50% Off The Criterion Collection Shop Now
Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space
Nothing captivates the human imagination like the vast unknowns of space. Ancient petroglyphs present renderings of the heavens, proof that we have been gazing up at the stars with wonder for thousands of years. Since then, mankind has systematically expanded our cosmic possibilities. What were once flights of fancy and dreams of science fiction writers have become nearly routine – a continuous human presence orbiting the Earth, probes flying beyond our solar system, and men walking on the moon. NASA and the Russian space program make traveling to the stars look easy, but it has been far from that. Space travel is a sometimes heroic, sometimes humorous, and always dangerous journey fraught with perils around every corner that most of us have never heard of or have long since forgotten.

Space Oddities brings these unknown, offbeat, and obscure stories of space to life. From the showmanship and bravado of the earliest known space fatality, German Max Valier, to the first ever indictment under the Espionage Act on an Army officer who leaked secrets concerning the development of early U.S. rockets; and the story of a single loose bolt that defeated the Soviet Union’s attempt to beat America to the moon.

Author Joe Cuhaj also sheds light on the human aspects of space travel that have remained industry secrets – until now: how the tradition of using a musical playlist to wake astronauts up began, fascinating tales about inventions like the Fischer Space Pen, Omega watches, and even Tang breakfast drink.

In addition to fun and entertaining space trivia, Space Oddities also features stories of the profound impact that space travel has had on challenges right here at home, like the effort by civil rights leaders and activists in the 1960s to bring the money from the space program back home to those in need on Earth; NASA’s FLATs (First Lady Astronaut Training) program and the 13 women who were selected to become astronauts in 1960, but were denied a chance at flying even after successfully completing the rigorous astronaut training program; and, the animals who many times sacrificed their lives to prove that man could fly in space.

Filled with rare and little-known stories, Space Oddities will bring the final frontier to the homes of diehard space readers and armchair astronauts alike.

"1139799615"
Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space
Nothing captivates the human imagination like the vast unknowns of space. Ancient petroglyphs present renderings of the heavens, proof that we have been gazing up at the stars with wonder for thousands of years. Since then, mankind has systematically expanded our cosmic possibilities. What were once flights of fancy and dreams of science fiction writers have become nearly routine – a continuous human presence orbiting the Earth, probes flying beyond our solar system, and men walking on the moon. NASA and the Russian space program make traveling to the stars look easy, but it has been far from that. Space travel is a sometimes heroic, sometimes humorous, and always dangerous journey fraught with perils around every corner that most of us have never heard of or have long since forgotten.

Space Oddities brings these unknown, offbeat, and obscure stories of space to life. From the showmanship and bravado of the earliest known space fatality, German Max Valier, to the first ever indictment under the Espionage Act on an Army officer who leaked secrets concerning the development of early U.S. rockets; and the story of a single loose bolt that defeated the Soviet Union’s attempt to beat America to the moon.

Author Joe Cuhaj also sheds light on the human aspects of space travel that have remained industry secrets – until now: how the tradition of using a musical playlist to wake astronauts up began, fascinating tales about inventions like the Fischer Space Pen, Omega watches, and even Tang breakfast drink.

In addition to fun and entertaining space trivia, Space Oddities also features stories of the profound impact that space travel has had on challenges right here at home, like the effort by civil rights leaders and activists in the 1960s to bring the money from the space program back home to those in need on Earth; NASA’s FLATs (First Lady Astronaut Training) program and the 13 women who were selected to become astronauts in 1960, but were denied a chance at flying even after successfully completing the rigorous astronaut training program; and, the animals who many times sacrificed their lives to prove that man could fly in space.

Filled with rare and little-known stories, Space Oddities will bring the final frontier to the homes of diehard space readers and armchair astronauts alike.

21.95 In Stock
Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space

Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space

by Joe Cuhaj
Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space
Add to Wishlist
Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space

Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space

by Joe Cuhaj

Overview

Nothing captivates the human imagination like the vast unknowns of space. Ancient petroglyphs present renderings of the heavens, proof that we have been gazing up at the stars with wonder for thousands of years. Since then, mankind has systematically expanded our cosmic possibilities. What were once flights of fancy and dreams of science fiction writers have become nearly routine – a continuous human presence orbiting the Earth, probes flying beyond our solar system, and men walking on the moon. NASA and the Russian space program make traveling to the stars look easy, but it has been far from that. Space travel is a sometimes heroic, sometimes humorous, and always dangerous journey fraught with perils around every corner that most of us have never heard of or have long since forgotten.

Space Oddities brings these unknown, offbeat, and obscure stories of space to life. From the showmanship and bravado of the earliest known space fatality, German Max Valier, to the first ever indictment under the Espionage Act on an Army officer who leaked secrets concerning the development of early U.S. rockets; and the story of a single loose bolt that defeated the Soviet Union’s attempt to beat America to the moon.

Author Joe Cuhaj also sheds light on the human aspects of space travel that have remained industry secrets – until now: how the tradition of using a musical playlist to wake astronauts up began, fascinating tales about inventions like the Fischer Space Pen, Omega watches, and even Tang breakfast drink.

In addition to fun and entertaining space trivia, Space Oddities also features stories of the profound impact that space travel has had on challenges right here at home, like the effort by civil rights leaders and activists in the 1960s to bring the money from the space program back home to those in need on Earth; NASA’s FLATs (First Lady Astronaut Training) program and the 13 women who were selected to become astronauts in 1960, but were denied a chance at flying even after successfully completing the rigorous astronaut training program; and, the animals who many times sacrificed their lives to prove that man could fly in space.

Filled with rare and little-known stories, Space Oddities will bring the final frontier to the homes of diehard space readers and armchair astronauts alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781633887848
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 08/15/2022
Pages: 238
Sales rank: 1,028,942
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Joe Cuhaj grew up in New Jersey as a space fanatic. He would skip school to watch every launch and recovery from the late Mercury missions to the final Skylab mission all while building and flying model rockets. Cuhaj is a Navy veteran and former radio broadcaster turned author and freelance writer. He began his radio career just outside of New York City but moved to Mobile, Alabama in 1981 with his wife who is from the Port City. During this time, Cuhaj worked in various positions including news director / reporter where he applied to take part in NASA’s Journalist in Space program, but he never heard back.

He is the author of eight books, including the forthcoming Hiking Waterfalls Alabama.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction ix

1 The Rocket Worked Perfectly Except for Landing on the Wrong Planet 1

2 Hey Sky, Take Off Your Hat, I'm On My Way! 15

3 In Memory of Laika 35

4 From the Moon, International Politics Seem Petty 51

5 $12 a Day to Feed an Astronaut: We Can Feed a Starving Child for $8 63

6 In My Day, The Biggest Thing You Could Have Done Was Become a Secretary 81

7 The Probability of Success Is Difficult to Estimate 93

8 Good Morning to Our Beautiful World and to All the Beautiful People Who Call It Home 109

9 Hi, It's Doug and Bob and We're in the Ocean 121

10 "Just in Case" is the Curse of Packing 137

11 Wrecked by the Most Expensive Hyphen in History 149

12 Space is Open for Business 161

13 Sex in Space is more than just a Big Bang 175

14 Earth is the Cradle of Humanity but One Cannot Live in a Cradle Forever 185

Notes 189

Index 211

About the Author 227

From the B&N Reads Blog
Page 1 of

Related Subjects

Science & Technology
Astronomy
Astrophysics & Space Science
Science & Technology
Astronomy
Astrophysics & Space Science

Customer Reviews