The Last of NASA's Original Pilot Astronauts ─ Expanding the Space Frontier in the Late Sixties

Resulting from the authors’ deep research into these two pre-Shuttle astronaut groups, many intriguing and untold stories behind the selection process are revealed in the book. The often extraordinary backgrounds and personal ambitions of these skilled pilots, chosen to continue NASA’s exploration and knowledge of the space frontier, are also examined.

In April 1966 NASA selected 19 pilot astronauts whose training was specifically targeted to the Apollo lunar landing missions and the Earth-orbiting Skylab space station. Three years later, following the sudden cancellation of the USAF’s highly classified Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) project, seven military astronauts were also co-opted into NASA’s space program.

This book represents the final chapter by the authors in the story of American astronaut selections prior to the era of the Space Shuttle. Through personal interviews and original NASA documentation, readers will also gain a true insight into a remarkable age of space travel as it unfolded in the late 1960s, and the men who flew those historic missions.

David Shayler has a broad range of experience covering all aspects of human spaceflight history. In October 1982, he created Astro Info Service to focus on his space writing and research, with lectures and educational outreach activities. Early publications included the periodicals ‘Orbiter’ on the shuttle and ‘Zenit’ on Soviet activities, and a growing range of biographies on the world’s space explorers. In 1990 David co-created the Midland Spaceflight Society and acted as its chairman. His first book was published in 1987 and since then he has authored over 20 titles, including 13 titles in the Praxis Space Library between 2000 and 2009. He has contributed to titles on human spaceflight, including the three editions of “Who’s Who in Space” (MacMillan, 1998). Personal research has been conducted at NASA JSC in Houston, and at KSC in Florida, as well as at Rice and Clear Lake Universities and the NARA archives in Texas. His research continues daily and new titles are under various stages of production, some of which are available via the AIS website (www.astroinfoservice.co.uk).

Colin Burgess’s first book, “The Diggers of Colditz” was published simultaneously in the U.K. and Australia in 1985. His next few books were on the Australian prisoner-of–war experience and then he turned his efforts to writing about his principal interest: human space exploration. Burgess has written a number of books on the subject for the University of Nebraska Press and Springer-Praxis. The books he has written or co-authored for Springer-Praxis are “NASA’s Scientist-Astronauts,” “Animals in Space,” “The First Soviet Cosmonaut Team,” and “Selecting the Mercury Seven.” His latest book for Springer-Praxis is “Moon Bound: Choosing and Preparing NASA’s Lunar Astronauts.” In the interim he has also worked as series editor and sometimes author for the Outward Odyssey set of 12 books on the social history of space exploration for the University of Nebraska Press.