Final Countdown: NASA and the End of the Space Shuttle Program

By Pat Duggins

Book Overview

Go behind the scenes of NASA's most visible program "NPR journalist Duggins reviews the 25-year saga of the shuttle missions, some of which have been shrouded in mystery, as astronauts took secret military payloads into space; others received worldwide attention and acclaim, as when the Hubble Space Telescope was restored to 20-20 vision. . . . A worthy addition to the recent torrent of books about the American space program." -- Publishers Weekly "A story of lost dreams, new hopes, and the ongoing conquest of space." -- Spaceflight "Provides a very personal look at America's manned space program from a veteran reporter who has covered the shuttle's ups and downs for more than 20 years."--Bill Harwood, CBS News "A refreshingly candid look at the U.S. space program at this crucial juncture. Duggins's enthusiasm for space flight enhances his ability to explore tough questions about NASA's ability to plan for its next giant leap."--David Brancaccio, Host of "NOW" on PBS "Artfully merges excellent reporting with great writing to chronicle the highs and lows of the Space Shuttle program, along with rare astronaut anecdotes about what it's really like to fly to space and back."--Craig Covault, senior editor, Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine In Final Countdown , Pat Duggins chronicles the milestones, the setbacks, the breakthroughs, and the breakdowns of the Space Shuttle program. His unfiltered perspective is that of a journalist, but his passion, evident on every page, is that of a space enthusiast who grew up just south of Kennedy Space Center.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813033845
• ISBN13: 9780813033846
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.5" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Final Countdown

Final Countdown is a well written book that is an easy read. I enjoyed the personal stories from many current and former astronauts as well as some of the specifics of the Space Shuttle program without it being too technical.

Wonderfully honest

Just read this, and thoroughly enjoyed it- I particularly liked the honesty throughout re. the state of Nasa and some of the decisions made over the years. Flaws from the earliest to the current days of the Shuttle program are explored, but this is no witch-hunt- just an honest appraisal of things that went wrong with the Shuttle- but not forgetting, all the great, great things that went right, right too. Wets your appetite for the forthcoming new launch system, too! Recommended.

Tells It Like It Was

I discovered this book while doing research on Kennedy Space Center and found it really helpful. As someone who was "there" during much of the story covered by Duggins, I found his information to be accurate and enlightening. It was also a lot less dry than most of the other related books I was reading on this topic. In particular, I was impressed by his candid narrative. Many of the books I reviewed on KSC and NASA seemed to gloss over issues that may have put the agencies in a bad light, but Duggins was able to tell the truth about what happened using an unbiased voice.

Great book about the space shuttle program!

Final Countdown is a great book about NASA's plans for the future of space travel and their intentions of ending the Space Shuttle program. This book explains how the Space Shuttle program evolved along with it's success and tragedies. Author Pat Duggins wrote this book in a way to where it is not only entertaining but educational as well. A nice addition to a space travel book collection!

A Space book for "Boomers" and beyond

Final Countdown is an excellent book for Baby Boomers who grew up watching the massive Saturn 5 rockets of the Apollo program lumber off the launch pad and dreamed, one day, of drinking Tang on the Moon or taking a Space vacation. Final Countdown is an excellent book for anyone, regardless of generation, interested in politics, science and man's future in Space. The book is a well researched history of how America's shining achievement in Space technology was a mistake, a design of political compromise, constrained federal spending and promised secret military payloads. Frank Lloyd Wright would have told NASA that form must follow function, but in the case of the Shuttle, Wright would have learned that function had not been fully defined. Final Countdown also gives the reader a look at Space exploration beyond the Shuttle program and how NASA has returned to mission-based designs for selecting the vehicle that will likely carry man back to the Moon and possibly on to Mars. Beyond the well documented history of the Shuttle itself, author Pat Duggins introduces readers to the personalities and individual career turns that ultimately gave life to the Space Shuttle program. He tells the unlikely story of how the demise of plans for a spy agency's secret space program helped shape the Shuttle. Along with the Shuttle's achievements, the book takes readers through the pain and lessons learned from the disasters of Challenger and Columbia. In the end, the book serves as a wonderful "Program Guide" to the Final Countdown of the Space Shuttle Program and gives readers a reason to anticipate with excitement the next chapter in the story of manned space flight.