Go, Flight!: The Unsung Heroes of Mission Control, 1965–1992

by Rick Houston, Milt Heflin, John Aaron (Foreword)

At first glance, it looks like just another auditorium in just another government building. But among the talented men (and later women) who worked in mission control, the room located on the third floor of Building 30—at what is now Johnson Space Center—would become known by many as “The Cathedral.” These members of the space program were the brightest of their generations, making split-second decisions that determined the success or failure of a mission. The flight controllers, each supported by a staff of specialists, were the most visible part of the operation, running the missions, talking to the heavens, troubleshooting issues on board, and, ultimately, attempting to bring everyone safely back home.

None of NASA’s storied accomplishments would have been possible without these people. Interviews with dozens of individuals who worked in the historic third-floor mission control room bring the compelling stories to life. Go, Flight! is a real-world reminder of where we have been and where we could go again given the right political and social climate.

Genres: Space, History, Nonfiction, Science, Audiobook

368 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2015

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this e-book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a review.

If you liked the biographies of Chris Kraft and Gene Kranz, you will love this book. The book attempts to tell the stories of the people who were part of Mission Control, but were never featured in a book or movie. You will get to hear from some of the more recognized MC guys like Glenn Lunney, Sy Liebergot and John Aaron; but you will also get to know more of the others who were there as well. The authors do a good job at trying to include the stories of as many of these people as possible. You really get a feel for how the whole MC group was a team, how everyone worked together and how MC was run successfully.

The main narrative of the book follows the Gemini and Apollo missions controlled from Houston. Looking at some of these missions from the perspective of the MC really changes how you view some of these missions. The book naturally covers the Apollo 13 mission with a lot of detail. Reading this section was extremely interesting. I got chills a few times during this part, and then I had to immediately watch the Apollo 13 movie again. The book also gives you the story from inside MC during the final launch of Challenger. This part is very emotional, and you can just feel the emotions in that room as you read.

I might have given this a four star rating because several of the chapters were not organized very well. They were still readable, but the lack of organization was a bit annoying. I went with 5 stars because it was an amazing read and an important new work to add to the Spaceflight bookshelf.

Overall, I’m very glad this story was written. As is noted in the book, several of the people featured in this book have passed away. I think it is incredibly important to record who they were and what they did to contribute. While the book doesn’t cover everyone that worked in MC, it tells enough of the group’s story that you leave with tremendous respect for anyone who was a part of it.

[Shane Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great look behind the scenes that unfolded at NASA from those early space flights, through Apollo and on to the shuttle missions. There were some seriously dedicated folks that made the impossible possible. A great tribute to their pioneering efforts.

[Graeme Ing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Other than Mr. Kranz's autobiography, this is by far the best account I've read of Mission Control in Houston. From the start of Mercury through to the shuttle era, this book is chock full of personal stories, accurate recollections from dozens of flight controllers, and transcripts of official tapes. Every mission in detail, along with the stories of almost every controller. There probably is no better recorded history of those times in manned space flight.

If you are an Apollo era space nut, and love to read about the incredible job performed in the MOCR on every mission; or if you romanticize about bring a flight controller; or you want the rarely heard details of every little system aboard the spacecraft and how every problem was solved - this is absolutely the book for you.

A fabulous read.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: Rick Houston and I have been best friends since high school. However, my comments are independent of that relationship.

Rick's writing not only gives facts, but it relates the humanity behind the subject and Milt Heflin's contributions add to the authenticity. I honestly feel that I could meet John Aaron, Glenn Lunney, Ed Fendell or Bill Moon and converse with them as I had known them for years. If you have any interest in the space program, you should check this book out!

[Cloak88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spaceflight history from mission control 3.5 stars (Audiobook review)

This is an amazingly interesting history of NASA spaceflight from the view as a mission controller on the ground. It gives an insiders view into the small and big things that made spaceflight possible in the early days. The dedication, obsession and determination of the people working at NASA to accomplish their goals, are truly inspiring.

Having said that this edition, or more specifically the audio edition was not the best way to present it in. The flood of names, description and places at the start of the book bogged down the flow significantly. Even though it was interesting, I kept loosing track of things and this distracted form my experience.

A good book, but it is better read, than listened to.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book exceeded all of my expectations! I've always thought everything NASA has done was pretty cool, but was always primarily interested in the astronauts as they get to leave Earth - something very few have done. Reading this book and learning about mission control - it truly left me breathless. I cannot believe the intelligence, quick thinking, and honest determination and care these folks had for NASA and the astronauts and space exploration as a whole. These folks in mission control worked extremely long hours because they wanted to see a mission succeed, they came up with ideas and felt so confident in them because they knew their stuff and were able to save a mission and human lives all in a days work. One note about this book is there are an extremely large amount of names of all the people who helped with the various missions and it can get a bit hard to keep track of at times.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a former ISS flight controller, I was very excited to read this book. I worked many missions from the “back room” and believed I would identify strongly with the themes and stories recounted in this book. I am happy the unsung heroes received their due credit in this book, but the paragraphs and paragraphs of purely names quickly became tiring. I hoped for the different perspectives of several flight controller positions throughout the early human spaceflight missions, and there are some stories to that effect. However, the main content of the book is the bigger picture story of the events, which I was already very, very familiar with. I understand the need to balance the bigger picture with the details of each flight controller’s perspective, but I finished the book really missing those different perspectives and accounts of personal experiences.

