"Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in...

When the United States develops a new, state-of-the-art missile defense weapon, it threatens global stability and pits the world's superpowers in a contest for dominance in the space around Earth's orbit.

Describes the efforts of the Soviet Union and the United States to be the first to put a man into space, focusing on the early missions of Project Mercury.

Throughout this nation's history, mankind have reached for the heavens and dreamed of touching the stars. From the early stages of the space program and Kennedy's 1961 call to reach the moon within a decade to the successes and heartbreaking failures of the race for space, the dream was kept alive by dedicated, daring professionals and a nation intent on reaching for, and landing amid, the stars, all while the world faced the Vietnam War.

A journalist for "Life" who originally covered America's space race beginning in 1963 details the story behind the race to the moon, from battling engineers and near disasters to political infighting.

"Today, everyone is familiar with Neil Armstrong's famous words as he first set foot on the moon: 'one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.' He made it look easy, but America's journey to the moon was anything but simple. In 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first satellite, into orbit, America had barely crossed the starting line of the great Space Race. Later that year, our first attempt was such a failure that...

"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, began in 1958. With its creation, the United States hoped to ensure it won the space race against the Soviet Union. Author Sarah Fabiny describes the origins of NASA, the launching of the Apollo program that landed the first human on the moon, and the many missions and discoveries that have taken place since then. NASA has a rich history and still plays an important role in...

"A companion to PBS's American Experience draws on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered archival material to chronicle the stories of the visionaries who helped America win the space race with the first lunar landing"--Publisher. "A charismatic young president issued the historic Moon landing challenge. This book, which greatly expands the companion PBS series, tell the stories of the visionaries--based on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered...

The whole world followed the countdown to sending the first men to the moon. This is the story of the people who made it happen, both in the rockets and behind the scenes.