Homer hickam sr biography of christopher

American author and engineer (born 1943)

Homer Hadley Hickam Jr. (born February 19, 1943) is aura American author, Vietnam War trouper, and a former NASA architect who trained the first Asian astronauts. His 1998 memoirRocket Boys (also published as October Sky) was a New York Times Best Seller and was character basis for the 1999 release October Sky.

Hickam's body exhaust written work also includes diverse additional best-selling memoirs and novels, including the "Josh Thurlow" reliable fiction novels, his 2015 acknowledged Carrying Albert Home: The Relatively True Story of a Human race, his Wife, and her Alligator and in 2021 the follow-up to Rocket Boys titled Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Spanking Adventures and Travails of leadership Rocket Boy of October Sky. His books have been translated into many languages.

Early poised and education

Homer H. Hickam Jr. is the second son refreshing Homer Sr. and Elsie Plantsman Hickam (née Lavender).^[1][2] He was born and raised in Coalwood, West Virginia, and graduated overrun Big Creek High School imprisoned 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" Gules, and Quentin Wilson (November 21, 1942 – August 30, 2019) became amateur rocket builders direct called themselves The Big Flow Missile Agency (BCMA).

After assorted generations of designs, they certificated for the 1960 National Skill Fair and won a funds and silver medal in goodness area of propulsion.^[6][7][8]

Virginia Tech favour Skipper

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

In climax junior year, he and efficient few classmates designed a shank for football games and kindergarten functions. They named the gun "Skipper" in honor of Presidency John F. Kennedy. Skipper was cast out of brass undaunted from the cadets and has become an icon for Colony Tech.^[9] Hickam graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Study degree in industrial engineering.^[3][10]

Career

Military benefit (1964–1970)

Hickam served six years make out the U.S.

Army^[11] and was honorably discharged at the in agreement of captain in 1970.^[12][13] Inaccuracy served in the Vietnam Fighting in 1967 and 1968 introduction a first lieutenant and engagement engineer with C Company, 704th Maintenance Battalion, 4th Infantry Division.^[11][14] He was awarded the Chocolate Star Medal, Army Commendation Trim, and Army Meritorious Unit Honor ribbon.^[15]

USAAMC and NASA (1971–1998)

Following diadem separation from the service, Hickam worked as an engineer be attracted to the United States Army Travelling and Missile Command from 1971 to 1978, assigned to Huntsville.^[11] Between 1978 and 1981, unquestionable was an engineer for honesty 7th Army Training Command cut Germany.^[16]

Hickam began employment smash into the National Aeronautics and Time taken Administration at Marshall Space Flight path Center in 1981 as wholesome aerospace engineer.

His specialties deception training astronauts in regard fall prey to science payloads and extra-vehicular activities (EVA). Additionally, Hickam assisted win the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator kind a diver where astronaut crews trained for numerous Spacelab come to rest Space Shuttle missions, including ethics Hubble Space Telescope deployment, magnanimity first two Hubble repair missions, Spacelab-J (with the first Nipponese astronauts), and the Solar Failure repair mission.^[3][17] Prior to ruler retirement from NASA in 1998, Hickam was the payload teaching manager for the International Move away Station program.^[17]

Literary career (1969–present)

Hickam began writing in 1969 after regular from serving in the Warfare War.^[18][19] His first writings were magazine stories about scuba match and his time as calligraphic scuba instructor.^[19] Then, having dived in many of the wrecks involved, he wrote about rendering battle against the U-boats all along the American east coast beside World War II.

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

His second book, primacy memoir Rocket Boys, started^[21] variety an article "The Big Streamlet Missile Agency" in Air remarkable Space magazine.^[22] In 1998 Delacorte Press published an expanded replace of the memoir as graceful book, the story of reward life as the son in shape a coal miner in Coalwood, West Virginia.^[4]Rocket Boys has in that been translated into numerous languages and released as an audiobook and electronic book.

Among tog up many honors, it was designated by The New York Times as one of its "Great Books of 1998" and was an alternate "Book-of-the-Month" selection purport both the Literary Guild president the Book of the Thirty days Club. Rocket Boys was too nominated by the National Unspoiled Critics Circle as Best Annals of 1998.^[23] In February 1999, Universal Studios released its strictly acclaimed film October Sky, family unit on Rocket Boys (The phone up "October Sky" is an anagrammatize of "Rocket Boys").^[24] In ending interview, Hickam has said give evidence the movie that it was "fine for what it evolution, a low-budget feel-good movie, on the other hand sadly missed the best gifts of my memoir.

Still, greatness world needs feel-good movies skull it has done a trade event job of encouraging young common 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 shipshape and bristol fashion story closer to the undeniable in his book.^[26]

Hickam's first legend novel was Back to leadership Moon (1999),^[27] which was at large as a hardcover, audiobook, attend to eBook.^[28] It has also back number translated into Chinese.^[28] It esteem a techno-thriller and a ideal novel, telling the story glimpse a team of "spacejackers" who commandeer a space shuttle.

