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Bold They Rise: The Space Shuttle Early Years, 1972-1986
After the Apollo program put twelve men on the moon and safely brought them home, anything seemed possible. In this spirit, the team at NASA set about developing the Space Shuttle, arguably the most complex piece of machinery ever created. The world’s first reusable spacecraft, it launched like a rocket, landed like a glider, and carried out complicated missions in between.
Bold They Rise tells the story of the Space Shuttle through the personal experiences of the astronauts, engineers, and scientists who made it happen—in space and on the ground, from the days of research and design through the heroic accomplishments of the program to the tragic last minutes of the Challenger disaster. In the participants’ own voices, we learn what so few are privy to: what it was like to create a new form of spacecraft, to risk one’s life testing that craft, to float freely in the vacuum of space as a one-man satellite, to witness a friend’s death. A “guided tour” of the Shuttle—in historical, scientific, and personal terms—this book provides a fascinating, richly informed, and deeply personal view of a feat without parallel in the human story.
Bold They Rise tells the story of the Space Shuttle through the personal experiences of the astronauts, engineers, and scientists who made it happen—in space and on the ground, from the days of research and design through the heroic accomplishments of the program to the tragic last minutes of the Challenger disaster. In the participants’ own voices, we learn what so few are privy to: what it was like to create a new form of spacecraft, to risk one’s life testing that craft, to float freely in the vacuum of space as a one-man satellite, to witness a friend’s death. A “guided tour” of the Shuttle—in historical, scientific, and personal terms—this book provides a fascinating, richly informed, and deeply personal view of a feat without parallel in the human story.
357 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
14 people are currently reading
228 people want to read
About the author
David Hitt
9 books10 followersDavid Hitt is the co-author of two books on spaceflight history: "Homesteading Space," with astronauts Owen Garriott and Joe Kerwin, and "Bold They Rise," with Heather R. Smith. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, and a graduate of the University of Mississippi, Hitt is a former newspaper editor who currently supports NASA human spaceflight efforts as a strategic communications contractor. Hitt is also the director of an improv comedy troupe and a Huntsville history storyteller.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 28, 2024
NASA's shuttle program was meant to be a triumphant next step after the Apollo and Skylab programs; when it finally launched in 1981, the program was already struggling under its own ambitions. Meant to be a way to make space travel "accessible", the "shuttle transportation system" (or STS) strove to deliver all kinds of payloads to orbit routinely and regularly.
And for a brief flash in 1984 and 1985, it seemed like the shuttle was on track—until the morning of January 28, 1986, when the Challenger shuttle broke apart a minute after launch. Seven astronauts lost their lives, witnessed by thousands of schools who had tuned in to watch the first Teacher go to space.
Bold They Rise covers those first years, from design through development to launch and establishment of the program. Much of the book is made up of excerpts from astronaut oral histories, with brief summaries of the individual missions.
Overall, it's interesting but relatively superficial. I'm not sure I entirely understood what the book wanted to focus on, but I was routinely frustrated by what it chose to skip over or not delve into. Things like routinely delayed launches, shuttle malfunctions, different payloads, new astronaut roles, etc.—there's a lot of things that changed over the early program years, and I don't feel like I finished this book feeling satisfied and informed.
A final, minor complaint: this thing ends SO ABRUPTLY. I was expecting some sort of conclusion, some sort of statement about the early years of the program, about what the shuttle accomplished for NASA. But we don't get that; there's a chapter on the Challenger disaster, and then it just...ends. There's no retrospective, no wrap up, no summary. It's just over, which is pretty frustrating.
And for a brief flash in 1984 and 1985, it seemed like the shuttle was on track—until the morning of January 28, 1986, when the Challenger shuttle broke apart a minute after launch. Seven astronauts lost their lives, witnessed by thousands of schools who had tuned in to watch the first Teacher go to space.
Bold They Rise covers those first years, from design through development to launch and establishment of the program. Much of the book is made up of excerpts from astronaut oral histories, with brief summaries of the individual missions.
Overall, it's interesting but relatively superficial. I'm not sure I entirely understood what the book wanted to focus on, but I was routinely frustrated by what it chose to skip over or not delve into. Things like routinely delayed launches, shuttle malfunctions, different payloads, new astronaut roles, etc.—there's a lot of things that changed over the early program years, and I don't feel like I finished this book feeling satisfied and informed.
