{"product_id":"come-fly-with-us-nasas-payload-specialist-program-paperback","title":"Come Fly with Us: NASA's Payload Specialist Program - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\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\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the 2020 Space Hipsters Prize for Best Book in Astronomy, Space Exploration, or Space History\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCome Fly with Us\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of an elite group of space travelers who flew as members of many space shuttle crews from pre-\u003cem\u003eChallenger\u003c\/em\u003e days to \u003cem\u003eColumbia\u003c\/em\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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e While \u003cem\u003eCome Fly with Us\u003c\/em\u003e relates the experiences of the payload specialists up to and including the \u003cem\u003eChallenger\u003c\/em\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 \u003cem\u003eColumbia\u003c\/em\u003e on its final, fatal flight, STS-107. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMelvin Croft\u003c\/strong\u003e has more than forty years of experience as a geologist and is a longtime supporter of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Youskauskas\u003c\/strong\u003e is a professional pilot with more than thirty years of aviation experience in flight operations, aviation safety, and maintenance. Both authors contributed to \u003cem\u003eFootprints in the Dust: The Epic Voyages of Apollo, 1969-1975\u003c\/em\u003e (Nebraska, 2010). \u003cstrong\u003eDon Thomas\u003c\/strong\u003e is a former NASA mission specialist and the author of \u003cem\u003eOrbit of Discovery: The All-Ohio Space Shuttle Mission\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMelvin Croft\u003c\/b\u003e has more than forty years of experience as a geologist and is a longtime supporter of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. \u003cb\u003eJohn Youskauskas\u003c\/b\u003e is a professional pilot with more than thirty years of aviation experience in flight operations, aviation safety, and maintenance. Both authors contributed to \u003ci\u003eFootprints in the Dust: The Epic Voyages of Apollo, 1969-1975\u003c\/i\u003e (Nebraska, 2010). \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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 454\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.01 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 01, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47289064947961,"sku":"9781496238627","price":32.35,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/fyeeq8puL79781496238627.webp?v=1769138404","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/come-fly-with-us-nasas-payload-specialist-program-paperback","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}