On the workforce of NASA’s workhorse: The stories of the people behind the remarkable Delta rocket. “Launch Conductor, you guys better close the vents and be prepared to sit tight.

Things are looking pretty intense outside. ”Intense was the right word to describe a launch complex being bombarded by falling rocket parts…and tons of flaming solid rocket fuel.

A rare failure of the Delta II rocket had set the complex ablaze. In the middle of this inferno, the launch crew sat huddled inside the blockhouse.

It was a bad day at work. Turns out there’s more to launching rockets than setting them pointy-end up and hitting the Engine Start button.

Follow the author as he joins Team Delta…renowned as NASA’s go to group for launching the agency’s long list of pioneering science probes, both Earth-bound and interplanetary, and the people responsible for placing a host of weather, communication, and national defense satellites (including GPS!) into orbit. Days of Delta Thunder recalls a pivotal time in the Delta II’s history, when the rocket’s console jockeys, accustomed to pushing buttons, tapping gauges, and uploading critical guidance programs via paper tape readers, were forced to trade their control panels for computers.

It was a monumental adjustment, but one that ensured that the Delta II program would remain at the top of its class and retain its standing as the most successful rocket of its time. The author provides a behind-the-scenes look at the exhilarating highs and crushing lows experienced by people who, when things go wrong, have just seconds to make them right—or face the multimillion-dollar consequences.

It’s a story that’s engaging, informative, and told with humor and rich detail. .