[Rose Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, when I was younger, how I wanted to be one of the people who said “Go, Flight!” The only catch was -- I was not a “big brain” and was mediocre at best in math & science (mostly because I found those subjects boring; when I applied myself, I did OK). I wanted to be part of the glamor & excitement of the space program.

Oh well.

This book is part of a series about the history of the space program published by the University of Nebraska Press. Well documented/researched, it is a significant & hugely valuable addition to the historical record of mankind’s greatest achievement.

Another volume in the series, “Fallen Astronauts,” is also most worthy of your time.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful period of time to write about but the language used by authors is way too religious. Their approach is so reverent it's just hard to read with a straight face. I know the authors are genuine in their respect but the language verges on parody and their uncritical reporting of the stories leaves much to be desired as an attempt at historical record of anything.

I want to read about the facts and think "this is awesome". I don't want to read "this is awesome, praise the Lord" and wonder how rose-tinted your reporting is.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally a very good book for those interested in and with some prior knowledge of the space program. I would not recommend this book as anyone's first book pertaining to the space program.

Chapter 1 was relatively dull but I promise it does get better.

There is a good chunk industry jargon in the book and lots of acronyms. Very early on I started keeping a note book with all of these written down. You will run into places later where they reference only the acronym and it would be very difficult to go back to find the spot where they defined it for you.

[David Bignault · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you followed the space program in the 60’s and 70’s this is a great book for you to read. Learning the ins and outs of Mission Control gives a new perspective of the massive effort to get men to the moon. I was always in awe of the mission controllers and even sat in the mission controlled room in 2010. Reading this both out right there with the guys and helped me bring back the memories of those thrilling times so long ago.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a nerd for the early US space programme anyway, so was always going to like this.

As per other comments, it's a slow start as there are a LOT of people introduced early. But once it gets into the missions, it flies along.

As it's a history, I'm going to pass over some of the silly flag-waving overt jingoistic nonsense that very very occasionally pops up, as I guess that really was the prevalent mindset. It's still a cracking read.

[Sam Eeles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it - great to read about the people behind the scenes of Mission Control. Having read Gene Kranz's biography and Andrew Chaikin's 'A Man on the Moon', it was nice to read about familiar and not so familiar names.

The beginning couple of chapters took a bit of work to get through and it improves a lot from there.

[Ann Halligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book absolutely captures the essence of Mission control and the men who led the US quest for the moon. I may be biased, but having worked for Mr. Lunney and becoming friends with Jerry Bostick 25 years after the moon landing, I can attest that their mentorship and attitudes formed my approach during critical years of my career. Great leaders! Go, Flight!!!

[James Cubitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hidden Gems

Surely the makings of a good many Boys Own style of stories. Anyone interested in the American Space Program needs to understand the backup side of the story and this book tells it in spades. Wonderful stuff

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, these are the guys who really got us to the moon. If life hadn’t gotten so busy I easy could have devoured the book over a weekend, I also didn’t want to fly through it since I wanted to let things sink in and really think about all the things these guys accomplished.

[Dan Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing against this book, but if you're going to invest the time (and haven't already read it), go for Gene Krantz's Failure Is Not An Option for a close-up view of how things worked in Mission Control back in the day.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a perfectly fine read. The first chapter could have been very interesting, but would have benefited from a visual map of mission control as they worked through each of the roles to give a better feel for the room as a whole. Shocking that there were no women at all for so long.

[Bill Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

...some great perspective from "the trenches" of the Apollo program and more...

I've read a LOT of Apollo history, and there was stuff in here I didn't know...so well worth your time if you're an Apollo junkie for sure...

[Michael Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone interested in space - this is for you

[Library Ghost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and engaging. Detailed enough to keep the interest of someone who had read a lot about the early space program but not to detailed that it becomes too technical

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Space stuff is great, and you’re not here for the prose.

[Daryl Pratho]

I missed my calling as a mission controller, what a cool book and a cool career!

[Brian Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

GO FLIGHT: THE UNSUNG HEROES OF MISSION CONTROL, 1965 – 1992, is a story that well deserves being told even if this account does not necessarily tell it well. The writing is a bit awkward at times. At one particularly abrupt page transition I even double-checked the page numbers to see if a signature had escaped binding. For much of the first portion the account nearly descends into being nothing more than a litany of pissing contests between Mission Control and, well, every other organization. If that’s a true reflection of the heroes who took us to the moon, then they have lost a bit of sheen in my eyes. The story improves as the account progresses, and probably as the territorial disputes are resolved. While it may be an imperfect work, it is still a valuable contribution to the history of Apollo; and the final chapter is amazing as it tallies the personal costs made by these extraordinarily dedicated flight controllers who sacrificed so much to sit at their consoles in Mission Control.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really well done personal history of the group that established the traditions of flight control in Houston's Mission Control. The book is compelling and crisply-written and captures the culture and the feel of working and operating in Building 30. It's a well-told story that deserves its place in the narrative of that amazing period. Bravo!

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any time I read something about NASA, it makes me remember why it was my dream job to work there. Someday...

[Vance J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good review of the tough work done by the mission control team supporting the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions. I have a much better feel for the organization and demands of the job.