Space Shuttle Challenger - by Ben Evans (Paperback)

About the Book

This book details the stories of Challenger's missions from the points of view of the astronauts, engineers, and scientists who flew her and the managers, technicians, and ground personnel who created one of the most capable Shuttles in NASA's service.

Book Synopsis

This book will take readers back to a time when the Space Shuttle represented the dawn of a new age in space travel, a time when the fabled final frontier was drawing inexorably closer as each year passed. It details the stories of Challenger's missions from the points of view of the astronauts, engineers, and scientists who flew and knew her and the managers, technicians, and ground personnel who designed her and nursed her from humble beginnings as a structural test article into one of the most capable Shuttles in NASA's service. Coverage combines technical esoterica with interviews, stories, and anecdotes from the lifetime of this remarkable spacecraft. Challenger veterans, including Gordon Fullerton and Vance Brand, describe their experiences and the differences between Challenger and her sister ships. The development of Challenger herself is explored in detail, including her design, development, construction, and preparation for missions.

Review Quotes

From the reviews:

"Space writer Evans details the ten missions of the space shuttle Challenger, including its last tragic flight. ... He covers both the problems and the successes throughout the ten missions. This book is very readable and a good survey of the shuttle program in the 1980s ... and thus would be suitable for the nontechnical student interested in the shuttle program. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates." (D. B. Mason, CHOICE, Vol. 45 (2), 2007)

About the Author

Ben Evans was born in October 1976 in Solihull and attended the University of Birmingham, from where he gained a degree in Ancient History and Archaeology and later a teaching qualification. He has written extensively for SPACEFLIGHT, COUNTDOWN and ASTRONOMY NOW magazines since 1992 and has previously had two books published by Praxis. These were NASA'S VOYAGER MISSIONS (2003) and, most recently, SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA (2005). He researched and wrote both books whilst training and working as a history and English secondary school teacher. He is not a professional scientist, but merely a space enthusiast with an interest in writing.