Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut is a 2006 book by retired astronaut Richard "Mike" Mullane

Richard Mullane

Richard Michael "Mike" Mullane is a retired USAF officer and a former NASA astronaut.-Personal:Mullane was born September 10, 1945, in Wichita Falls, Texas, but considers Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be his hometown. He was a Second Class Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. He graduated from St...

. The book describes Mullane's experiences in the NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 astronaut corps from 1978 to 1990, including his flights on the Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...

 and his personal relationships with other astronauts, including Judy Resnik, who perished in the Challenger accident

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...

. The book gives a critical glimpse into the culture of NASA and the astronaut corps.

External links

• Riding Rockets at Google Books