The Right Stuff
by Tom Wolfe · Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe's narrative history of the postwar test pilots and the Mercury Seven, the first American astronauts. It shows how NASA selected and trained its earliest crews, and why test-pilot culture shaped the early American space program.
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More resources on Astronaut Training
nasa.gov
NASA.gov is the official site of the U.S. space agency, offering mission news, research results, data, and STEM education resources. It features engineering articles, technical briefs, simulations, multimedia, and classroom materials for students and educators.
ESA Astronaut Selection and Training
The European Space Agency's official astronaut hub, profiling the active corps and reserve and explaining selection and the three training stages at the European Astronaut Centre. Readers learn how ESA recruits astronauts and prepares them for spacewalks and ISS missions.
Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery
Memoir by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly about his 340-day mission aboard the International Space Station, alongside his path from naval aviator to astronaut. Readers see what long-duration spaceflight demands physically and psychologically, and how crews train and live in orbit.
Packing for Mars
Science journalist Mary Roach reports on the research behind human spaceflight: isolation studies, zero-gravity flights, crash testing, hygiene, food and waste in orbit. Readers come away understanding how space agencies test and prepare human bodies and minds for space.
esa.int
ESA (European Space Agency) is the official site for Europe’s space program, offering news, mission overviews, technology and engineering research, and educational resources. Visitors can explore current and future space missions, spacecraft technologies, research outputs, multimedia content, and opportunities for education and collaboration.
Space.com
Established news and explainer site covering spaceflight and astronomy. It reports on crewed and robotic missions, launches, space agencies, telescopes and night-sky events, and publishes background features that help readers follow current exploration programmes and understand their scientific goals.