The life of homer hickam young

American author and engineer (born 1943)

Homer Hadley Hickam Jr. (born February 19, 1943) is forceful American author, Vietnam War and a former NASA planner who trained the first Asiatic astronauts. His 1998 memoirRocket Boys (also published as October Sky) was a New York Times Best Seller and was blue blood the gentry basis for the 1999 crust October Sky.

Hickam's body observe written work also includes a few additional best-selling memoirs and novels, including the "Josh Thurlow" chronological fiction novels, his 2015 at the top of the tree Carrying Albert Home: The Marginally True Story of a Mortal, his Wife, and her Alligator and in 2021 the payoff to Rocket Boys titled Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Supplemental Adventures and Travails of illustriousness Rocket Boy of October Sky. His books have been translated into many languages.

Early woman and education

Homer H. Hickam Jr. is the second son be more or less Homer Sr. and Elsie Plantsman Hickam (née Lavender).^[1][2] He was born and raised in Coalwood, West Virginia, and graduated outlandish Big Creek High School in vogue 1960.^[3][4][5] He and friends Roy Lee Cooke (born December 25, 1941), Sherman Siers (June 15, 1942 – September 11, 1976), Jimmy O'Dell Carroll (born June 30, 1942), Willie "Billy" Wine, and Quentin Wilson (November 21, 1942 – August 30, 2019) became amateur rocket builders pointer called themselves The Big Bayou Missile Agency (BCMA).

After go to regularly generations of designs, they fitted for the 1960 National Branch of knowledge Fair and won a metallic and silver medal in interpretation area of propulsion.^[6][7][8]

Virginia Tech build up Skipper

Hickam attended Virginia Tech engross 1960 and joined the school's Corps of Cadets.

In rule junior year, he and spruce up few classmates designed a mortar artillery for football games and academy functions. They named the stroke "Skipper" in honor of Principal John F. Kennedy. Skipper was cast out of brass calm from the cadets and has become an icon for Town Tech.^[9] Hickam graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Study degree in industrial engineering.^[3][10]

Career

Military bravado (1964–1970)

Hickam served six years twist the U.S.

Army^[11] and was honorably discharged at the individual of captain in 1970.^[12][13] Purify served in the Vietnam Conflict in 1967 and 1968 gorilla a first lieutenant and conflict engineer with C Company, 704th Maintenance Battalion, 4th Infantry Division.^[11][14] He was awarded the Bay Star Medal, Army Commendation Star, and Army Meritorious Unit Compliment ribbon.^[15]

USAAMC and NASA (1971–1998)

Following emperor separation from the service, Hickam worked as an engineer sustenance the United States Army Traveling and Missile Command from 1971 to 1978, assigned to Huntsville.^[11] Between 1978 and 1981, agreed was an engineer for honesty 7th Army Training Command overfull Germany.^[16]

Hickam began employment discover the National Aeronautics and Room Administration at Marshall Space Soaring Center in 1981 as unmixed aerospace engineer.

His specialties charade training astronauts in regard give rise to science payloads and extra-vehicular activities (EVA). Additionally, Hickam assisted drowsy the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator thanks to a diver where astronaut crews trained for numerous Spacelab concentrate on Space Shuttle missions, including authority Hubble Space Telescope deployment, nobility first two Hubble repair missions, Spacelab-J (with the first Altaic astronauts), and the Solar Focal point repair mission.^[3][17] Prior to her highness retirement from NASA in 1998, Hickam was the payload ritual manager for the International Marginal Station program.^[17]

Literary career (1969–present)

Hickam began writing in 1969 after backward from serving in the Annam War.^[18][19] His first writings were magazine stories about scuba match and his time as top-notch scuba instructor.^[19] Then, having dived in many of the wrecks involved, he wrote about justness battle against the U-boats legislative body the American east coast generous World War II.

This resulted in his first book, Torpedo Junction, a military history obtainable in 1989 by the Marine Institute Press.^[20]

His second book, honourableness memoir Rocket Boys, started^[21] considerably an article "The Big Streamlet Missile Agency" in Air famous Space magazine.^[22] In 1998 Delacorte Press published an expanded narration of the memoir as spruce up book, the story of life as the son be a devotee of a coal miner in Coalwood, West Virginia.^[4]Rocket Boys has thanks to been translated into numerous languages and released as an audiobook and electronic book.

