Rocketdyne: Powering Humans into Space (AIAA Education) [Hardcover]

R. Kraemer (Author), V. Wheelock (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1563477548 | ISBN-13: 978-1563477546 | Publication Date: November 30, 2005

From the first American orbiting satellite, to Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin's historical walk on the Moon, virtually every major achievement in American Space history was made possible by a Rocketdyne engine. And, that record has stood true for over forty years, as today the Space Shuttle program continues to rely on engines designed and built by Rocketdyne. This book is the story behind that unprecedented accomplishment. It is the chronicle of success of one team of rocket pioneers who propelled the American space program from trailing the Soviet Union in the 1950s and early 1960s into today's position of leadership in space. It is a story of heroes and even a few villains, but mostly it is a story of triumphant success in the human venture into space. For the early history of rocketry up through the work of Dr Robert Goddard in the early 1940s, Kraemer referenced the history books of T A Heppenheimer and Frank Winter. The rest of the book is a chronicle of both the author's own memories and experiences as a member of the Rocketdyne team, as well as those of other key members of this elite group, including: Bill Brennan, George Sutton, Bill Cecka, Doug Hege, Bill Ezell, Tom Myers, John Tormey, Paul Castenholz, Sam Iacobellis, Ed Monteath, Steve Domokos, Stan Gunn, Willy Wilhelm, Bob Biggs, Ted Benham, and Vince Wheelcok. This book is a true testament to the human spirit - and to a dedicated and determined team of aerospace engineers who launched a nation into Space.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"No one had written an overall history of Rocketdyne - the professional historians said there was not enough preserved documentation for them to write a proper history book - so I determined to visit key survivors of the glory days of Rocketdyne to record their memories, add my own insight as a member of the team, and preserve the history of how large liquid propellant rocket engines evolved at Rocketdyne and why the team was so successful. - Robert S. Kraemer"

About the Author

Robert Kraemer received a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an M.S. in Aeronautics (Rocket Propulsion Option) from Caltech. He served as head of Advanced Design at Rocketdyne in the 1950s and early 1960s, then Chief Engineer for Space Systems at Ford Aeronutronic before moving to NASA where he served at Headquarters as Director of Planetary Exploration and then Assistant Director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. He has received NASA awards including the Distinguished Service Medal and the Medal for Outstanding Leadership. He is a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society and Associate Fellow of the AIAA. Kraemer is also the author of ""Beyond the Moon; A Golden Age of Planetary Exploration 1971-1978"" published in the Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series.

Vince Wheelock, originally an Iowa farm boy, spent four years in the Air force with service in Korea, and subsequently graduated in 1958 from Iowa State University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He joined Rocketdyne and during his 40+-year career participated in major engine programs including those for early Thor and Atlas Ballistic Missiles, Project Mercury, Saturn IB, Saturn V, and Space Shuttle. He retired as Rocketdynes Director of Field Engineering & Logistics and continues to be active in propulsion support at Rocketdyne, and as a Rocketdyne Liquid Propellant Rocket Engine Historian. He has received many NASA group achievement awards, is the recipient of the Rocketdyne Presidents Award for Leadership, the Distinguished Engineering Achievement Award from the San Fernando Valley Engineers Council, and The Professional Achievement Citation in Engineering Award from Iowa State University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 275 pages
• Publisher: AIAA (November 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563477548
• ISBN-13: 978-1563477546
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,142,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rocketdyne: Powering Humans Into Space, April 10, 2008

By 

Gary Fillible - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rocketdyne: Powering Humans into Space (AIAA Education) (Hardcover)

I am hungry for liquid rocket engine information, this book helped satisfy that hunger, I loved the authors writing style and found the book easy to read and informative,it was a joy to read about the people involved and the troubles they had to overcome to create these masterpieces of engineering and power, I have already read it a second time, I enjoyed it so much. I have only one criticism of the book and this is a blanket criticism of all of the books that I have bought from AIAA, they should have used a better quality paper, the illustrations were muddy, some of the photos were too small or too dark, like they were not edited for contrast, etc., and a better quality paper would have made all of them clearer, when I look at rocket engine photos I'm looking for details and sometimes the details were unintelligible, BUT, there was a wealth of photos, it's loaded, and a lot of effort was expended by the authors to get them into the book. I feel this a very important book and am glad that it's now part of my library.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rocketdyne: Powering Humans into Space, March 8, 2007

By 

Jack Dean (Tempe, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rocketdyne: Powering Humans into Space (AIAA Education) (Hardcover)

I think that it was a very good review of the booster engine programs at Rocketdyne. I was disappointed that more wasn't said about all the spacecraft engine programs that Rocketdyne contributed to space programs. I think those people that worked on small engines should have been recognized more for thier work.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rocketdyne: Powering Humans into Space by Sara Howard, an Apollo Engineer on the Saturn V., June 13, 2010

By 

Rocket Scientist "Chuck" (Louisiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rocketdyne: Powering Humans into Space (AIAA Education) (Hardcover)

Oh, my! I love Rocketdyne. They made our F-1 engines on the first stage of the Saturn V. Folks, this is great history. The remarks about the paper while valid, are not the important thing in this book. It is the information and our history. While AIAA is a great organization, they are not in the business of publishing books.

I was privileged to work on the S-IC Stage of the Saturn V during Apollo at the Michoud facility. We saw those engines every day. I am just one of two women who worked as aerospace engineers on the Saturn V.
Many, many people have read this book and urged me to buy it, too. This book has wonderful detail about the trials and triumphs of building these engines. It doesn't stop there. Rocketdyne made many kinds of engines.
A member of AIAA called me as he was reading this book and said, "You guys are National Treasures".
These engines were made with good engineering and very little technology.
The entire Apollo program was made like that. Why do you think our Astronauts returned home safely?


He is the hoaxter that claims that we never went to the Moon in his vile video.
400,000 people and 23,000 worked on Apollo and the National Geographic Society
has refuted his claim along with "MythBusters" on the NatGeo program.
What is interesting is that his fans scream, attack and call anyone nasty names if
anyone objects to this junk. Good heavens, it has been 40 years since we went to the moon.
Who cares about this? GIVE IT A REST.
Sibrel wants you to buy a poorly-made video that proves the Moon landings were a fake
and a hoax. He is charging $40.00 for the video and hoping that you will buy it.
Guess what? Anyone can watch this video for FREE on YouTube.


Sara Howard, Author of "Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Moon" and "The Greatest Explosions in the Universe."