Into the Black

The Extraordinary Untold Story of the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the Astronauts Who Flew Her

By: Rowland White, Richard Truly

Narrated by: Eric Meyers

The real-life techno-thriller from a best-selling author and aviation expert that recaptures the historic moments leading up to the launch of the space shuttle Columbia and the exciting story of her daring maiden flight.

Using interviews, NASA oral histories, and recently declassified material, Into the Black pieces together the dramatic untold story of the Columbia mission and the brave people who dedicated themselves to help the United States succeed in the age of space exploration. On April 12, 1981, NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral. It was the most advanced, state-of-the-art flying machine ever built, challenging the minds and imagination of America's top engineers and pilots. Columbia was the world's first real spaceship: a winged rocket plane, the size of an airliner and capable of flying to space and back before preparing to fly again.

Onboard were moonwalker John Young and test pilot Bob Crippen. Less than an hour after Young and Crippen's spectacular departure from the Cape, all was not well. Tiles designed to protect the ship from the blowtorch burn of reentry were missing from the heat shield. If the damage to Columbia was too great, the astronauts wouldn't be able to return safely to Earth. NASA turned to the National Reconnaissance Office, a spy agency hidden deep inside the Pentagon whose very existence was classified. To help the ship, the NRO would attempt something never done before. Success would require skill, perfect timing, and luck.

Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, Into the Black is a thrilling race against time and the incredible true story of the first space shuttle mission that celebrates our passion for spaceflight.

©2016 Project Cancelled, Ltd. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster Audio

Crazy but true

The Shuttle is America's longest manned space program. This is one of the best histories of the early days of the shuttle. Great work by the author and narrator does a fantastic job. For space enthusiasts this is a must.
Enjoy

Outstanding.

Excellent detail, wonderful narration. Even though it was very engineering heavy(which I like!) it was a riveting story.

I learned some things I didn’t know

I really enjoyed this book. I remember as a kid watching Columbia lift off the pad the first time. It was great learning about all the details of the shuttle’s development in this book as well as unpublished details about STS 1’s flight we didn’t know back then.

Awesome

This is a great book. It tells a powerful story of the orbiters and their crews. One of the best space program books I have read.

Excellent

Great detail. A wonderful look at the little told story of DOD involvement in the Space Shuttle. Loved it.

Amazing book

This book tape was well read and covered the greatest test flight ever and demonstrates that the early shuttle pilots are the direct descendants of the Chuck Yeager era test-pilots.

The level of detail into the thinking of the astronauts

Not much at all, this was a joy to listen to! The narrator’s choice to distinguish voices and give me as a listener how the person might actually speak was a wonderful addition

could not put down

for anyone interested in NASA's history or that of the shuttle this is the de facto work to truly understand the profoundly dangerous and pioneering work it took to accomplish the first human powered space shuttle mission

Fascinating insights into to AF/Shuttle connection

This great book brought me back to Mr Brown's 8th grade science class, waiting for the first shuttle landing. I remember how worried everyone was about the tiles. Now I know the rest of the story. After a career in the intel world, it's eye opening to learn the deep connections between NASA and the NRO and AF leading to the shuttle program and on that first historic mission. I also hadn't realized how many of the AF MOL astronauts wound up as shuttle astronauts.

Outstanding

This is a must for anyone who grew up during the formative years of the space program as well as those too young to remember the national pride that we all took in being able to experience it first hand.