{"product_id":"the-pre-astronauts-manned-ballooning-on-the-threshold-of-space","title":"The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ryan, Craig\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrand:\u003c\/b\u003e US Naval Institute Press\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEdition:\u003c\/b\u003e First Edition\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFeatures:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eUsed Book in Good Condition\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNumber Of Pages:\u003c\/b\u003e 344\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRelease Date:\u003c\/b\u003e 01-12-1995\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDetails:\u003c\/b\u003e Back in the 1950s and early 1960s, before liquid-fuel rockets had launched us full-sail onto what John Kennedy would call the \"new ocean,\" a small fraternity of daring, brilliant men made the first exploratory trips into the upper stratosphere to the edge of outer space in tiny capsules suspended beneath plastic balloons. They saw things no one had ever seen, and they experienced conditions no one was sure they could survive. This book tells the story of these brave and tenacious men as they labored on the cusp of a new age.\nThe author captures the drama of their spectacular achievements and those of many of the other space pioneers who made America's stratospheric balloon programs possible. Their now largely forgotten programs supplied many systems and processes adopted by NASA. Unfortunately, some of the valuable lessons they brought back from the edge of space were ignored - in at least one case, with disastrous consequences. Craig Ryan's argument is compelling for the inclusion of these men's achievements in the broad history of space exploration and astronautics. In their day, before Gagarin and Glenn and American flags on the Sea of Tranquillity, these pre-astronauts were the space program.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEAN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781557507327\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguages:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding:\u003c\/b\u003e hardcover\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eItem Condition:\u003c\/b\u003e New\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"US Naval Institute Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51757842235693,"sku":"FBM_New_435","price":33.27,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/5853\/5981\/files\/51M9H8E2QSL.jpg?v=1768500905","url":"https:\/\/silkroadstore.us\/products\/the-pre-astronauts-manned-ballooning-on-the-threshold-of-space","provider":"Silk Road Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}