Test gods : Virgin Galactic and the making of a modern astronaut / Nicholas Schmidle.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schmidle, Nicholas, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Space vehicles--United States--Testing.

Space vehicles.

Virgin Galactic--Employees.

Virgin Galactic.

Test pilots--United States.

Test pilots.

Astronauts--United States.

Astronauts.

Testing.

United States.

Space tourism.

Employees.

Space vehicles--Testing.

Genre:

Technology & Engineering / Aeronautics & Astronautics.

Physical Description:

xii, 333 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Virgin Galactic and the making of a modern astronaut

Place of Publication:

New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2021.

Summary:

"Based on exclusive inside reporting, New Yorker writer Nicholas Schmidle tells the remarkable story of the test pilots, engineers, and visionaries behind Virgin Galactic's campaign to build a space tourism company. Schmidle follows a handful of characters-Mark Stucky, Virgin's lead test pilot ; Richard Branson, the eccentric billionaire funding the venture ; Mike Moses, the grounded, unflappable president ; Mike Alsbury, the test pilot who lost his life ; and others-through personal and professional dramas, in pursuit of their collective goal : to make space tourism a reality. Along the way, Schmidle weaves his relationship with his father-a former fighter pilot and decorated war hero-into the tragedies and triumphs that Branson's team encounters out in the Mojave Desert as they design, build, and test-fly their private rocketship. Gripping and novelistic, Test Gods leads us, through human drama, into a previously unseen world-and beyond"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part 1 Brothers

1 Born to Fly p. 9

2 Forger p. 17

3 A Beautiful Ball p. 26

4 God Is Here p. 32

5 Foggles p. 39

6 The Rebel Billionaire p. 43

7 Hidden Tigers p. 51

8 Evil Air p. 58

9 The Party p. 65

10 Angel's Wings p. 73

11 The Gamma Turn p. 81

12 They're Gone p. 95

13 Wreckage p. 101

14 The Red Balloon p. 110

Part 2 Fathers

15 A Resemblance p. 117

16 Jousting p. 122

17 Whale Lines p. 128

18 Blank Pages p. 136

19 Starman p. 145

20 Jitters p. 157

21 The Walnut p. 166

22 Gradatim Ferociter p. 178

23 Artifacts p. 188

24 Full Duration p. 193

Part 3 Sons

25 Slipping the Surly Bonds p. 205

26 Million-Dollar View p. 215

27 Defining Space p. 221

28 Dagobah p. 229

29 Fortune Cookies p. 239

30 Thoroughbred p. 246

31 The Space Mirror p. 261

32 Wings p. 272.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-316) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Schmidle, Nicholas, Test gods

ISBN:

9781250229755

1250229758

OCLC:

1224042317