A final, minor complaint: this thing ends SO ABRUPTLY. I was expecting some sort of conclusion, some sort of statement about the early years of the program, about what the shuttle accomplished for NASA. But we don't get that; there's a chapter on the Challenger disaster, and then it just...ends. There's no retrospective, no wrap up, no summary. It's just over, which is pretty frustrating.
April 27, 2014
Having recently read the excellent "Wheels Stop," the volume in the "Outward Odyssey" series which covers the post-Challenger Shuttle program, I was eager to get my hands on a copy of "Bold They Rise," which chronicles the Shuttle's technical conception and significant first flights. This addition to the "Odyssey" series is, like its predecessor volume, a terrific book that will remind everyone who reads it of just what a marvel and mark of human accomplishment the Shuttle was. It was so compelling that I read this 300+ page book in a single day.
Being fairly familiar with the high points of the Shuttle's operational history, I was particularly interested in getting into the details of the Shuttle's origins and how the engineers that designed it made the choices that they did. The good news is that this book delivers some fascinating history in that area. Much of this material is presented via extensive quotes and interviews with none other than T.K. Mattingly, Apollo 16 and two-time Shuttle astronaut. The first thing I learned was how directly involved the astronaut corps was in guiding the design of the shuttle. I had always assumed that there were involved to some extent but I had never realized that every system--and I mean every system--aboard the Shuttle from computer flight hardware to the vehicle's innovative thermal protection system had significant astronaut involvement. One of the more interesting tidbits I gleaned here was that the shuttle's wings were larger (and therefore heavier) than they needed to be because they were designed to handle unique military requirements for polar orbit flights (which, because of the Challenger accident, never happened). Constraints like this as well as chronic congressional funding struggles made the operational version of the Space Shuttle a vehicle of compromises. This story could have been a complete book unto itself....and I would have been just as happy if it were but the authors are very up front about the fact that there are other books out there for the reader interested in that particular story.
Another chapter of the Shuttle's history that doesn't get a lot of ink in most books is the Approach and Landing Tests. This is almost a forgotten part of the program's history, but a critical one that proved the vehicle's aerodynamic properties and computer control systems. For anyone interested in the topic of good ol' fashioned test piloting, this is a nice addition. There's a particularly amusing anecdote in which an astronaut talks about how he convinced Senator Barry Goldwater that the Enterprise would not strike the carrier 747's vertical stabilizer when released for flight. (Goldwater, even as a former military pilot himself, was just certain that the laws of physics demanded that the two would collide.)
The last two thirds of the book are dedicated to individual flights. In this regard, it follows a similar format as Rick Houston's "Wheels Stop," i.e., extensive quotes from at least one crew member of the flight being profiled along with a recap of that flight's SNAFUs, and notable firsts or accomplishments. The most interesting part of this section for me was coverage of the first four test flights, STS-1 through -4. This is a period when each flight was a true test flight in which engineers learned how closely their predictive calculations matched real world data. It's amazing how closely they were able to model the vehicle's performance on paper before it ever flew. Reliving the flight of STS-1 was particularly thrilling in light of the fact that it was the first manned mission NASA ever conducted that did not have an unmanned test precede it. Imagine: designing a space plane, stacking it up, putting pilots on it and lighting the engines without so much as a single test flight. Yet, as STS-1 co-pilot Bob Crippen tells it, he felt so familiar with the machine and was so confident in it, that he simply "knew" it was going to work.
There's only one thing missing from this book: John Young. He's named in just about every chapter, yet of all the early-era Shuttle astros, his voice is strangely absent. While others (like Bob Crippen) do a great job of filling in what John was like or what he said, how he felt about various technical aspects of the Shuttle, or his historic role as the commander of STS-1, his input might have made this the perfect book on the subject.
ADDENDUM: I contacted the authors about this and they were gracious enough to respond. David Hitt said that he had reached out to Young early on but Young said he wanted to save his recollections for his own autobiography "Forever Young." Quite understandable.
