Wheels Stop: The Tragedies and Triumphs of the Space Shuttle Program, 1986-2011 cover art

Wheels Stop: The Tragedies and Triumphs of the Space Shuttle Program, 1986-2011

Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Space

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Wheels Stop: The Tragedies and Triumphs of the Space Shuttle Program, 1986-2011

By: Rick Houston
Narrated by: James Killavey
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About this listen

Humanity's first reusable spacecraft and the most complex machine ever built, NASA's space shuttle debuted with great promise and as a dependable source of wonder and national pride. But with the Challenger catastrophe in 1986, the whole space shuttle program came into question, as did NASA itself, so long an institution that was seemingly above reproach.

Wheels Stop tells the stirring story of how, after the Challenger disaster, the space shuttle not only recovered but went on to perform its greatest missions. From the Return to Flight mission of STS-26 in 1988 to the last shuttle mission ever on STS-135 in 2011, Wheels Stop takes listeners behind the scenes as the shuttle's crews begin to mend Cold War tensions with the former Soviet Union, conduct vital research, deploy satellites, repair the Hubble Space Telescope, and assist in constructing the International Space Station. It also tells the heart-wrenching story of the Columbia tragedy and the loss of the magnificent STS-107 crew.

As complex as the shuttle was, the people it carried into orbit were often more so - and this is their story, too. Close encounters with astronauts, flight controllers, and shuttle workers capture the human side of the space shuttle's amazing journey - and invite listeners along for the ride.

The book is published by University of Nebraska Press.

©2013 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (P)2015 Redwood Audiobooks
Aeronautics & Astronautics History Physics United States Interstellar Space Station Transportation Aviation US Air Force Solar System Air Force
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Critic reviews

"With the Space Shuttle program now at an end, documenting the amazing thirty-year career of these iconic orbiters holds an untold amount of historical importance. Spaceflight isn't easy, people pay in blood and sweat to make it happen. Rick Houston lends a voice to some of the key people involved in what is not only an American treasure but a global superstar." (Chris Bergin, NASASpaceflight.com)
"Enthusiastic portrayal of the heroic age of American space travel." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Wheels Stop: The Tragedies and Triumphs of the Space Shuttle Program, 1986-2011

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Extremely disappointed - I didn’t finish the book.

I am fascinated by the engineering and courage involved with space flight and have read several books on the subject. I only managed to listen to 35 minutes of this book. The narration was awful. It was lifeless, listless and completely failed to capture my attention or interest. The narrators voice was monotonous and flat with very odd intonation and placed the emphasis on some very strange words in a sentence. This was very distracting. I am sure the book itself is very interesting but definitely not in this audio book version by this narrator

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Terrible narrator a real letdown

Full disclosure I’ve only made it 10 minutes into the book but That’s enough to tell me that this is a good book let down by an absolutely terrible narrator. A real shame.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Sadly let down by awful narration

I love space history books and this looked to be a very good one to follow on from various ones I have listened to about the Apollo story, but I had to give up after only 2 chapters due to the awful narration.
I was honestly going to give up in the first 10 minutes, but I gave it a chance to see if it got better ... sadly it didn't
Its a real shame as I am sure the story is very interesting so my rating for story is all I could give it

maybe the printed version is a better option


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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Did not finish due to Awful Narrator

Just terrible narrator.

The way he reads is just so off putting with some weird and irritating inflection in his voice. I cannot believe that an audio book recording studio would let him even pass an audition, let alone go on to record the entire book.

Put me off completely after about 1 hour and I stopped the book. Just can't bear it. Completely distracted me from the content.

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6 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Awful Narration, gave up after 2 chapters

Hard to rate the book overall as I couldn't finish it. The narration is the worst I have heard. Emphasis is placed all over the place at random like the guy is auditioning for an amateur dramatics society. Also, the first couple of chapters are full of lists of names and they have not been shortened; it's really grating to hear people names with their initials being read out in great long lists.

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