We Have Capture: Tom Stafford and the Space Race

Along with John Young, Tom Stafford was one of the most experienced astronauts in the early stages of the U. S. space program. He flew as pilot on the first orbital rendezvous mission in the Gemini program, as commander on a later Gemini mission, and as commander of Apollo 10 (dress rehearsal for the first moon landing) and the Apollo-Soyuz rendezvous project of 1975. The ties he established with the Soviets during the Apollo-Soyuz era made him a key behind-the-scenes player in the Shuttle-Mir and International Space Station programs of the 1990s. The first half of this memoir, up through Apollo 10, is familiar ground for most readers interested in the history of the space program, and Stafford's recounting of it is pretty perfunctory show more compared to Michael Collins Carrying the Fire or Deke Slayton's Deke! (the latter also co-authored by Michael Cassutt). Once he shifts to Apollo-Soyuz and points beyond, however, Stafford's storytelling perks up somewhat and he tells stories that even long-time space buffs may not have heard before. show less

It was an interesting read: the US space program from Mercury on was not problem free; indeed, most of the problems were not well-publicized. Stafford, of course, was a major player, even after he retired from NASA. NASA has always had issues with bureaucracy, whether with the armed forces or with its own. We must never forget that NASA is a government organization. As such, it is amazing it has done as well as it has. I was also impressed with the extensive education the astronauts work at. They never stop learning!

Thomas Patten Stafford, a USAF pilot and flight test instructor, joined NASA in the second group of astronauts in 1962. He flew two Gemini missions, and commanded Apollo 10 and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). He is also one of the three people to have travelled at the fastest speed ever attained by a manned vehicle - during the return from the Moon, Apollo 10's trajectory resulted in a speed of 24,791 mph.

Read the rest of the review here : http://spacebookspace.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-have-capture-tom-stafford.html