1. 1.Rocket Ranch: The Nuts and Bolts of the Apollo Moon Program at Kennedy Space Center. 350 pages, with 200 photos and diagrams. The scope of this book is the “who, what, and where” of CCAFS/KSC from early Saturn through the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
   
   Included are chapters on: LC-34/37, ACE spacecraft testing, the Central Instrumentation Facility, and the early launch vehicle test computer (RCA 110A) problems; the Apollo 1 fire; the spacecraft assembly and checkout facilities in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building; the VAB and mobile launcher; the Launch Control Center and how the firing rooms functioned; pads 39A and B and the associated facilities, including the AS-500F vehicle; life at the launch pad (trailers, safety, lightning, SCAPE operations, the LOX facility rupture, red crews, changing fins on Skylab 4, etc.); and the end of an era and reflections on the experience. Appendices include lists of all missions flying Apollo or Saturn technology; RCA 110A features; levels A and B in the mobile launcher and the swing arms; a complete list of functions by console in areas A and B of the firing room; and references.
   
   
   

2. 2.Countdown to a Moon Launch: Preparing Apollo for Its Historic Journey. Approximately 450 pages, with 275 photos and diagrams. The scope of this book is the “who, how, and why” of processing Apollo 11 (and other Apollo missions) at KSC, from loading dock to launch. 
   
   Chapters include: schedule and contractor management; configuration control and computerized testing; spacecraft operations and the CSM processing flow in the MSOB; the LM and Rover processing flow; the space vehicle processing flow in the VAB; tests and preparations at the launch pad; countdown demonstration tests (including accounts of the AS-501 “CDDT from Hell," Apollo 13 GOX fire; Apollo 13 O2 tank incident); launch countdown; plus-time and near-misses (Apollo 12 lightning strike, Apollo 6 pogo, Apollo 17 launch cutoff, Skylab 1 and 2 launches); “did you think it would really work?” and some thoughts on why we can’t do Apollo today. Appendices include lists of Apollo/Saturn missions; S-II processing and test flow; list of all Firing Room management personnel during the Apollo 12 & 14 countdowns; Apollo 11 intercom call stations; and references.
   
   
   

Jonathan Ward interviewed more than 70 people who worked at KSC during the Apollo/Saturn era. The books uses first-hand accounts of what it was actually like to do the work or to be involved in the incidents in question (such as the Apollo 1 fire or the botched testing on Apollo 13’s LOX tank). Many of the people interviewed went on to become high-ranking officials at KSC during the Shuttle era, but still look back on Apollo/Saturn as the best years of their careers. The contributors have a unique cross-section of perspectives: NASA and contractor; spacecraft, launch vehicle, facilities, and tech support; managers, engineers, technicians, and astronauts.

Coming August and September 2015!