Lisa Westwood

My fellow space nerd friends know that I am a huge facilities geek. I am obsessed with launch pads and testing sites. Most of the sites important to space history are ruins, but I find them to be absolutely fascinating. It can be difficult to find information on some of the more obscure sites, so the idea of Space Archaeology as a legitimate area of study makes me quite happy.

This book considers our space history through its relation to the Apollo Moon Landings. I had hoped to find information here on various launch pads and test sites that were directly involved in Apollo, but the book was pretty scanty with such information. Various sites were usually named, with a very brief description about what happened there. I had hoped for information about preserving some of these sites. Come on, Santa Susanna is an outstanding example of Apollo archaeology that is in great danger of destruction, yet virtually nothing is mentioned in this book.

It seemed like the main focus of the book was aimed at preserving the actual landing sites on the moon. There was a lot about policy and treaties and jurisdiction that I found a bit boring. (I admit this is an important topic, but I wanted to hear more about facilities!)

I did notice several historical errors throughout the text (ie: Explorer 2 failed to reach orbit and using Neal instead of Neil Armstrong).

Not a bad choice for space nerds out there, I had just hoped for something a little different.… (más)