The Sky Above: An Astronaut’s Memoir of Adventure, Persistence, and Faith

Astronaut memoirs seem to be as abundant as the stars in the sky, yet each story is unique and offers different perspectives on what it is like to travel into space. Casper, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and Space Shuttle commander, thrillingly recounts his adventure-filled career as a military pilot and NASA astronaut. Inspired by his father’s stories as a B-17 flying fortress pilot during World War II, he became a pilot after getting his undergraduate degree at Georgia Tech and a master’s degree from Purdue University. He then joined the Air Force, flew many harrowing combat missions during the Vietnam War, and later became a test pilot. Always wanting to fly into space, he applied to NASA to their astronaut candidate program and was selected in 1984 to take part in the Shuttle missions. He flew into space four times, once as a pilot and three times as a commander. Through hard work and dedication, coupled with his deep-seated faith instilled in him by his family, Casper achieved his goal of becoming a pilot and an astronaut.