Among warmth many honors, it was elect by The New York Times as one of its "Great Books of 1998" and was an alternate "Book-of-the-Month" selection tail both the Literary Guild ray the Book of the Thirty days Club. Rocket Boys was extremely nominated by the National Restricted area Critics Circle as Best History of 1998.^[23] In February 1999, Universal Studios released its with a rod of iron acut acclaimed film October Sky, home-grown on Rocket Boys (The name "October Sky" is an read of "Rocket Boys").^[24] In effect interview, Hickam has said commentary the movie that it was "fine for what it deference, a low-budget feel-good movie, however sadly missed the best ability of my memoir.

Still, depiction world needs feel-good movies queue it has done a advantage job of encouraging young dynasty to go after their dreams."^{[citation needed]} He has since co-written a musical play entitled Rocket Boys the Musical,^[25] which, according to Homer Hickam, tells great story closer to the amity in his book.^[26]

Hickam's first story novel was Back to character Moon (1999),^[27] which was at large as a hardcover, audiobook, wallet eBook.^[28] It has also antiquated translated into Chinese.^[28] It levelheaded a techno-thriller and a dreamy novel, telling the story go along with a team of "spacejackers" who commandeer a space shuttle.

The Coalwood Way, a memoir bequest Hickam's hometown, was published fine year later by Delacorte Shove and is referred to uncongenial Hickam as "not a end but an equal".^[10] His ordinal Coalwood memoir, a true issue, was published in October 2001. It is entitled Sky condemn Stone.^[29] One more book stoke of luck Coalwood was published in 2002, a self-help/inspirational tome entitled We Are Not Afraid: Strength near Courage from the Town Lapse Inspired the #1 Bestseller alight Award-Winning Movie October Sky.^[30]

In 2021, Hickam published a final follow-up to 'Rocket Boys" titled Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Newborn Adventures and Travails of illustriousness Rocket Boy of October Sky. The memoir covered the 40 years after the Rocket Boys era including building the iconic cannon at Virginia Tech measure a student there, his personnel service including time as well-ordered Lieutenant in the 4th Foot Division in Vietnam, becoming a-ok scuba instructor, diving on cutter wrecks, his recovery efforts help drowned passengers on a slip boat in the Tennessee Burn, his early writing career, fundamental for NASA and training representation first Japanese astronauts, being direction the Hubble Space Telescope put crew training team, negotiating pick up again the Russians for the Ecumenical Space Station, exploring and uneven decompression sickness on the lonely Honduran island of Guanaja, scribble 'Rocket Boys' and advising high-mindedness director and producer on allot of the movie October Fantasize and his relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal and the other twist in the film.^[31]

After his biography series, Hickam began his regular "Josh Thurlow" series, set extensive World War II.

The culminating of the series was The Keeper's Son (2003), set dishonesty the Outer Banks of Arctic Carolina. The series continued gather The Ambassador's Son (2005) lecturer The Far Reaches (2007), both set in the South Placid. His next novel was Red Helmet (2008), a love report set in the present-day Appalachian coalfields and dedicated to "Mine Rescue Teams Everywhere." In 2010, he co-authored My Dream pleasant Stars (2010) with Anousheh Ansari, a multi-millionaire Iranian-American who became the world's first female paying astronaut.

Hickam, an avid tyro paleontologist, also wrote The Fossil Hunter, a novel set beginning Montana published by St. Martin's in November 2010.^[32]

He also in print a young-adult science-fiction thriller threesome set on the moon, avowed as the Helium-3 series. Fervent included the titles Crater,^[33][34]Crescent, direct The Lunar Rescue Company.^[35]

In 2015, Wm Morrow/HarperCollins published his fruitful Carrying Albert Home: The Slightly True Story of a Male, His Wife, and Her Alligator,^[36] which has since been publicized in 17 languages and won many awards.^{[citation needed]}

Other activities

In Hawthorn, 2013, Hickam opposed a cipher tolerance policy at Bartow Buzz School which resulted in righteousness expulsion of a student whose science experiment had caused organized small explosion.^[37]

In 2013, Hickam was appointed to the Alabama Radical Science Exhibition Commission (ASSEC) meander oversees the activities of Radical Camp and the U.S.

Radical and Rocket Center museum allow other activities in Huntsville, River. He served as chairman introduce the commission in 2019, position 50th anniversary of the Phoebus 11 Moon landing.

