Into the Black

De: Rowland White

Narrado por: Eric Meyers

On 12th April 1981 a revolutionary new spacecraft blasted off from Florida on her maiden flight. NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia was the most advanced flying machine ever built – the high watermark of post-war aviation development. A direct descendant of the record-breaking X-planes the likes of which Chuck Yeager had tested in the skies over the Mojave Desert, Columbia was a winged rocket plane, the size of an airliner, capable of flying to space and back before being made ready to fly again. She was the world’s first real spaceship.

On board were men with the Right Stuff. The Shuttle’s Commander, moonwalker John Young, was already a veteran of five spaceflights. Alongside him, Pilot Bob Crippen was making his first, but Crip, taken in by the space agency after the cancellation of a top secret military space station programme in 1969, had worked on the Shuttle’s development for a decade. Never before had a crew been so well prepared for their mission.

Yet less than an hour after Young and Crippen’s spectacular departure from the Cape it was clear that all was not well. Tiles designed to protect Columbia from the blowtorch burn of re-entry were missing from the heatshield. If the damage to their ship was too great the astronauts would be unable to return safely to earth. But neither they nor mission control possessed any way of knowing.

Instead, NASA turned to the National Reconnaissance Office, a spy agency hidden deep inside the Pentagon whose very existence was classified. To help, the NRO would attempt something that had never been done before. Success would require skill, pinpoint timing and luck …

Drawing on brand new interviews with astronauts and engineers, archive material and newly declassified documents, Rowland White, bestselling author of Vulcan 607, has pieced together the dramatic untold story of the mission for the first time. Into the Black is a thrilling race against time; a gripping high stakes cold-war story, and a celebration of a beyond the state-of-the-art machine that, hailed as one of the seven new wonders of the world, rekindled our passion for spaceflight.

*With a foreword by Astronaut Richard Truly*

‘Beautifully researched and written, Into the Black tells the true, complete story of the Space Shuttle better than it’s ever been told before.’
Colonel Chris Hadfield, former Astronaut and Space Station Commander

‘Brilliantly revealed, Into the Black is the finely tuned true story of the first flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Rowland White has magnificently laid bare the unknown dangers and unseen hazards of that first mission … Once read, not forgotten.’
Clive Cussler

Reseñas de la Crítica

The Right Stuff of our times

Beautifully researched and written, Into the Black tells the true, complete story of the Space Shuttle better than it’s ever been told before. (Colonel Chris Hadfield, former Astronaut and Space Station Commander)

Brilliantly revealed, Into the Black is the finely tuned true story of the first flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Rowland White has magnificently laid bare the unknown dangers and unseen hazards of that first mission … Once read, not forgotten. (Clive Cussler)

A drama of flight and raw human courage, with the lustre of myth. Into the Black is a brilliant concept, brilliantly executed. You'll feel like you made the flight yourself. Strap in. (Stephen Baxter, author of Voyage and Titan)

Into the Black told me stuff I never knew before – and I worked at NASA for 30 years … a deep and enthralling read. (Mike Foale, former Astronaut and International Space Station Commander)

A remarkable book. (David Scott, Commander of Apollo 15, Moonwalker)

Absolutely terrific … There are stories of courage and heart-accelerating fear in these pages that even I, as an astronaut, was unaware of. If you have even a casual interest in the space program, read this book! (Mike Mullane, former Astronaut and author of Riding Rockets)

In this gripping, real-life thriller, Rowland White introduces us to the engineers, test pilots, and astronauts who created the space shuttle and executed the “boldest test flight in history” … Into the Black lives up to the legacy of the ship I flew and loved. (Tom Jones, former Astronaut and author of Sky Walking)

Impeccably, painstakingly researched from start to finish. The level of access Rowland White has secured here is nothing short of breathtaking … Into the Black reads like the very best fiction - a real page-turner. I loved it. (Neil Oliver)

Revealing and hugely entertaining … a roller-coaster ride of adventure and suspense. A truly remarkable book. (John Nichol, author of After the Dams and co-author of Tornado Down)

A Terrific, Entertaining Listen

Any additional comments?

This is a really great audiobook. I've listened and read a ton of books and audiobooks on the space programme, though mainly the early years and Apollo. I was a little hesitant about this one as post-Apollo never seemed to excite me. But the narrative here was brilliant. It provided tons of detail and context that I've never heard before, and delivered it in a way that was highly entertaining. Given the length I was also cautious for a subject I did't think could sustain it - but I was wrong. Again, the narrative was excellent and captivating, and I was entirely absorbed in the story. And the narrator was also very good. I got a little concerned for a very brief moment early in the book when he changed his "voice" while quoting Curtis Lemay - but it was one very short instance (30 seconds), not repeated - so I'm glad I ignored it. I'd highly recommend this for anyone interested in the subject - or those who are stuck on Apollo.