of its kind, and was used to explain that the Challenger accident didn't happen simply due to the cold air (as described herein). That model has also been used for other aerospace applications, and by the nuclear power industry for their containment vessels........... He is also well known for his innovative modeling of propellant ignition, slag generation in solid-propellant rocket motors, and vehicle staging. He also created the first model of gas-bag inflator operation, and his original 1985 model of moisture ingestion into gas bag inflators may explain the failure of Takata inflators in 2015. Recently, he has been modeling the Boost-Phase Intercept of enemy ICBMs from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, i.e. "Drones") using high-speed interceptors........... TESTIMONIALS "I have read through this book and I was impressed with your work and your abilities. For what it's worth, I think this book should be on the must-read list of all current as well as budding aerospace engineers and scientists. It's the best. Thanks for what you have done." Dr. Dwight Clark (former Professor of Chemical Engineering at BYU, and Retired Section Supervisor, Thiokol Corporation)........... "Your memoirs are extraordinary. All propulsion technologists can learn from them. All those interested in aerospace or rocket science will enjoy your insights, history, and anecdotes." Dr. Leonard Caveny (retired Director of Science and Technology for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO))........... SAMPLE CONTENTS What is a "Rocket Scientist," and what are the fundamentals of solid- and liquid-propellant rockets........... Numerous entertaining short stories, cute incidents, and startling quotes involving math and engineering........... Guidelines for successful engineering analysis........... Tips on how to prepare for job interviews, and the importance of documenting results well........... How to make engineering computer codes User-Friendly........... Near-disaster on first Shuttle flight ... my modeling suggested the fix for future flights........... Booster O-Ring erosion modeling ... presentations to NASA/MSFC and Presidential Commission........... First model of O-Ring deformation/activation ... explaining the Challenger accident........... Criticality of wind-shear during Shuttle launch ... started Columbia accident and ensured Challenger accident........... Dynamics of liquid-metal droplets ... size distributions, collision-coalescence, vaporization........... Modeling slag generation in solid-propellant rockets to explain motor underperformance and failures........... Boost-Phase Intercept of enemy ICBMs using UAVs ("drones") at 60 kft ... Another layer of ICBM defense........... Lecturing and consulting in retirement.

The inspiring memoir for young readers about a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by joining the Girl Scouts and who currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. A meningitis outbreak in their underprivileged neighborhood left Sylvia Acevedo’s family forever altered. As she struggled in the aftermath of loss, young Sylvia’s life transformed when she joined the Brownies. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science. With new confidence, Sylvia navigated shifting cultural expectations at school and at home, forging her own trail to become one of the first Latinx to graduate with a master's in engineering from Stanford University and going on to become a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Simultaneously available in Spanish!

Curator and space historian at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum delivers a brilliantly nuanced biography of controversial space pioneer Wernher von Braun. Chief rocket engineer of the Third Reich and one of the fathers of the U.S. space program, Wernher von Braun is a source of consistent fascination. Glorified as a visionary and vilified as a war criminal, he was a man of profound moral complexities, whose intelligence and charisma were coupled with an enormous and, some would say, blinding ambition. Based on new sources, Neufeld's biography delivers a meticulously researched and authoritative portrait of the creator of the V-2 rocket and his times, detailing how he was a man caught between morality and progress, between his dreams of the heavens and the earthbound realities of his life.

Biography of Werner von Braun who developed rockets for the German military in World War II and for the United States military and space programs, written by two men who spent decades working with him.

For curiosity seekers of aerospace and structural science, for story lovers of the Greatest Generation and World War II, for family members caring for aging parents... Mister B is a national treasure!What Aesop and his fables are to children, Mister B and his memoirs are to adults. Born in 1916, to a Polish speaking mother, Joseph Byk begins his early schooling in rope-tied-baggy-pants-poverty. He is every teachers' dreaded student. Ending his senior year at Woonsocket High, Rhode Island, however, he begs a high school counselor to help him make up the deficiencies in his missing math education. Why? Because, suddenly, he aspires to design vehicles that defy gravity. Mister B eventually helps design the space shuttle Gemini, the first moon landing gear for Apollo and the beginnings of Google Earth.Who knew life could be so happily transformed by a busy young couple merging households with that of an eccentric stress engineer? Being politically correct is not Mister B's style. The reader is carried from tragedy to hilarity as his companions seek to please him with foodie experiments while coaxing Mister B to upgrade his 44 year-old home. Too bad the only non-controversial place to renovate the HUD-styled real estate is in the weedy backyard. If only the younger couple had not promised to save their 97-year-old Polish father from the nursing home! A triangle forms as they study and tentatively approach one another. The ol' man and his new companions gradually redesign a dry acre into a flowering conversation piece where mushroom collecting and the sources of hydrogen and iron are discussed. Interior design must take a back seat while the scientific engineer challenges them to consider theories of deflection, accuracy, stress variables, and material strengths. With all the delicacy of designing a conical intersection onto a space capsule, the threesome focus on integrating their relationships in 3-D. With a shot of respect, Mister B's bygone family ideals confront the independence of a younger generation as he reveals a lifetime of secrets. Mister B's family gains more than a conversationalist. They gain a friend.