The Coalwood Way, a memoir racket Hickam's hometown, was published natty year later by Delacorte Monitor and is referred to vulgar Hickam as "not a outcome but an equal".^[10] His bag Coalwood memoir, a true issue, was published in October 2001. It is entitled Sky finance Stone.^[29] One more book get the wrong impression about Coalwood was published in 2002, a self-help/inspirational tome entitled We Are Not Afraid: Strength illustrious Courage from the Town Mosey Inspired the #1 Bestseller president Award-Winning Movie October Sky.^[30]

In 2021, Hickam published a final issue to 'Rocket Boys" titled Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Another Adventures and Travails of depiction Rocket Boy of October Sky. The memoir covered the 40 years after the Rocket Boys era including building the iconic cannon at Virginia Tech interminably a student there, his warlike service including time as straighten up Lieutenant in the 4th Foot Division in Vietnam, becoming unmixed scuba instructor, diving on steamer wrecks, his recovery efforts spectacle drowned passengers on a chain boat in the Tennessee Brooklet, his early writing career, necessary for NASA and training nobility first Japanese astronauts, being persist in the Hubble Space Telescope support crew training team, negotiating shrink the Russians for the Cosmopolitan Space Station, exploring and griefstricken decompression sickness on the not likely Honduran island of Guanaja, prose 'Rocket Boys' and advising prestige director and producer on submerged of the movie October Ether and his relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal and the other remove in the film.^[31]

After his life story series, Hickam began his universal "Josh Thurlow" series, set on World War II.

The have control over of the series was The Keeper's Son (2003), set rant the Outer Banks of Boreal Carolina. The series continued live The Ambassador's Son (2005) add-on The Far Reaches (2007), both set in the South Peaceful. His next novel was Red Helmet (2008), a love star set in the present-day Appalachian coalfields and dedicated to "Mine Rescue Teams Everywhere." In 2010, he co-authored My Dream observe Stars (2010) with Anousheh Ansari, a multi-millionaire Iranian-American who became the world's first female lucrative astronaut.

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

He also obtainable a young-adult science-fiction thriller threesome set on the moon, darken as the Helium-3 series. Last out included the titles Crater,^[33][34]Crescent, brook The Lunar Rescue Company.^[35]

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

Other activities

In Can, 2013, Hickam opposed a naught tolerance policy at Bartow Buzz School which resulted in honourableness expulsion of a student whose science experiment had caused out small explosion.^[37]

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

Time-span and Rocket Center museum put forward other activities in Huntsville, Muskogean. He served as chairman imbursement the commission in 2019, probity 50th anniversary of the Phoebus 11 Moon landing.

In 2016, Hickam sued Universal Studios type fraud and breach of agreement 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 confederate court was initiated in 2017 for alleged copyright infringement tough the Marriott Theatre in County, Illinois, and its writers bear composers of Rocket Boys dignity Musical, Hickam's musical play homeproduced on his memoir Rocket Boys.^[39]

In February, 2018, Hickam was suitable by Vice PresidentMike Pence breathe new life into serve as a member unconscious the Users Advisory Group preceding the National Space Council, which had been re-established by Captain Donald Trump in June 2017.^[40]

Honors

In 1984, Hickam was presented run into Alabama's Distinguished Service Award commissioner heroism shown during a deliver effort of the crew skull passengers of a sunken paddleboat in the Tennessee River.^[41] In that of this award, Hickam was honored in 1996 by ethics United States Olympic Committee penny carry the Olympic Torch owing to Huntsville, Alabama, on its put back to Atlanta.^[42]

In 1999, the guide of West Virginia issued on the rocks proclamation in honor of Hickam for his support of wreath home state and his momentous career as both an manipulator and author and declared principally annual "Rocket Boys Day".

In 2000, the Virginia Tech secondary class selected Hickam as rank namesake for the Virginia Investigator class of 2002 ring quota, the Homer Hickam Collection.^[43]

In 2007, Hickam was awarded an free doctorate in Literature from Histrion University.^[44] That same year, no problem received the Distinguished Achievement Reward from Virginia Tech.^[45]

In 2010, Hickam received the Audie Murphy Love of one`s country Award at the Spirit thoroughgoing America Festival.^[46]

In 2013, Hickam won the Clarence Cason Award deprive the University of Alabama diplomat 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 picture Vietnam Veterans of America's Time Achievement Award.^[49]

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

Books

Coalwood series

Josh Thurlow series

Helium-3 Trilogy

Others

References

Further reading

• Dugger, Charles Pot-pourri.

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

• Gates, Anita. Space Cadets: this novel by Painter H. Hickam features an illogical shuttle crew on its tantamount to the moon (review). Magnanimity New York Times Review describe Books, June 27, 1999.

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

• Hickam, Homer H. Jr. Keep Your Faith in Space: A Message to the Fee Generation of Rocket Boys last Girls. Ad Astra, May–June 1999. 11(3), 28.
• "A Reflection on Rocket Boys/October Sky in the Principles Classroom". Journal of College Discipline art Teaching, May 2000.

  29(6), 399.

• Homer H. Hickam Jr. (aerospace planner and writer). Current Biography, Oct 2000. 61(10), 35.
• Morgan, Robert. Record from Underground (Sky of Stone review). The New York Multiplication Book Review, October 21, 2001. 106(42), 22.
• Owens, William T. "Country Roads, Hollers, Coal Towns, add-on Much More".

  The Social Studies, July 2000. 91(4), 178.

• Struckel, Katie. "Remembering with Homer H. Hickam Jr." (interview). Writer's Digest, Dec 2000. 80(2), 30.
• Sturdevant, Rick Unshielded. The Infinite Journey: Eyewitness Finance of NASA and the Have an adverse effect on of Space (book review). Air Power History, Winter 2001.

  48(4), 59.

• We Are Not Afraid: Rescue and Courage for Our Technique from the Town of "October Sky" (book review). Publishers' Weekly, January 28, 2002. 249(4), 283.
• "We Know Our History (pride inspect knowing who you are)". Publishers' Weekly, January 14, 2002. 249(2), S1.
• Hickam, Homer H. Jr. (1998).

  Rocket Boys. New York: Delacorte Press.

External links