Safely to Earth, Jack Clemons
Safely to Earth, Jack Clemons
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Safely to Earth
The Men and Women Who Brought the Astronauts Home

Author: Jack Clemons

Narrator: Tom Perkins

Unabridged: 8 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/02/2018


Synopsis

In this one-of-a-kind memoir, Jack Clemons—a former lead engineer in support of NASA—takes listeners behind the scenes and into the inner workings of the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs during their most exciting years. Discover the people, the events, and the risks involved in one of the most important parts of space missions: bringing the astronauts back home to Earth.

Clemons joined Project Apollo in 1968, a young engineer inspired by science fiction and electrified by John F. Kennedy's challenge to the nation to put a man on the moon. He describes his experiences supporting the NASA engineering team at what is now the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he played a pivotal role in designing the reentry and landing procedures for Apollo astronauts. He went on to work on Skylab and the Space Shuttle program, eventually assuming leadership for the entire integrated software system on board the Space Shuttle.

Through personal stories, Clemons introduces listeners to many of the unsung heroes of the Apollo and Space Shuttle missions—the people who worked side-by-side with NASA engineers supporting reentry and landing for each Apollo mission, and the software team who fashioned the computer programs that accompanied the crews on the Space Shuttle. Clemons worked closely with astronauts who relied on him and his fellow engineers for directions to their destination, guidance on how to get there, control of their fate during their journeys, and a safe return. He reveals problems, challenges, and near-disasters previously unknown to the public and offers candid opinions on the failures that led to the loss of fourteen astronauts in the Challenger and Columbia tragedies.

Highlighting the staggering responsibility and the incredible technological challenges that Clemons and his colleagues took on in the race to reach the moon and explore the mysteries of space, this book is a fascinating insider's view of some of the greatest adventures of the twentieth century.

About Jack Clemons

Jack Clemons was a lead engineer supporting NASA's Apollo program and senior engineering software manager on the Space Shuttle program. He was part of the mission control backroom team that supported the NASA flight controllers on both the return of the Apollo 11 crew from the first Moon landing and the rescue of the Apollo 13 crew. A former senior vice president of engineering for Lockheed Martin, he is a writer, consultant, and speaker about NASA's space programs.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Roberta

Unique space insights A must-listen for NASA, space flight and technology geeks! As the key liaison between NASA and IBM during the Apollo era, the author has a unique perspective and lived experience that hasn’t been told in other books. I especially enjoyed learning about the number of computers on......more

Goodreads review by Gulu

In "Safely to Earth, " Jack Clemons spins a yarn about the brave men and women who brought astronauts back from... the moon? Oh, please. We all know the moon is just a spotlight, a mere celestial disco ball. This book, however, dares to suggest that those "astronauts" were actually intrepid explorers......more

Goodreads review by Eric

This book was very good right until the end. The author gives a history of manned space flight from the perspective of Mission Control were he worked or had contract work. He attempts to make the book specifically about some individuals in mission control, but really doesn't address all that many in......more

Goodreads review by Anne

This historically-significant autobiography by a successful engineer who participated, gives much-needed texture and context to the early space-exploration era 1960's-80's, reminding us of how rudimentary the tools were that got us to the moon and then shuttled us to and from space stations. (Do you......more