Being fairly familiar with the high points of the Shuttle's operational history, I was particularly interested in getting into the details of the Shuttle's origins and how the engineers that designed it made the choices that they did. The good news is that this book delivers some fascinating history in that area. Much of this material is presented via extensive quotes and interviews with none other than T.K. Mattingly, Apollo 16 and two-time Shuttle astronaut. The first thing I learned was how directly involved the astronaut corps was in guiding the design of the shuttle. I had always assumed that there were involved to some extent but I had never realized that every system--and I mean every system--aboard the Shuttle from computer flight hardware to the vehicle's innovative thermal protection system had significant astronaut involvement. One of the more interesting tidbits I gleaned here was that the shuttle's wings were larger (and therefore heavier) than they needed to be because they were designed to handle unique military requirements for polar orbit flights (which, because of the Challenger accident, never happened). Constraints like this as well as chronic congressional funding struggles made the operational version of the Space Shuttle a vehicle of compromises. This story could have been a complete book unto itself....and I would have been just as happy if it were but the authors are very up front about the fact that there are other books out there for the reader interested in that particular story.
Another chapter of the Shuttle's history that doesn't get a lot of ink in most books is the Approach and Landing Tests. This is almost a forgotten part of the program's history, but a critical one that proved the vehicle's aerodynamic properties and computer control systems. For anyone interested in the topic of good ol' fashioned test piloting, this is a nice addition. There's a particularly amusing anecdote in which an astronaut talks about how he convinced Senator Barry Goldwater that the Enterprise would not strike the carrier 747's vertical stabilizer when released for flight. (Goldwater, even as a former military pilot himself, was just certain that the laws of physics demanded that the two would collide.)
The last two thirds of the book are dedicated to individual flights. In this regard, it follows a similar format as Rick Houston's "Wheels Stop," i.e., extensive quotes from at least one crew member of the flight being profiled along with a recap of that flight's SNAFUs, and notable firsts or accomplishments. The most interesting part of this section for me was coverage of the first four test flights, STS-1 through -4. This is a period when each flight was a true test flight in which engineers learned how closely their predictive calculations matched real world data. It's amazing how closely they were able to model the vehicle's performance on paper before it ever flew. Reliving the flight of STS-1 was particularly thrilling in light of the fact that it was the first manned mission NASA ever conducted that did not have an unmanned test precede it. Imagine: designing a space plane, stacking it up, putting pilots on it and lighting the engines without so much as a single test flight. Yet, as STS-1 co-pilot Bob Crippen tells it, he felt so familiar with the machine and was so confident in it, that he simply "knew" it was going to work.
There's only one thing missing from this book: John Young. He's named in just about every chapter, yet of all the early-era Shuttle astros, his voice is strangely absent. While others (like Bob Crippen) do a great job of filling in what John was like or what he said, how he felt about various technical aspects of the Shuttle, or his historic role as the commander of STS-1, his input might have made this the perfect book on the subject.
ADDENDUM: I contacted the authors about this and they were gracious enough to respond. David Hitt said that he had reached out to Young early on but Young said he wanted to save his recollections for his own autobiography "Forever Young." Quite understandable.
April 30, 2019
Bold They Rise is an enjoyable history of the Space Shuttle program from development up to the Challenger disaster. Ending with the Challenger disaster is a downer, but the book has a lot of great personal stories of the early Shuttle flights. I can't wait to read Wheels Stop, that looks at the second half of the program.
December 24, 2014
I'd been waiting for a book like this for a long time. Smith blends copious first-person interviews with technical and mission details. I would have been fine with MORE details actually. I'm eager to read the post-1986 volume from the series (which, strangely, was published first).
August 26, 2021
"All controllers, you have fifteen seconds for unmitigated jubilation, and then let's get this flight vehicle safe."
If you grew up in the 80s, nothing was more iconic than the Space Shuttle. Well, except for maybe Michael Jackson's sequined glove. Or nuclear holocaust.
Hitt & Smith cover here the first, shorter part of the Space Shuttle's career as the world's first reusable spacecraft, from its design beginnings in the early 70s when Apollo was winding down up to the tragic loss of the Challenger in January '86. Amazingly, they manage to cover just about every shuttle mission in varying levels of detail, which makes for fascinating stuff. There were all kinds of early deployments, experiments, and crews that are covered here (first American woman in space, first African-American in space, capturing satellites, weird medical experiments, etc), based on oral histories from many of the astronauts involved. You get to hear the story of the "Peecicle", too, a urine icicle forming outside the orbiter that worried Ground Control.
If you grew up in the 80s, nothing was more iconic than the Space Shuttle. Well, except for maybe Michael Jackson's sequined glove. Or nuclear holocaust.