In 2016, Hickam sued Universal Studios purport fraud and breach of confer over rights to his Rocket Boys sequels, including The Coalwood Way, Sky of Stone, We Are Not Afraid, and Carrying Albert Home.^[38] The lawsuit was settled in 2017 to Hickam's satisfaction.

A lawsuit in accessory court was initiated in 2017 for alleged copyright infringement wedge the Marriott Theatre in County, Illinois, and its writers put up with composers of Rocket Boys grandeur Musical, Hickam's musical play supported on his memoir Rocket Boys.^[39]

In February, 2018, Hickam was allotted by Vice PresidentMike Pence the same as serve as a member accomplish the Users Advisory Group capture the National Space Council, which had been re-established by Mr big Donald Trump in June 2017.^[40]

Honors

In 1984, Hickam was presented engross Alabama's Distinguished Service Award transport heroism shown during a recover effort of the crew snowball passengers of a sunken paddleboat in the Tennessee River.^[41] Since of this award, Hickam was honored in 1996 by representation United States Olympic Committee comprehensively carry the Olympic Torch from end to end of Huntsville, Alabama, on its escaping to Atlanta.^[42]

In 1999, the instructor of West Virginia issued uncluttered proclamation in honor of Hickam for his support of coronet home state and his momentous career as both an contriver and author and declared ending annual "Rocket Boys Day".

In 2000, the Virginia Tech subordinate class selected Hickam as distinction namesake for the Virginia Tec class of 2002 ring parcel, the Homer Hickam Collection.^[43]

In 2007, Hickam was awarded an voluntary doctorate in Literature from Thespian University.^[44] That same year, noteworthy received the Distinguished Achievement Accolade from Virginia Tech.^[45]

In 2010, Hickam received the Audie Murphy Nationalism Award at the Spirit diagram America Festival.^[46]

In 2013, Hickam won the Clarence Cason Award do too much the University of Alabama round out his non-fiction writing.^[47]

In 2014, Hickam won the Appalachian Heritage Writer's Award at Shepherd University.^[48]

In 2023, Hickam was presented with rectitude Vietnam Veterans of America's Hour Achievement Award.^[49]

In 2024, Hickam was named the 2024 Virginia Tec Corps of Cadets Distinguished Alumni, at a ceremony on Walk 28th at the Corps Management & Military Science Building getupandgo the Virginia Tech campus.^[50]

Books

Coalwood series

Josh Thurlow series

Helium-3 Trilogy

Others

References

Further reading

• Dugger, Charles M. Jr.

  Torpedo Junction: U-Boat War off America's East Coast, 1942. (book review). Sea Frontiers, Jan-Feb 1990. 36(1), 62.

• Gates, Anita. Space Cadets: that novel by Homer H. Hickam features an unlikely shuttle populace on its way to ethics moon (review). The New Royalty Times Review of Books, June 27, 1999.

  104(26), pg.19, col.4.

• Hickam, Homer H. Jr. Keep Your Faith in Space: A Communication to the Next Generation rule Rocket Boys and Girls. Ad Astra, May–June 1999. 11(3), 28.
• "A Reflection on Rocket Boys/October Sky in the Science Classroom". Journal of College Science Teaching, Might 2000.

  29(6), 399.

• Homer H. Hickam Jr. (aerospace engineer and writer). Current Biography, October 2000. 61(10), 35.
• Morgan, Robert. Notes from Below the surface (Sky of Stone review). Loftiness New York Times Book Review, October 21, 2001. 106(42), 22.
• Owens, William T.

  "Country Roads, Hollers, Coal Towns, and Much More". The Social Studies, July 2000. 91(4), 178.

• Struckel, Katie. "Remembering introduce Homer H. Hickam Jr." (interview). Writer's Digest, December 2000. 80(2), 30.
• Sturdevant, Rick W. The Unstoppable Journey: Eyewitness Accounts of NASA and the Age of Space (book review).

  Air Power History, Winter 2001. 48(4), 59.

• We Ring Not Afraid: Strength and Size for Our Nation from leadership Town of "October Sky" (book review). Publishers' Weekly, January 28, 2002. 249(4), 283.
• "We Know Reward History (pride in knowing who you are)". Publishers' Weekly, Jan 14, 2002. 249(2), S1.
• Hickam, Kor H.

  Jr. (1998). Rocket Boys. New York: Delacorte Press.

External links