Breaking the Chains of Gravity Read online

153 Scott Crossfield had some lingering concerns: Crossfield and Blair Jr., Always Another Dawn, 206.

  153 He told Atwood he was a man who could bring a valuable: Crossfield and Blair Jr., Always Another Dawn, 210.

  154 To Neil Armstrong, also a young pilot engineer: Hansen, First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, 120.

  Chapter 9: Edging into Hypersonics

  155 Scott Crossfield pulled his car into a parking lot: Crossfield and Blair Jr., Always Another Dawn, 217.

  156 Feltz had never heard of the hypersonic research plane until: Crossfield and Blair Jr., Always Another Dawn, 220.

  157 gave himself an unofficial role as “the X-15’s chief son-of-a-bitch”: Crossfield and Blair Jr., Always Another Dawn, 224–25.

  158 Feltz came up with an elegant solution to increase the aircraft’s lift: Crossfield and Blair Jr., Always Another Dawn, 229.

  159 Storms descended on the team in a manner befitting his last name: Crossfield and Blair Jr., Always Another Dawn, 248–49.

  160 Feltz agreed with Crossfield. In an emergency: Crossfield and Blair Jr., Always Another Dawn, 231.

  162 Crossfield strongly preferred the Navy’s Clark-designed: Crossfield and Blair Jr., Always Another Dawn, 240.

  164 Walt Williams was eager to take over the aircraft: Crossfield and Blair Jr., Always Another Dawn, 213.

  165 He knew from studying previous flights that the X-2: Merlin, “Starbursters: 55 Years Ago Capt. Mel Apt Conquered Mach 3, Lost Life on Fated Flight.”

  167 But it was exactly this type of flying that appealed to Armstrong: Hansen, First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, 122.

  Chapter 10: The Floating Astronaut

  171 Stapp quickly gained a reputation for operating: Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space, 16.

  174 Kittinger watched as the sled flew across the desert: Kittinger and Ryan, Come Up and Get Me, 44.

  174 Immobilized by his restrains, Stapp felt unbearable pain: Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space, 29.

  175 he was already planning to add more rockets to Sonic Wind No. 1: Kittinger and Ryan, Come Up and Get Me, 45.

  175 became a research niche for Stapp: Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space, 15.

  176 Aircraft, Stapp knew, wouldn’t be a suitable means: The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space, 19.

  177 Simons also saw balloons as the best option: Kennedy, Touching Space, 45.

  178 Stapp walked into Simons’s office wondering: Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts, 23.

  179 Stapp asked if Simons would be willing to make the flight: Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts, 24.

  183 He wanted this first flight to go to a test pilot: Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts, 65.

  183 For Kittinger, the very precise flight profile: Kittinger and Ryan, Come Up and Get Me, 41.

  184 light refused to illuminate did Simons start to become concerned: Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts, 31.

  185 Kittinger asked thousands of questions: Kittinger and Ryan, Come Up and Get Me, 48.

  186 Simons finally confronted Stapp: Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts, 78.

  186 Kittinger, for his part, approached his Manhigh flight: Kittinger and Ryan, Come Up and Get Me, 48.

  186 Kittinger took matters into his own hands: Kittinger and Ryan, Come Up and Get Me, 61.

  188 Not only did he want to complete the test: Kittinger and Ryan, Come Up and Get Me, 63.

  189 looking out the portholes he saw the balloon: Kittinger and Ryan, Come Up and Get Me, 63.

  189 Simons became increasingly anxious as the mission wore on: Kittinger and Ryan, Come Up and Get Me, 65.

  190 he toyed with Simons just a little: Kittinger and Ryan, Come Up and Get Me, 66.

  Chapter 11: Space Becomes an Option

  195 he called the IGY a unique and striking example: Eisenhower, letter to Chester I. Barnard, June 24, 1954.

  197 was clear to von Braun that multistage rockets: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 279.

  198 interest in the talks of spaceflight outweighed the skepticism: Davey, “San Antonio & the Genesis of the Collier’s Series, ‘Man Will Conquer Space Soon!’ 54.

  198 Ryan saw von Braun again as he was leaving another session: Davey, “San Antonio & the Genesis of the Collier’s Series, ‘Man Will Conquer Space Soon!’ 55.

