Frank Carlson Library

This title will explore the beginnings of the Space Race, including the development and launch by the Soviet Union of Sputnik, the world's first satellite. America's response was Project Mercury, run by the newly formed NASA. With its goal of putting astronauts into Earth's orbit, Project Mercury spawned such household names as John Glen, Alan Shepard, and the other "Mercury 7" astronauts. Will also examine animals in space, and the parallel space...

NASA's Apollo program was the most ambitious human spaceflight mission in history, with its goal of safely landing astronauts on the Moon and returning them safely to Earth. This title will follow each mission, from the tragedy of Apollo 1, to the triumph of Apollo 11 and the final Moon landings of the early 1970s. It will also examine the parallel space exploration efforts of the Soviet Union during this period, and its unsuccessful attempt to beat...

Meet Katherine Johnson, a brilliant mathematician who worked at NASA in the early 1950s until retiring in 1986. Katherine's unparalleled calculations (done by hand) helped plan the trajectories for NASA's Mercury and Apollo missions (including the Apollo 11 moon landing). She is said to be one of the greatest American minds of all time.--

"Find out all about NASA in this out-of-this-world addition to the What Was? series. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, began in 1958. With its creation, the United States hoped to ensure it won the space race against the Soviet Union. Author Sarah Fabiny describes the origins of NASA, the launching of the Apollo program that landed the first human on the moon, and the many missions and discoveries that have taken...