During its maiden voyage in May 1962, a Centaur upper stage rocket, mated to an Atlas booster, exploded 54 seconds after launch, engulfing the rocket in a huge

The book documents Glenn's many research specialties over those 75 years. Among them are early jet engines and rockets; flight safety and fuel efficiency tested

The story of how liquid hydrogen was put to work is told in two great books. Part 1 is this book, "Liquid Hydrogen as a Propulsion Fuel, 1945-1959", by John L.