Jonathan Ward takes the reader deep into the facilities at Kennedy Space Center to describe NASA’s first computer systems used for spacecraft and rocket checkout and explain how tests and launches proceeded. Descriptions of early operations include a harrowing account of the heroic efforts of pad workers during the Apollo 1 fire. A companion to the author’s book Countdown to a Moon Launch: Preparing Apollo for Its Historic Journey, this explores every facet of the facilities that served as the base for the Apollo/Saturn missions. Hundreds of illustrations complement the firsthand accounts of more than 70 Apollo program managers and engineers.

The era of the Apollo/Saturn missions was perhaps the most exciting period in American space exploration history. Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center were buzzing with activity. Thousands of workers came to town to build the facilities and launch the missions needed to put an American on the Moon before the end of the decade.

Work at KSC involved much more than just launching rockets. It was a place like none other on Earth. Technicians performed intricate operations, and hazards abounded everywhere, including lightning, fire, highly-toxic fuels, snakes, heat, explosives, LOX spills, and even plutonium. The reward for months of 7-day workweeks under intense pressure was witnessing a Saturn V at liftoff.

For anyone who ever wished they had worked at Kennedy Space Center during the Apollo era, this book is the next best thing. The only thing missing is the smell of rocket fuel in the morning.

• Used Book in Good Condition

Praise for the hardcover edition:

"Extremely practical and enjoyable."
-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[Will be] devoured by history or space enthusiasts from eight to eighty."
-- VOYA

"The foreword grabbed me, and by the prologue I was hooked."
-- The Science Teacher

NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center set the stage for the American adventure into space and went on to host a succession of rocket launches that have helped to form our understanding of the nature of the universe.

The Kennedy Space Center is a major tourist attraction in Florida, but most of its doors remain locked to the public. This abundantly illustrated book is an insider's history of the heart of America's space program, including detailed information on:

• The earliest development of rockets in the United States and Germany
  
• The development of rockets and their launch facilities
  
• The missile race and the U.S.-Soviet rivalry to be first in space
  
• The great Apollo program and the race to the moon
  
• The shuttle program, the Space Station and the Hubble Telescope
  
• The future of space exploration

Kennedy Space Center is clearly written, meticulously researched and packed with more than 150 spectacular images -- the one and only complete history of this important site.

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