Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut [Paperback]

Mike Mullane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2007

In 1978, the first group of space shuttle astronauts was introduced to the world -- twenty-nine men and six women who would carry NASA through the most tumultuous years of the space shuttle program. Among them was USAF Colonel Mike Mullane, who, in his memoir Riding Rockets, strips the heroic veneer from the astronaut corps and paints them as they are -- human.

Mullane's tales of arrested development among military flyboys working with feminist pioneers and post-doc scientists are sometimes bawdy, often comical, and always entertaining. He vividly portrays every aspect of the astronaut experience, from telling a female technician which urine-collection condom size is a fit to hearing "Taps" played over a friend's grave. He is also brutally honest in his criticism of a NASA leadership whose bungling would precipitate the Challenger disaster -- killing four members of his group. A hilarious, heartfelt story of life in all its fateful uncertainty, Riding Rockets will resonate long after the call of "Wheel stop."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a testosterone-fueled swagger and a keen eye for particulars, Mullane takes readers into the high-intensity, high-stress world of the shuttle astronaut in this rough-hewn yet charming yarn of low-rent antics, bureaucratic insanity and transcendent beauty. Mullane opens this tale face down on a doctor's table awaiting a colorectal exam that will determine his fitness for astronaut training. "I was determined when the NASA proctologist looked up my ass, he would see pipes so dazzling he would ask the nurse to get his sunglasses," he writes, setting the tone for the crude and often hilarious story that follows. Chosen as a trainee in 1978, Mullane, a Vietnam vet, quickly finds himself at odds with the buttoned-up post-Apollo NASA world of scientists, technocrats and civilian astronauts he describes as "tree-huggers, dolphin friendly fish eaters, vegetarians, and subscribers to the New York Times." He holds female astronauts in special disregard, though he later grudgingly acknowledges the achievement and heroism of both the civilians and women. The book hits its stride with Mullane's space adventures: a difficult takeoff, the shift into zero gravity, his first view of the Earth from space: "To say the view was overwhelmingly beautiful would be an insult to God." (Feb. 14)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

One of the first astronaut memoirs from the space-shuttle era tells a thoroughly absorbing story. Mullane, an air force brat, flew 134 missions in Vietnam. In the late 1970s, he volunteered for the shuttle program, was accepted, and flew three orbital missions before retiring. His accounts of those missions are gripping. They leave one in no doubt that the shuttle was a somewhat imperfect instrument that somehow still performed marvels. Mullane also pays tribute to his fellow astronauts, a small community that suffered with every death or other loss to the "family" it constituted, and to his wife, who endured 40 years of the stresses of being a pilot's partner. And while this isn't an expose, Mullane makes it clear that NASA's corporate culture wasn't optimal for getting the results it sought. Despite the shuttle's apparent failures, the era when it was America's mainstay in space laid groundwork for the future, and further shuttle chronicles are needed and deserved. A strong addition to science and space collections of any size. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743276833
• ISBN-13: 978-0743276832
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #401,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Astronaut Memoir Ever, February 16, 2006

By 

Mark R., Whittington "author of Children of A... (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut (Hardcover)

Mike Mullane was, by his own account, one of the traditional, right stuff military pilot astronauts. The swagger that must have been in his step is evident in this story of his experiences as a shuttle era astronaut. Mullane proves himself to be a splendid raconteur, making even the tedious seem entertaining. From the rigors of trying to pass medical tests, to the excitement of space travel, to the down and dirty vagaries of NASA office politics, Mullane tells it all and tells it well. Well know personalities are given form, warts and all. Many people have concluded that the whole shuttle experience was an unfortunate decades long detour between the end of Apollo and the upcoming return of human explorers to the Moon. But Mullanes story gives it an air of romance and, with the Challenger disaster, of tragedy. It was an era where the right stuff time of macho, astronaut pilots gave way to a more corporate culture that included women, scientists, and other non traditional astronauts. This is by far the best astronaut memoir ever written and it should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in space history, what really goes on at NASA, or just a crackling great story. Highly recommended.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quick Review, June 8, 2006

By 

Justin Winokur - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut (Hardcover)

I bought this book because it looked interesting. I put it aside for about two weeks beofore starting it but once i did, i read it in less than a week.

Overall, the book was very good. It was never one of those, "I can't put it down" books but i always did look forward to having time to read it. I think that despite some other reviewers problems, Mike was more than fair and wasn't afraid to admit when he was wrong or how much he has grown since his "AD" (arrested development - referring to the sexist, immature attitude imparted on him by the USAF).

I truly enjoyed the insight into NASA and management practices in general. There were also many "laugh out loud moments"

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great glimpse into the early shuttle program, May 14, 2006

By 

Jay M. Chladek - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut (Hardcover)

In terms of astronaut autobiographies (and biographies), there isn't that much out there on shuttle astronauts. With the program winding down, we are starting to see some and IMHO Mike has set a pretty high bar (or low depending on your point of view). It is admittedly not a book for kids, unless they have the maturity to understand some of the humorous bits for what they are. Some adults even might be offended by the seemingly crass "toilet" humor, but it puts things into proper perspective about what life as an astronaut must have been like at the time. This is important to consider since I don't watch movies or comedy with "toilet" humor themes. But, I was brought up in a military family in the 1970s and have encountered similar characters in uniform to those that Mike describes in his book. So the humor does have its place in the context of this story.

The early childhood stuff is a fun read in and of itself. I too played with rockets as a kid. But of course it wasn't as dangerous as it was when Mike was flying them. The teenage and college years at West Point are also fascinating in terms of what it meant to grow up as a Catholic and be madly in love with someone (or lust) just to keep from going insane.

When the book gets to NASA's early shuttle days, you get insights into several of the characters that formed that first class of shuttle astronauts. Judy Resnik is the one people talk about the most, obviously considering her loss on Challenger. Considering it is doubtful we will ever read a dedicated biography of Judy Resnik, this book probably provides the best insight into her life as an astronaut. But the stories about other notable TFNGs such as Shannon Lucid, Hoot Gibson, Hank Hartsfield, Steve Hawley, Sally Ride and Rhea Seddon are also eye opening (how Rhea and Hoot ever decided to get married, I'll never know).

Mike's views on the goings-on at NASA certainly pull no punches. To me, his conclusions seem right on and it can be a real eye opener to see just how close to disaster that many shuttle flights got (but risk is part of the game in space exploration). It also provides hints as to why some astronauts were willing to stick with the program for the long haul while others retired after only a flight or two. The astronaut corps is certainly not for everybody in terms of its mix of hardware, engineering and bureaucracy.

The visions of Mike's views from orbit helped convey to me an idea of just what it may have been like, so I do believe the title of "poet" is a correct one for him. I too would have loved to zip up in a sleeping bag and drift next to an orbiter window, looking down at the world below. Considering that very few people can do that, this is the next best thing.

These are the reasons why I recommend this book. After reading it, I also urge you to pick up a copy of Tom Jones' book "Sky Walking" as, by some weird fate, it practically picks up where "Riding Rockets" left off as Tom entered the astronaut corps in the same year that Mike retired (1990). There are some interesting parallels as both Mike and Tom were selected as Mission Specialists, both were Catholics and both had Military backgrounds. But that is where the similarities end. That book is a different read and with it you can see how the astronaut corps seemed to grow out of its pre-PC days with the TFNGs to the current crop of astronauts who have the same love of the job, but who aren't into the beer drinking and childish antics. Mike mentions that briefly at the end of "Riding Rockets". With both books, you get an almost continuous history of the shuttle program from 1978 until 2001 (with "Riding Rockets" covering it from 1978 until 1990).