Emphasizing the importance of the space programme to the scientific, social and cultural history of the last half of the 20th century, this brief history celebrates the technological leap that the space programme represents, a feat of teamwork, innovation, dedication and mastery.

Chapter 1 NASA Lifts Off: The 1950s; Chapter 2 Project Mercury: Setting the Sights; Chapter 3 Project Gemini: A Bridge to the Moon; Chapter 4 Apollo 1: Lives in Eclipse; Chapter 5 Apollo Before the Moon: Into The Light; Chapter 6 Apollo 11: Life on an Ancient World; Chapter 7 Apollo 12 and Apollo 13: Storms in Space; Chapter 8 Before the Short Day Ends: Apollo in Twilight; Chapter 9 Skylab: A Place in Space; Chapter 10 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: A Handshake Across the Heavens; Chapter 11 The 1970s: Journeys Without and Within; Chapter 12 Echoes: The Shuttle Era and Beyond;