On February 1, 2003, the unthinkable happened. The space shuttle Columbia disintegrated 37 miles above Texas, seven brave astronauts were killed and America's space program, always an eyeblink from disaster, suffered its second catastrophic in-flight failure. Unlike the Challenger disaster 17 years earlier, Columbia's destruction left the nation one failure away from the potential abandonment of human space exploration. Media coverage in the immediate aftermath focused on ...

An "exciting" minute-by-minute account of the Apollo 13 flight based on mission control transcripts from Houston ( The New York Times).On the evening of April 13, 1970, the three astronauts aboard Apollo 13 were just hours from the third lunar landing in history. But as they soared through space, two hundred thousand miles from Earth, an explosion badly damaged their spacecraft. With compromised engines and failing life-support systems, the crew was in inco...

This New York Times bestselling memoir of a veteran NASA flight director tells riveting stories from the early days of the Mercury program through Apollo 11 (the moon landing) and Apollo 13, for both of which Kranz was flight director.Gene Kranz was present at the creation of America’s manned space program and was a key player in it for three decades. As a flight director in NASA’s Mission Control, Kranz witnessed firsthand the making of history. He partic...

As command module pilot for the Apollo 15 mission to the moon in 1971, Al Worden flew on what is widely regarded as the greatest exploration mission that humans have ever attempted. He spent six days orbiting the moon, including three days completely alone, the most isolated human in existence. During the return from the moon to earth he also conducted the first spacewalk in deep space, becoming the first human ever to see both the entire earth and moon simply by turning his head. The Apol...

Travel to space and back with astronaut Chris Hadfield's enthralling bestseller as your eye-opening guide."Hadfield proves himself to be not only a fierce explorer of the universe, but also a deeply thoughtful explorer of the human condition." —Maria Popova, Brain PickingsColonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into ...

The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir of U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle, and the source for Clint Eastwood’s blockbuster, Academy-Award nominated movie."An amazingly detailed account of fighting in Iraq—a humanizing, brave story that’s extremely readable." — PATRICIA CORNWELL, New York Times Book Review**"Jaw-dropping...Undeniably riveting." *—***RICHARD ROEPER, Chicago Sun-Times...

*NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES—from producer and director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti*Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, the beloved instant New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review Top 10 Book about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World ...

The development of the Avro Arrow was a remarkable Canadian achievement. Its mysterious cancellation in February 1959 prompted questions that have long gone unanswered. What role did the Central Intelligence Agency play in the scrapping of the project? Who in Canada's government was involved in that decision? What, if anything, did Canada get in return? Who ordered the blowtorching of all the prototypes? And did Arrow technology find its way into the American Stealth fighter/bomber program...

Nicky Barr never deliberately sought danger or adventure, but when confronted with it he had the courage to face it and survive.In 1939, at the age of 23, Nicky Barr was chosen to represent Australia in the international rugby world tour. The day after the squad arrived in England, war was declared and the tour was cancelled. Nicky immediately signed-up to become a fighter pilot in the RAAF and while fighting Rommel's famed Afrika Korp in North Africa, quickly rose through the rank...

No Canadian company has fuelled as much speculation about its demise as A.V. Roe Canada Limited. When its name was erased off the corporate map in 1962, A.V. Roe's most ambitious undertakings - the Jetliner, the Iroquois Engine, and the Arrow - were reduced to scrap.In Requiem for a Giant: A.V. Roe Canada and the Avro Arrow, Palmiro Campagna supplies us with new information to help dispel the myths surrounding the company. With an array of recently declassified documents, ...

This official U.S. government guide to piloting aircraft-created by the Federal Aviation Administration-is the essential resource for finding the knowledge and skills to fly all types of planes. It includes an introduction to flight training and official information on ground operations, basic flight maneuvers, slow flight, stalls and spins, takeoff and departure climbs, ground reference maneuvers, airport traffic patterns, approaches and landings, performance maneuvers, and night operatio...

On 15 April 2012, 100 years will have passed since the Royal Mail Steamer Titanic hit an iceberg and foundered in the North Atlantic with the loss of 1,503 lives. Had the disaster not occurred, what is now the best-known ship in the world would have lost the title of the largest liner within just two years. She was certainly not the fastest passenger ship of the time and can be considered a technological throwback, yet Titanic captures the imagination like no other. This b...