Scott Ourecky wanted to fly; he never dreamed he'd end up in a secret military space program.
The year is 1968. The Cold War is far from over, and nuclear annihilation is always only a heartbeat away. America is racing the Soviet Union to land men on the moon, a war is raging, and a pivotal presidential election looms on the horizon. A child of the early space age, Lieutenant Scott Ourecky joins the Air Force with aspirations of going to flight school. A brilliant engineer, he repeatedly fails the aptitude test to become a pilot but is selected to work on a highly classified military space program?the innocuously named Aerospace Support Project?n which Air Force astronauts are slated to fly missions to intercept and destroy suspect Soviet satellites.
When one of the astronauts in training abruptly falls out of the project, Ourecky is asked to fill in for the two-man simulated missions and survival training only, serving with a headstrong and abrasive test pilot, Major Drew Carson, until another astronaut can be assigned. By far the most proficient pilot assigned to the project, Carson has a dangerous propensity to engage in pickup dogfighting sessions while on cross-country training flights. And although Ourecky was only a temporary placeholder, not destined to fly in space, he soon finds himself much more involved than he ever anticipated?and in deepest peril.
Based on a real secret space program, Blue Gemini combines high-altitude action with edge-of-your-seat storytelling to create a modern classic Cold War thriller.
Autorentext
Mike Jenne is a licensed pilot, lifelong aerospace aficionado, and amateur space historian. As a child, he felt the ground shudder?often?as the Saturn V moon rockets were tested at the nearby Marshall Space Flight Center. Trained as an Army Ranger and Military Freefall ("HALO") Parachutist, he is a former Special Forces officer who has served across the globe, including deployments to Central America, Haiti, the Middle East, and Afghanistan. Mike and his wife, Adele, make their home in Trussville, Alabama.
Zusammenfassung
In 1968, an aspiring pilot lands in a classified military space programand more danger than he ever expectedin this epic tale of high-stakes action (Publishers Weekly). It's 1968, and nuclear annihilation is only a heartbeat away as the Soviet Union races to land men on the moon, war rages in Vietnam, and a pivotal US presidential election looms on the horizon. At the height of the Cold War, Lt. Scott Ourecky wants nothing more than to be a pilot and though he is a brilliant engineer, he fails the flight aptitude test. Instead, he is selected to work on a highly classified military space programthe Aerospace Support Projectin which air force astronauts are slated to fly missions to intercept and destroy suspect Soviet satellites. When one of the astronauts in training abruptly drops out of the project, Ourecky is asked to fill in temporarily, serving with headstrong test pilot Maj. Drew Carson, whose incredible flying skills are shaded by a dangerous propensity to engage in pick-up dogfighting sessions while on training flights. And very soon, Ourecky finds himself flying higher than he ever thought possibleand in more danger than he ever really wanted.