Failure Is Not an Option

This New York Times bestselling memoir of a veteran NASA flight director tells riveting stories from the early days of the Mercury program through Apollo 11 (the moon landing) and Apollo 13, for both of which Kranz was flight director. Gene Kranz was present at the creation of America’s manned space program and was a key player in it for three decades. As a flight director in NASA’s Mission Control, Kranz witnessed firsthand the making of history. He participated in the space program from the early days of the Mercury program to the last Apollo mission, and beyond. He endured the disastrous first years when rockets blew up and the United States seemed to fall further behind the Soviet Union in the space race. He helped to launch Alan Shepard and John Glenn, then assumed the flight director’s role in the Gemini program, which he guided to fruition. With his teammates, he accepted the challenge to carry out President John F. Kennedy’s commitment to land a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s. Kranz recounts these thrilling historic events and offers new information about the famous flights. What appeared as nearly flawless missions to the Moon were, in fact, a series of hair-raising near misses. When the space technology failed, as it sometimes did, the controllers’ only recourse was to rely on their skills and those of their teammates. He reveals behind-the-scenes details to demonstrate the leadership, discipline, trust, and teamwork that made the space program a success. A fascinating firsthand account by a veteran mission controller of one of America’s greatest achievements, Failure Is Not an Option reflects on what has happened to the space program and offers his own bold suggestions about what we ought to be doing in space now.

Eugene F. Kranz joined the NASA Space Task Group in 1960 and was Assistant Flight Director for Project Mercury (the original manned space missions). He continued as Flight Director for the Apollo 11 lunar landing. He is a co-recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work leading the Apollo 13 teams. Failure Is Not an Option is his first book. He lives with his family near Houston, Texas.

CONTENTS 1 The Four-Inch Flight 2 "Liftoff; the Clock Is Running" 3 "God Speed, John Glenn" 4 The Brotherhood 5 The Making of a Rocket Man 6 Gemini -- The Twins 7 White Flight 8 The Spirit of 76 9 The Angry Alligator 10 A Fire on the Pad 11 Out of the Ashes 12 The X Mission 13 The Christmas Story 14 1969 -- The Year of Apollo 15 SimSup Wins the Final Round 16 "We Copy You Down, Eagle" 17 "What the Hell Was That?" 18 The Age of Aquarius 19 Coming Home 20 Shepard's Return 21 What Do You Do After the Moon? 22 The Last Liftoff Epilogue Where They Are Acknowledgments Appendix: Foundations of Mission Control Glossary of Terms Index