First into Outer Space
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1959. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. xvii, [1], 197, [5] pages. Illustrated endpapers. Illustrations. Glossary. Index. DJ is missing part of spine and is in pieces and has wear, soiling, tears, and chips. Ted Gordon was a Douglas Aircraft engineer who fired the American missile 130 that was the first to penetrate outer space. Mr. Scheer, who had covered the fledgling space program as a newspaper reporter, joined NASA in 1962 as a consultant and was named assistant administrator for public affairs in 1963. Working closely with James E. Webb, the second head of the agency but the most influential of NASA administrators, he built an information program that embraced the news media and fed their appetite for news about space. The result was a steady flow of generally positive public attention during the risky and expensive drive to land a man on the Moon, making public heroes of the early astronauts. After the lunar landing, Mr. Scheer was awarded NASA's highest recognition, the Distinguished Service Medal. More