Doing the Impossible

With degrees in aerospace engineering, Arthur L. Slotkin worked for the AIAA and wrote about the space program In the early 1970s. Joining the System Development Corporation he assisted George E. Mueller and continued to support him after Mueller’s retirement in 1983. After a 30 year career in the computer software and services industry, Slotkin earned another graduate degree in the history of technology and spent the last eight years researching and writing this book. The ideas and innovations Mueller brought to NASA from the Air Force ballistic missile program are highlighted.

• Illustrations.- Tables.- Foreword.- Acknowledgments.- Introduction.- Chapter 1: Reorganizing.- Chapter 2: Program management.- Chapter 3: Getting Ready.- Chapter 4: Resuming Flight.- Chapter 5: Learning, developing, and planning.- Chapter 6: Peaks and valleys.- Chapter 7: Recovery.- Chapter 8: All-up testing.- Chapter 9: Orbiting the Moon.- Chapter 10: A railroad in space.- Epilogue.- Bibliography.- Abbreviations.- Index.

From the reviews: "The author provides a valuable account of Mueller's contributions, recounting how Mueller had to overcome the conflicts and problems among NASA centers ... to achieve his goals. ... Illustrations include both halftone and color photographs. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers." (J. Z. Kiss, Choice, Vol. 50 (6), February, 2013)