Kennedy Space Center

Books about Kennedy Space Center

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Kennedy Space Center: Gateway to Space

By David West-Reynolds

Brand: Firefly Books
Paperback (248 pages)

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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.

Kennedy Space Center: Gateway to Space

By David West Reynolds

Brand: Firefly Books
Hardcover (248 pages)

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An insider's history of the heart of America's space program from its earliest days.

NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center set the stage for the American adventure in space. Sprawled across 140,000 acres on Florida's Atlantic coast, the center has hosted the succession of rocket launches that have rewritten our knowledge of aeronautics and our very understanding of the nature of the universe.

Chosen because of its perfect location, with the wide Atlantic providing a buffer, Kennedy Space Center is now a major tourist attraction appealing to visitors of all ages.

This spaceport has served as the departure gate for every American space flight mission and the launching point of hundreds of other advanced scientific spacecraft. Kennedy Space Center will continue to make history as NASA embarks on new adventures in space exploration.

The book includes 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 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.

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

Kennedy Space Center Official Souvenir Book

Published at Kennedy Space Center Paperback (46 pages)	Lowest New Price: $9.99^* Lowest Used Price: $2.54^* Usually ships in 1-2 business days^* ^(As of 17:01 Pacific 16 Oct 2018 More Info) Click Here*
Product Description: Kennedy Space Center Official Souvenir Book NASA Printed 2012 at KSC

Rocket Ranch: The Nuts and Bolts of the Apollo Moon Program at Kennedy Space Center (Springer Praxis Books)

By Jonathan H. Ward

Springer
Released: 2015-07-14
Paperback (331 pages)

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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.

A History of the Kennedy Space Center

By Kenneth Lipartito

University Press of Florida
Hardcover (496 pages)

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This first comprehensive history of the Kennedy Space Center, NASA's famous launch facility located at Cape Canaveral, Florida, reveals the vital but largely unknown work that takes place before the rocket is lit. Though the famous Vehicle Assembly Building and launch pads dominate the flat Florida landscape at Cape Canaveral and attract 1.5 million people each year to its visitor complex, few members of the public are privy to what goes on there beyond the final outcome of the flaring rocket as it lifts into space. With unprecedented access to a wide variety of sources, including the KSC archives, other NASA centers, the National Archives, and individual and group interviews and collections, Lipartito and Butler explore how the methods and technology for preparing, testing, and launching spacecraft have evolved over the last 45 years. Their story includes the Mercury and Gemini missions, the Apollo lunar program, the Space Shuttle, scientific missions and robotic spacecraft, and the International Space Station, as well as the tragic accidents of Challenger and Columbia. Throughout, the authors reveal the unique culture of the people who work at KSC and make Kennedy distinct from other parts of NASA.

As Lipartito and Butler show, big NASA projects, notably the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, had much to learn on the ground before they made it to space. Long before a spacecraft started its ascent, crucial work had been done, work that combined the muscular and mundane with the high tech and applied the vital skills and knowledge of the men and women of KSC to the design of vehicles and missions. The authors challenge notions that successful innovation was simply the result of good design alone and argue that, with large technical systems, real world experience actually made the difference between bold projects that failed and innovations that stayed within budget and produced consistent results. The authors pay particular attention to "operational knowledge" developed by KSC--the insights that came from using and operating complex technology. This work makes it abundantly clear that the processes performed by ground operations are absolutely vital to success.

Kennedy Space Center: Celebrating 50 years 1962 to 2012

By John A. Greene

Cia Publishing
Released: 2012-08-19
Kindle Edition (261 pages)

