Space Shuttle Stories: Firsthand Astronaut Accounts from All 135 Missions

Space Shuttle Stories: Firsthand Astronaut Accounts from All 135 Missions is a 320-page Smithsonian Books history of NASA’s space shuttle program, told by the astronauts who flew it. Author Tom Jones, who flew four shuttle missions himself, interviewed more than 130 fellow astronauts to gather at least one personal account from every flight, from Columbia’s first launch in 1981 to Atlantis’s final mission in 2011.

Each mission gets its own few pages with the crew, the objectives, and a story from one of the astronauts who was aboard, paired with photos from NASA’s archives. The book also covers shuttle development and the Challenger and Columbia accidents, with a foreword by former shuttle program manager Wayne Hale.

Find it at the Aviation Heritage Park store.