Hitt & Smith cover here the first, shorter part of the Space Shuttle's career as the world's first reusable spacecraft, from its design beginnings in the early 70s when Apollo was winding down up to the tragic loss of the Challenger in January '86. Amazingly, they manage to cover just about every shuttle mission in varying levels of detail, which makes for fascinating stuff. There were all kinds of early deployments, experiments, and crews that are covered here (first American woman in space, first African-American in space, capturing satellites, weird medical experiments, etc), based on oral histories from many of the astronauts involved. You get to hear the story of the "Peecicle", too, a urine icicle forming outside the orbiter that worried Ground Control.
January 10, 2015
Excellent Book on the development of the Shuttle Program through ill fated Challenger flight. Great insight from many of the astronauts perspective. I learned a lot from the book. Thanks David and Heather for all the hard work researching and writing/editing.
March 23, 2017
Review originally published at: http://www.lomeraniel.com/audiobookre...
I have received a copy of this book in audio format by the narrator in exchange for an honest review.
This book narrates the first years of the Space Shuttle program from the point of view of the astronauts.
The program was launched by Nixon wanting to have a different approach to traveling to space, more on a budget and with reusable space crafts. One of the program's goals was to have quite an amount of missions per year, which would reduce the per-mission cost. In the end this cost was not reduced as much as it was expected due to parts that could not be reused. Primarily the space shuttle missions were related to satellite launching and investigation in zero G, but then the intention was making it accessible to people not related to the program. The last part of the book is dedicated to the Challenger, what caused the accident, and how this changed the vision of the shuttle program. The missions were maybe overlooked and lightly taken, and from then onwards things needed to be taken more strictly to avoid future disasters. The story continues in 'Wheels Stop: The Tragedies and Triumphs of the Space Shuttle Program, 1986-2011', which also promises to be an interesting read.
This is quite a long book, over thirteen hours, but it is really amazing. I knew about the shuttle program but I ignored some of the historical details. Here they are all compiled in a nice format that will delight everybody. The book is full of anecdotes told by the astronauts and technicians. There is a little of tech babble but not too much, making it accessible to everybody. I think it would be useful to take a look at some pictures during the technical descriptions, just to have an idea about what goes where, but it is not strictly necessary.
Gary L. Willprecht made an amazing job narrating this book, slightly changing voices when delivering someone's speech. It was like watching a documentary, and despite the great length of the book and the hundreds of details, Willprecht was able to hold my attention from beginning to end.
This book was a great listen, and I would recommend it to anyone who is a bit curious about NASA and their projects. I will definitely want to listen to other books of this series.
I have received a copy of this book in audio format by the narrator in exchange for an honest review.
This book narrates the first years of the Space Shuttle program from the point of view of the astronauts.
The program was launched by Nixon wanting to have a different approach to traveling to space, more on a budget and with reusable space crafts. One of the program's goals was to have quite an amount of missions per year, which would reduce the per-mission cost. In the end this cost was not reduced as much as it was expected due to parts that could not be reused. Primarily the space shuttle missions were related to satellite launching and investigation in zero G, but then the intention was making it accessible to people not related to the program. The last part of the book is dedicated to the Challenger, what caused the accident, and how this changed the vision of the shuttle program. The missions were maybe overlooked and lightly taken, and from then onwards things needed to be taken more strictly to avoid future disasters. The story continues in 'Wheels Stop: The Tragedies and Triumphs of the Space Shuttle Program, 1986-2011', which also promises to be an interesting read.
This is quite a long book, over thirteen hours, but it is really amazing. I knew about the shuttle program but I ignored some of the historical details. Here they are all compiled in a nice format that will delight everybody. The book is full of anecdotes told by the astronauts and technicians. There is a little of tech babble but not too much, making it accessible to everybody. I think it would be useful to take a look at some pictures during the technical descriptions, just to have an idea about what goes where, but it is not strictly necessary.
Gary L. Willprecht made an amazing job narrating this book, slightly changing voices when delivering someone's speech. It was like watching a documentary, and despite the great length of the book and the hundreds of details, Willprecht was able to hold my attention from beginning to end.
This book was a great listen, and I would recommend it to anyone who is a bit curious about NASA and their projects. I will definitely want to listen to other books of this series.
February 2, 2024
This is a human-centred history of the Space Shuttle flights up to, and including, STS-51L, the Challenger disaster. As with other volumes in the University of Nebraska's 'People's History of Spaceflight' series, this volume plugs a gap between the highly technical descriptions of, and flag-waving nationalistic diatribes about, the Shuttle programme.
