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380:. After hastily returning to the Lunar Module, Linley loses consciousness and Claggett attempts an emergency ascent back towards the command module. However he also loses consciousness, and the Lunar Module crashes back onto the lunar surface. Pope, the command module pilot, returns to Earth safely. The mission profile is significantly different from that of the real-world canceled mission that would have been
376:; in order to remain in contact with NASA after landing, while still in lunar orbit the Apollo craft must launch communication satellites that will bounce the lunar module's signals to Earth. An exceptional and unexpected burst of sunspot activity results in the death of Claggett and Linley: the two astronauts are exposed to a lethal level of radiation while out on the lunar surface during a large
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On the human side, various subplots run through the novel, contrasting the "official" heroism of NASA with the human fallibilities of the cast—the difficulties the Kolffs face in integrating into
American society; Norman Grant's initial embrace of the space program and his abandonment of it as it no
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agenda to increase his wealth; Randy
Claggett's womanizing; the contrast between Stanley and Rachel Mott's ordered, rational existence and their troubled relationship with their sons, and John Pope's unusual yet supportive relationship with his lawyer wife Penny.
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aviator and astronaut, is considered by
Michener to be the most important supporting character (the first two parts of the book are entitled "Four Men" and "Four Women"). The lives of the fictional characters interweave with those of historical figures, such as
405:. The novel ends with a NASA workshop on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, at which Strabismus drops the creationist/fundamentalist persona he has adopted and joins in the intellectual debate on the inevitability of life elsewhere in the Universe.
372:. In a fictional postscript to history, Michener creates a last, "Apollo 18" launch to further the drama of Pope, Claggett and Linley, America's first black astronaut. This is the only Apollo mission in which the lunar module lands on the
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Pope retires from NASA and becomes a respected professor of astronomy, his wife Penny is elected to the Senate, and Mott is consulted on "Grand Tour" uncrewed missions to the outer Solar System, as well as the development of the
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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 their experiences in post-war aviation; the
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longer serves his political aims, while his unstable wife and their daughter fall in with a highly intelligent but cynical cult leader calling himself
Leopold Strabismus, who exploits first the
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missions; the intensive training and jockeying for position among the astronauts forms much of the background of the middle of the novel, reminiscent of a fictional version of
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The story begins in 1944 and covers more than 30 years in the lives of four men and their families: Dieter Kolff, a German rocket engineer who worked for the
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between the United States and the Soviet Union; the development of congressional funding for the space program; the early failures in the
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selection and training, the role of the media in promoting the space program as a national achievement, and the development of the
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charged with a top-secret U.S. government mission to rescue Kolff from
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published in 1982. It is a fictionalized history of the United States
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systems, which he gained as a member of the
Advisory Council to the
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The author displays extensive knowledge about the intricacies of
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447:. This television series aired April 14–18, 1985 and won an
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and then an astronaut. Randy
Claggett, a rambunctious
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The novel was adapted into a five-part, 13-hour CBS
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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1078:American novels adapted into television shows
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423:National Aeronautics and Space Administration
777:Collectors, Forgers – And A Writer: A Memoir
260:(something Michener had already explored in
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368:; and the successful Moon landings in the
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
1083:Cultural depictions of Wernher von Braun
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409:History, geography and current science
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
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473:"A Novel of Very High Adventure"
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34:needs additional citations for
16:1982 novel by James A. Michener
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987:James A. Michener Art Museum
282:spacecraft, the rise of the
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1013:Novels by James A. Michener
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284:military-industrial complex
58:"Space" Michener novel
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266:), test pilot life at '
905:Adventures in Paradise
864:The Bridges at Toko-Ri
550:The Bridges at Toko-ri
263:The Bridges at Toko-Ri
471:(19 September 1982).
429:Television adaptation
308:aeronautical engineer
286:and the evolution of
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809:Literary Reflections
801:The World Is My Home
374:far side of the Moon
256:, air combat in the
152:Jean Paul Tremblay (
43:improve this article
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761:Rascals in Paradise
753:The Bridge at Andau
542:The Fires of Spring
469:Wilford, John Noble
425:from 1979 to 1983.
133:First edition cover
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872:Return to Paradise
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478:The New York Times
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527:James A. Michener
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482:. Retrieved
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324:Marine Corps
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298:Plot summary
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173:Random House
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41:Please help
36:verification
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908:(1959-1962)
847:Adaptations
737:Non-fiction
710:Recessional
443:, starring
394:creationist
378:solar flare
154:cartography
149:Illustrator
1002:Categories
929:Centennial
606:Chesapeake
598:Centennial
582:The Source
455:References
449:Emmy Award
435:miniseries
419:spacecraft
362:space race
320:test pilot
312:Peenemünde
258:Korean War
69:newspapers
857:(musical)
726:Matecumbe
686:The Novel
670:Caribbean
382:Apollo 18
357:as well.
355:the movie
345:Tom Wolfe
272:astronaut
268:Pax River
169:Publisher
880:Sayonara
574:Caravans
558:Sayonara
161:Language
99:May 2019
965:Related
678:Journey
225:8493271
164:English
83:scholar
957:(2001)
955:(film)
948:(1994)
940:(1985)
932:(1978)
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916:(1966)
913:Hawaii
900:(1958)
898:(film)
891:(1957)
883:(1957)
875:(1953)
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859:(1949)
839:(1951)
831:(1947)
812:(1993)
804:(1992)
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780:(1983)
772:(1968)
769:Iberia
764:(1957)
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748:(1951)
729:(2007)
721:(1995)
713:(1994)
705:(1992)
702:Mexico
697:(1992)
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662:Alaska
657:(1987)
654:Legacy
649:(1985)
641:(1983)
638:Poland
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585:(1965)
577:(1963)
569:(1959)
566:Hawaii
561:(1954)
553:(1953)
545:(1949)
534:Novels
415:rocket
280:Apollo
276:Gemini
139:Author
122:Space
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945:Texas
937:Space
646:Texas
630:Space
484:4 May
304:Nazis
290:into
234:Space
197:Pages
90:JSTOR
76:books
486:2021
417:and
353:and
339:and
331:and
292:NASA
288:NACA
278:and
270:',
219:OCLC
206:ISBN
184:1982
62:news
390:UFO
347:'s
200:622
45:by
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