Robert Burley

I have followed NASA missions all my life and I had developed rose tinted views about the space program. I thought that astronauts were brave pioneers who took risky but were supported by state of the art technology which reduced the danger. My admiration for them has grown massively now I understand that they knew their lives hung by a thread because of poor design and the penny pinching, cost saving philosophy of management. I was shocked that the damage to the O rings was known about so early in the program but ignored by these who should have acted. The stupidity of the mistakes which lead to the Apollo deaths is also difficult to comprehend. The idea of “a duty of care” by the authorities that was none existent is overwhelming. I know that hindsight is easy but it was not a case of if deaths could happen but just when the inevitable would happen. This is an excellent insightful book that I found emotionally difficult to read but I’m glad I did. I now appreciate more than ever the courage and outstanding bravery of those adventurers.