A great book that, although providing enough detail to understand the broad thrust of the programme and each launch, lets those who flew, worked, and supported the Shuttle describe their experiences in their own words.
An easy to read, very enjoyable volume.
A great book that, although providing enough detail to understand the broad thrust of the programme and each launch, lets those who flew, worked, and supported the Shuttle describe their experiences in their own words.
An easy to read, very enjoyable volume.
March 1, 2020
I really enjoyed Homesteading Space but I found this book relied heavily on transcripts of testimony. It didn’t flow as a narrative, every time I came to a paragraph of testimony which was almost every page I would become distracted. I ended up skimming the last few chapters knowing I have more lined up for my current space obsession.
April 21, 2025
Mission by mission account of all the Space Shuttle launches from the first voyage to the Challenger disaster. I thought that the book tried to address each mission equally but truth is, I think the book would have been more interesting if the focus was on a bunch of key missions with more detail.
Nonetheless, it's a good and informative read.
Nonetheless, it's a good and informative read.
April 25, 2018
Good book for a base history on the shuttle flights up to Challenger. Not heavy on engineering at all more just a synopsis of each flight taken from the astronauts
July 8, 2018
Very solid summary of the origins of the Shuttle, through Challenger.
Read
July 9, 2020Good narrator... the contents were not for me, however.
February 6, 2022
Interesting book. I love the quotes from the astronauts.
February 17, 2017
Found the book was a good mix of Space Shuttle development insight, flight experiences and entertaining astronaut stories.
There were some 'ah-ha' moments as I read things I had never heard about the shuttle before.
I don't want to provide anymore detail than that.
There were some 'ah-ha' moments as I read things I had never heard about the shuttle before.
I don't want to provide anymore detail than that.
September 8, 2016
After having read (and re-read) books on the Mercury-Apollo Years (Man on the Moon, Failure Is Not An Option), I was looking for a book that chronicled the development of the Shuttle program. Since this is the first book I read on the Shuttle program, I don't have anything to compare it to in terms of details. The beginning of the book threw me off, because it seems like it was just dropped there haphazardly. I wasn't disappointed too long though, as the book finally got into a chronological groove and discussed the development of the Shuttle fleet and discusses many of the missions leading up to and including the Challenger disaster (STS-51-L).
What I like about this book is that it's more or less a compilation of interviews, mostly from the astronauts who flew. It was definitely a page turner for me and I look forward to reading "Wheels Stop" which supposedly chronicles NASA's recovery after the Challenger disaster. I would definitely recommend this book, it was a page turner for me and an easy read.
What I like about this book is that it's more or less a compilation of interviews, mostly from the astronauts who flew. It was definitely a page turner for me and I look forward to reading "Wheels Stop" which supposedly chronicles NASA's recovery after the Challenger disaster. I would definitely recommend this book, it was a page turner for me and an easy read.
November 5, 2014
An excellent follow up (even if it actually proceeds it, chronologically speaking) to "Wheels Stop" and yet another engrossing read to add to the Outward Odyssey collection published by Nebraska Press. It's an engaging read (assuming the subject interests you) and covers the history and development of the Shuttle, plus outlines of the missions up to and including 51L Challenger. Many quotes from the astronauts and those involved. Top marks to the authors and contributors for their research on this book.
January 24, 2015
Being a big space geek I've read a lot of space memoirs, history, etc. Bold They Rise as another one that any space geek, shuttle, or NASA fan should add to their collection. What I've found with a program like NASA which such a storied history is no one effort can tell the entire story. I can say without a doubt I learned lots of new things about the shuttle program an NASA I didn't know previously having read this book so add it to your list!
March 1, 2016
Very well researched information about the shuttle missions until the end of Challenger.
The book gets most of its research from NASA's oral history program and manages to show very well the human decisions that connect with the struggling rise and firey fall of the first part of the STS program
The book gets most of its research from NASA's oral history program and manages to show very well the human decisions that connect with the struggling rise and firey fall of the first part of the STS program
September 21, 2016
This book utilizes the recollections of numerous astronauts to tell the human story behind the Space Shuttle program through the Challenger accident.
April 2, 2017
An interesting look at the early years of the Shuttle, up to the Challenger disaster. Mainly told through the perspective of the astronauts. Plenty of detail.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews