Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2016

A Passion for Space

Adventures of a Pioneering Female NASA Flight Controller

Authors:

  • Recounts the inner working of NASA through anecdotes about astronauts and NASA managers not found in any other books
  • Includes personal photos, clips from documents and rare NASA images not published elsewhere
  • Reveals NASA's glass ceiling problem that almost led to litigation in the 1980s

Part of the book series: Springer Praxis Books (PRAXIS)

Part of the book sub series: Space Exploration (SPACEE)

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 34.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (19 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
  2. Space Girl Grows Up

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 1-14
  3. Welcome to Houston

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 15-23
  4. NASA Employee

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 25-50
  5. Shuttle Procedures and Training

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 51-71
  6. The First Flight of the Space Shuttle: STS-1

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 73-101
  7. Preparing for STS-2

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 103-122
  8. STS-2: President Reagan Visits Mission Control

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 123-152
  9. Preparation for STS-3

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 153-162
  10. STS-3: Realtime Flight Planning

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 163-192
  11. Secret Preparations and Discrete Discrimination

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 193-212
  12. STS-4 Flight Activities Officer

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 213-245
  13. Welcome to Shuttle Operations

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 247-255
  14. STS-5: Fire in Mission Control

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 257-275
  15. Combining Family and Flight Planning

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 277-291
  16. Being Home with Baby

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 293-304
  17. Working Mother

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 305-322
  18. Becoming an Aerospace Consultant

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 323-339
  19. The Challenger Disaster

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 341-351
  20. Space for Everyone

    • Marianne J. Dyson
    Pages 353-363

About this book

Marianne J. Dyson recounts for us a time when women were making the first inroads into space flight control, a previously male-dominated profession. The story begins with the inspiration of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon and follows the challenges of pursuing a science career as a woman in the 70s and 80s, when it was far from an easy path.  

Dyson relates the first five space shuttle flights from the personal perspective of mission planning and operations in Houston at the Johnson Space Center, based almost exclusively on original sources such as journals and NASA weekly activity reports. The book’s historical details about astronaut and flight controller training exemplify both the humorous and serious aspects of space operations up through the Challenger disaster, including the almost unknown fire in Mission Control during STS-5 that nearly caused an emergency entry of the shuttle.  

From an insider with a unique perspective and credentials to match, this a must-read for anyone interested in the workings of NASA during one of its busiest and defining times, and the challenges faced by women pursuing scientific careers.

Reviews

“The book is well written, and flows energetically with a diarist’s detail through all the many assignments to which she was entrusted at NASA … . This book encourages, inspires, and delights, and should be on the reading list of everyone – educators, scientists, and particularly women – scientists or not.” (Elizabeth Griffin., The Observatory, Vol. 136 (1255), December, 2016)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Houston, USA

    Marianne J. Dyson

About the author

Marianne Dyson was inspired by Apollo to become one of the first women flight controllers for NASA during the early space shuttle program. She has an undergraduate degree in physics and enjoys sharing her passion for space at schools, museums and conferences. She has served as a technical reviewer for Scholastic, Enslow, National Geographic and Hampton Brown. Her children’s books have won the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator’s Golden Kite and the American Institute of Physics Science Writing awards and have been translated into multiple languages and excerpted for use in numerous state reading tests. A frequent contributor to Ad Astra, the magazine of the National Space Society, her science articles and science fiction stories for adults and children have appeared in national magazines and anthologies. She is currently coauthoring a children’s book about Mars with Buzz Aldrin for National Geographic.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 34.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access