Space (novel)

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Space is a novel by James A. Michener published in 1982.

[edit] Plot

The story begins in 1944 and covers more than 30 years in the lives of five men and their families: a German rocket scientist who worked for the Nazis, a World War II hero turned U.S. Senator, an aeronautical engineer invested with a top-secret U.S. government mission, a small-town boy turned test pilot, and a rambunctious Marine Corps aviator and astronaut. The lives of the fictional characters interweave with historical figures, such as Wernher von Braun.

Michener dramatizes the life experiences of these men and their families against the backdrop of the real history of the U.S. space program, depicting the postwar space race between the United States and the Soviet Union; the development of congressional funding for the space program; the early failures in the Gemini program; and the successful moon landings in the Apollo program. In a fictional postscript to history, Michener creates a last, "Apollo 18" launch to further the drama of three of his characters. This is the only Apollo mission in which the lunar module lands on the far side of the Moon, unseen by Earth; in order to remain in contact with NASA after landing, while still in lunar orbit the Apollo craft must launch a communication satellite that will bounce the lunar module's signals to Earth. An unusually high amount of sunspot activity, only partially predicted by the NASA ground crew, results in the death of the two astronauts in the lunar module (one of them an African-American); the astronaut remaining in orbit in the command module returns to Earth safely.

[edit] Interesting Facts

• The author displays extensive knowledge about the intricacies of rocket and spacecraft systems, which he gained as a member of the Advisory Council to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 1979 to 1983.
• The best-selling novel was adapted into a five-part, 13-hour CBS miniseries starring James Garner. This television series aired from April 14-18, 1985 and won an Emmy Award for film sound mixing.
• At several points in its narrative, Space necessarily deviates from historical accuracy in order to accommodate Michener's fiction: for example, much of the action takes place in the nonexistent state of the union known as Frémont. However, Michener's novel also contains some inaccuracies which appear to be genuine errors. On two separate occasions, he refers to the science fiction author Stanley G. Weinbaum as "Stanley G. Weinberg".