Space is a novel by James A. Michener published in 1982. James Albert Michener (February 3, 1907? - October 16, 1997) was the American author of such books as Tales of the South Pacific (for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948), Hawaii, The Drifters, Centennial, The Source, The Fires of Spring, Chesapeake, Caribbean, Caravans, Alaska, Texas, and Poland. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The story begins in 1944 and covers more than 30 years in the lives of five men and their families: a German rocket scientist who worked for the Nazis, a World War II hero turned U.S. Senator, an aeronautical engineer invested with a top-secret U.S. government mission, a small-town boy turned test pilot, and a rambunctious Marine Corps aviator and astronaut. 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Combatants Allies: Soviet Union United Kingdom United States and others Axis Powers: Germany Japan Italy and others Commanders Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4... Aerospace engineering is the branch of engineering concerning aircraft, spacecraft and related topics. ...

Michener dramatizes the life experiences of these men and their families against the backdrop of the real history of the U.S. space program, depicting the postwar space race between the United States and the Soviet Union; the development of congressional funding for the space program; the early failures in the Gemini program; and the successful moon landings in the Apollo program. In a fictional postscript to history, Michener creates a last, "Apollo 18" launch to further the drama of three of his characters. This is the only Apollo mission in which the lunar module lands on the far side of the moon, unseen by Earth; in order to remain in contact with NASA after landing, while still in lunar orbit the Apollo craft must launch a communication satellite that will bounce the lunar module's signals to Earth. An unusually high amount of sunspot activity, only partially predicted by the NASA ground crew, results in the death of the two astronauts in the lunar module (one of them an African-American); the astronaut remaining in orbit in the command module returns to Earth safely. Project Gemini insignia Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program in which the United States of America sent humans into space, between Projects Mercury and Apollo, during the years 1963-1966. ... Apollo CSM in lunar orbit. ...

The author displays extensive knowledge about the intricacies of rocket and spacecraft systems, which he gained as a member of the Advisory Council to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 1979 to 1983. A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program The traditional definition of a rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving fluid from within a rocket engine. ... A spacecraft is designed to leave Earths atmosphere and operate beyond the surface of the Earth in outer space. ... NASA Logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...

The best-selling novel was adapted into a five-part, 13-hour CBS miniseries starring James Garner. This television series aired from April 14-18, 1985 and won an Emmy award for film sound mixing. A miniseries (sometimes mini-series), in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ... James Garner (born Norman, Oklahoma, April 7, 1928) is an American film and television actor of partially Cherokee Indian descent. ...

Michener expertly combines the scientific and technical events of his narrative with the mundane events of his characters' lives. One of the astronauts is killed by a drunken driver. One of the NASA scientists must contend with the personal problems of his two sons: one of whom is gay, and the other a marijuana smuggler and sexual exhibitionist.

At several points in its narrative, Space necessarily deviates from historical accuracy in order to accommodate Michener's fiction: for example, much of the action takes place in the nonexistent state of the union known as Frémont. However, Michener's novel also contains some inaccuracies which appear to be genuine errors. On two separate occasions, he refers to the science fiction author Stanley G. Weinbaum as "Stanley G. Weinberg". Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Stanley Grauman Weinbaum (1902-1935) was an American science fiction author. ...