One of the wonderful aspects of the US Manned Spaceflight Program was the opportunity for people around the entire globe to participate in one of man's greatest adventures. As we laid out the plans for flying the first manned spaceflight program, it was obvious that we would require exten sive operations around the earth. One of the most challenging features of this plan was to build a world-wide network of tracking stations to provide communications with the orbiting spacecraft. At the time, about 1958 and 59, the construction of these facilities, in what turned out to be some very interesting pieces of geography, was a tremendous task. Christopher C. Kroft, Jr. Australia is located roughly 180 degrees longitude from the launch site, Cape Canaveral, and so occupied not only a unique position but a very critical one. Determining the position of the spacecraft as it traversed the Australian continent was critical to the orbit determination. This set of parameters was necessary to properly manage the entire operation. Such things as the time of retrofire, paramount to recovery of the crew, and the information required for signal acquisition at each of the tracking sites around the world are but two examples. Also, because the status of the astronaut and the spaceship were extremely critical to the deci sion-making process, the stations down under provided vital data to evalu ate the progress and to allow the flight control team to manage the problems that inevitably developed.

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Reviews
"Hamish Lindsay has done a marvellous job of telling the story of manned space flight He has given his readers a sort of encyclopedia of the beginning of man's quest for flight into space. This is followed with a splendid description of the real time operations of all of the major missions. As one who lived through the Camelot period of space in the 60s and knows the trauma we all endured, I am greatly impressed with the detail and authenticity of the stories that Hamish so vividly tells. For example, as I read Hamish's account of the Apollo 11 and 13 missions, I could again imagine myself back in mission control reliving some of the finest moments of my life...Those of you who are fortunate to read Hamish Lindsay's account will be much richer for it."
- FROM THE FOREWORD BY CHRISTOPHER C. KRAFT, JR.,
NASA's First Flight Director and Retired Director of the NASA Johnson Space Center



Book Information
ISBN 9781447110644
Author Hamish Lindsay
Format Paperback
Page Count 428
Imprint Springer London Ltd
Publisher Springer London Ltd