Paul Dye, NASA's longest-serving Flight Director tells stories from inside Mission Control in a way that explains the mysteries of flying the Space Shuttle—from the powerful fiery ascent to the majesty of on-orbit operations, to the high speed and critical re-entry and landing of a one-hundred-ton glider.
Shuttle, Houston: Life in the Center Seat of Mission Control draws readers into the missions (and the training for those missions) as if they were there. They will gain an understanding of what it takes to make split-second decisions in a field where mistakes are unthinkable, where errors lead to the loss of national resources—and more importantly their crews. Dye tells stories from inside Mission Control in a way that explains the mysteries of flying the Shuttle—from the powerful fiery ascent to the majesty of on-orbit operations, to the high speed and critical re-entry and landing of a one-hundred-ton glider.
The Space Shuttles flew 135 missions; from initial test flights, through the early days of learning how to deploy satellites and do science, and on into the assembly and servicing of the International Space Station. Astronauts conducted space walks, captured satellites, docked with the Mir Space Station—and throughout it all, Mission Control was the hub of activity that made the missions happen. This book allows the readers to see those missions, and those activities, from the center seat—the Flight Director’s console. From the incredible beauty of a docking, to the day-to-day realities of keeping a flight control team running smoothly and happily, Dye fills in the details of those missions to space that lasted for three decades.
Shuttle, Houston is more than just a memoir—it brings previously untold stories of the space program into the open, helping the reader to understand what the men and women of Mission Control experienced and contributed. It brings home the accomplishments of a national (and international) effort to make humankind a spacefaring species.
