{"product_id":"come-fly-with-us-nasas-payload-specialist-program-hardcover","title":"Come Fly with Us: Nasa's Payload Specialist Program - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMelvin Croft\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eJohn Youskauskas\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eDon Thomas\u003c\/b\u003e (Foreword by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2020 Space Hipsters Prize for Best Book in Astronomy, Space Exploration, or Space History \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eCome Fly with Us\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of an elite group of space travelers who flew as members of many space shuttle crews from pre-\u003ci\u003eChallenger\u003c\/i\u003e days to \u003ci\u003eColumbia\u003c\/i\u003e in 2003. Not part of the regular NASA astronaut corps, these professionals known as \"payload specialists\" came from a wide variety of backgrounds and were chosen for an equally wide variety of scientific, political, and national security reasons. Melvin Croft and John Youskauskas focus on this special fraternity of spacefarers and their individual reflections on living and working in space. Relatively unknown to the public and often flying only single missions, these payload specialists give the reader an unusual perspective on the experience of human spaceflight. The authors also bring to light NASA's struggle to integrate the wide-ranging personalities and professions of these men and women into the professional astronaut ranks. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e While \u003ci\u003eCome Fly with Us\u003c\/i\u003e relates the experiences of the payload specialists up to and including the \u003ci\u003eChallenger\u003c\/i\u003e tragedy, the authors also detail the later high-profile flights of a select few, including Barbara Morgan, John Glenn (who returned to space at the age of seventy-seven), and Ilan Ramon of Israel aboard \u003ci\u003eColumbia\u003c\/i\u003e on its final, fatal flight, STS-107. \u003cb\u003ePurchase the audio edition.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMelvin Croft\u003c\/b\u003e has over thirty years of experience as a geologist and is a member of the organization collectSpace, which is dedicated to educating the public about historical and current space exploration. He is a contributor to \u003ci\u003eFootprints in the Dust: The Epic Voyages of Apollo, 1969-1975\u003c\/i\u003e (Nebraska, 2010). \u003cb\u003eJohn Youskauskas \u003c\/b\u003eis a captain for a major fractional business jet operator. He has also served as an aviation safety board member and has contributed to a number of aviation safety publications. He is a contributor to \u003ci\u003eFootprints in the Dust: The Epic Voyages of Apollo, 1969-1975\u003c\/i\u003e (Nebraska, 2010) and to \u003ci\u003eFallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon\u003c\/i\u003e (Nebraska, 2016). \u003cb\u003eDon Thomas\u003c\/b\u003e is a former NASA mission specialist and the author of \u003ci\u003eOrbit of Discovery: The All-Ohio Space Shuttle Mission.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 456\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.4 x 8 x 9.6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 01, 2019\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51761345528096,"sku":"9780803278929","price":46.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/fd05a0221e92fd60f025a28932745e64.webp?v=1780205115","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/come-fly-with-us-nasas-payload-specialist-program-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}