  208 Vanguard alone promoted the idealistic notion that science: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower: A Memoir of the First Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, 119.

  209 When von Braun heard the decision: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 295.

  209 scrambling to revise the Orbiter proposal: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 298.

  Chapter 12: The First Satellite Race

  211 The visit was an unscheduled stop: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 298.

  213 von Braun felt slightly vindicated: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 299.

  215 Pentagon sent an official to Cape Canaveral: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 304.

  215 He and his team were forbidden from discussing: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 304.

  217 Schriever supported satellite development on the condition: USAF, “Proposal for Man-in-Space (1957–1958),” 30.

  223 The most important result of the International Geophysical Year: Hagerty, “Remarks by the President in Connection with the Opening of the International Geophysical Year,” June 30, 1957.

  Chapter 13: One Little Ball’s Big Impact

  225 Wernher von Braun ducked briefly back to his office: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 311.

  225 voice on the other end ask what he thought about it: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 311–12.

  225 The news didn’t entirely shock von Braun: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 2.

  226 Medaris watched as the frustration of Project Orbiter: Medaris and Gordon, Countdown for Decision, 155.

  226 his meal marked by a constant stream of arguments: Medaris and Gordon, Countdown for Decision, 155.

  226 Medaris told von Braun to take Redstone RS-29: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 312.

  227–8 Detractors seized the event as proof of Eisenhower’s failure: Smith, Eisenhower in War and Peace, 732.

  229 Yes, the army could have launched a satellite: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 3.

  229 He worried more than anything that Sputnik: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 7.

  229 The president also ordered outgoing Secretary Wilson: Eisenhower, Waging Peace, 211–12.

  230 Yes, he admitted, the United States could have orbited: “Official White House Transcript of President Eisenhower’s Press and Radio Conference #123.” October 9, 1957.

  232 The consensus was that American science had not: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 15.

  232 offered the president of the Polaroid company, Dr. E. H. Land: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 16.

  232 Dr. Rabi had a suggestion: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 16.

  232 asked whether Killian would be willing to travel: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 20.

  233 And the president’s willingness to take council: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 29.

  235 The same basic principle could be applied to a return: Hartman, Adventures in Research, 263.

  236 Lighting a cigarette before getting into his car: Gray, Angle of Attack, 41.

  236 he took the proposal to Washington: Jenkins, X-15: Extending the Frontiers of Flight, 330.

  238 My subject tonight is science and national security: Eisenhower, “Radio and Television Address to the American People on Science in National Security,” November 7, 1957.

  239 Foremost, he said, was to bring t
ogether: Eisenhower, “Radio and Television Address to the American People on Science in National Security,” November 7, 1957.

  240 On the whole, Killian considered this group: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 109.

  240 The committee’s conclusions were synthesized: USAF, “Proposal for Man-in-Space (1957–1958),” 72.

  244 remained unwavering in his conviction that America: Kistiakowsky, “Memorandum for Dr. Killian,” December 19, 1957.

  249 Von Braun had to wait for tracking stations to pick up: Neufeld, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, 323.

  Chapter 14: The Fight to Control Space

  251 President Dwight Eisenhower was privately relieved: Eisenhower, Waging Peace, 255–57.

  252 Vera Winzen volunteered to climb a ladder: Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space, 100.

  257 Nothing included in the statement was science fiction: Eisenhower, “President’s Science Advisory Committee, Introduction to Outer Space,” March 26, 1958.

  257 Killian saw that Sputnik had cast a spell over military: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 128.

  262 the army’s Wernher von Braun had contacted the air force’s David Simons: Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space, 149.

  265 Killian set about to court Glennan: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower, 139.

  266 We have come to a new day, Glennan began: “Creation of NASA: Message to Employees of NACA from T. Keith Glennan 1958 NASA.” YouTube via Jeff Quitney.

  Epilogue: America Finds Its Footing in Space

  267 Glennan gave the program his glib endorsement: Swenson Jr. et al., This New Ocean, 109.

  268 Nixon toured the sophisticated aircraft: “1958.10.15 X-15 ROLLOUT AND POEM TEST PILOT” by user “Jim Davis.”

  269 “These, ladies and gentleman,” he finished: “Press Conference Introducing the Mercury Astronauts,” NASA video.

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