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An entire chapter of U.S. history has been written at the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC). As the departure site for our first journey to the Moon, and hundreds of scientific, commercial, and applications spacecraft, and then as the base for Space Shuttle launch and landing operations, KSC plays a pivotal role in the nation's space program.
The nerve center of KSC is Launch Complex 39. This is the location of the Vehicle Assembly Building, where Saturn V vehicles were once prepared for launch and later the assembly site for the Space Shuttle.
Some 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) to the east of the assembly building are the two launch pads where journeys into space begin. Five miles (eight kilometers) south is the KSC Industrial Area, where many of the Center's support facilities are located. First Apollo and then Shuttle crews prepare tere for the next mission. Here also are the administrative headquarters for KSC operations, the offices of the Center director and other NASA and contractor managers.
As the role of the spaceport changed with the demands of the national space program, the organization of KSC altered to meet those needs. In keeping with NASA's philosophy of using private industry and the nation's universities wherever possible, the majority of KSC employees work for aerospace contractors. In addition to the work tasks required to assemble, process and launch the Space Shuttle, its payloads and crews, a variety of support functions are necessary to keep this large installation operating. These include day-to-day supply, transportation, grounds maintenance, documentation, drafting, and design engineering.
The technology, equipment and concepts developed during the early days of space exploration were the building blocks for an operational spaceport. We have broken the bonds of Earth and traveled into space and back on many occasions. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo ... America's space travelers have given new meaning to these names from Greek and Roman mythology. In this era of the Space Shuttle, the journey into space continues. These pages tell of the people and the programs responsible for creating a gateway to the solar system, and beyond.
This book describes the story and history of the Kennedy Space Center from initial developments, through the Apollo lunar landing program and into the Space Shuttle age.
Contents includes:
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Origins
Chapter 2 - Expendable Launch Vehicle Operations
Chapter 3 - Mercury and Gemini
Chapter 4 - Genesis of Apollo
Chapter 5 - Constructing the Spaceport
Chapter 6 - Disaster at Complex 34
Chapter 7 - Steps Toward Lunar Landing
Chapter 8 - Man on the Moon
Chapter 9 - Apollo Continues
Chapter 10 - Skylab
Chapter 11 - Apollo-Soyuz
Chapter 12 - Space Shuttle
Chapter 13 - Flight Testing The Space Shuttle
Chapter 14 - The Working Space Shuttle
Chapter 15 - Challenger: Setback and Recovery
Chapter 16 - Contractors at KSC
Chapter 17 - Technology Twice Used
Chapter 18 - Community, Public and Press
Chapter 19 - Facing the Future

NASA Kennedy Space Center (Images of Modern America)

By Mark A. Chambers

Arcadia Publishing
Released: 2016-02-15
Paperback (96 pages)

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From Bumper V-2 rocket launches in 1950 to the launch of the Orion spacecraft atop a Delta IV rocket in 2014, NASAs Kennedy Space Center has served as the nations portal to outer space for over 60 years. Images of Modern America: NASA Kennedy Space Center provides a fascinating look at the evolution of spacecraft technology and vintage images of Floridas scenic Merritt Island, known as the Space Coast. This photographic history of the nations premier spaceport looks back at the United States glorious past in space exploration and ahead to its future.

Gateway to the Moon

By Charles D. Benson

University Press of Florida
Paperback (352 pages)

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"The one thing for which this century will be remembered 500 years from now was: This was the century when we began the exploration of space."-- Arthur M. Schlesinger

Tributes to Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations

"A thorough account of the complex scientific, engineering, and managerial efforts that undergirded the astounding events that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration carried out."--Journal of American History

"Another simply superb NASA official history. . . . Construction, administration, and technology are carefully interwoven in an unusually candid and frank treatment of the history of America’s first lunar launching facility."--Aerospace Historian

Gateway to the Moon presents the definitive history of the origins, design, and construction of the lunar launch facilities at Kennedy Space Center, the terrestrial site of one of the greatest national adventures of the 20th century, humanity’s first trip to the moon. It includes archival illustrations and diagrams of locations, personnel, and equipment, from aerial views of sandy, undeveloped Cape Canaveral to some of the first photos of the mobile launchers and crawler-transporters.

Filled with the sense of wonder and pride that the earliest U.S. space achievements inspired, the book focuses on launch complexes 39A and 39B, the gigantic assemblies from which the Apollo-Saturn vehicles departed for trips into space, and on the massive eight-acre Vertical Assembly Building (renamed the Vehicle Assembly Building) and the attached Launch Control Center—some of the most awesome buildings ever constructed. It also analyzes the technological and governmental interactions necessary to ensure success of the launches.

Originally part of Moonport, one of the volumes of the NASA History Series, the book is based on extensive interviews with participants in the space program and wide access to official documents, letters, and memoranda; in addition, the authors air criticisms directed at the Kennedy Space Center team and treat in detail mistakes in launch operations and conflicts within the program. Written for a general-interest audience, with jargon and acronyms translated into everyday language, the book offers a faithful account of technology in service to humanity.

Charles D. Benson, a retired colonel of the U.S. Army, is the coauthor of the official history of the Skylab orbital workshop.

William B. Faherty, director of the Museum of the Western Jesuit Missions in Hazelwood, Missouri, retired professor of history at St. Louis University, and archivist emeritus of the Midwest Jesuit Archives, is the author of 25 books, including the historical novel The Call of Pope Octavian.

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