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AROUND THE WORLD IN 84 DAYS
The Authorized Biography of Skylab Astronaut Jerry Carr

with Foreword by Bill Pogue and Afterword by Ed Gibson
Includes a bonus DVD narrated by Jerry Carr

For 84 days, Jerry Carr orbited the Earth on board the American space station Skylab as commander of Skylab 4, the third and final residency mission. The mission set a new world endurance record of 2,017 hrs 16 min which was not surpassed by the Russians until 1978 and not by another American astronaut until 1995. Had events taken a different course, Carr could have become the 16th man to walk on the Moon as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 19, but that flight was cancelled in budget cuts. Despite losing the Moon, Carr feels very fortunate to have commanded the longest flight in history at that time. Wernher von Braun once told Carr that Skylab 4 was his choice of a preferred mission in the development of long term space exploration. As we look at utilising the International Space Station for a return to the Moon and the first human flights to Mars, the importance of Skylab 4 in the broader programme becomes apparent. This book recounts not only the story of the pioneering mission of Skylab 4 but also the personal achievements of its commander, both before entering the astronaut programme and after leaving it. With the full assistance of Jerry Carr, his family and colleagues, his very special journey can be shared.

Colonel Gerald P. Carr USMC (retired) was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1932. He gained a degree in mechanical engineering and two in aeronautical engineering and served as an operational USMC jet pilot for over a decade. Selected for the astronaut program by NASA in April 1966, he received technical assignments in the development of the Apollo Lunar Module and Lunar Roving Vehicle and served on the support crews for Apollo 8 and 12. Originally selected to serve as backup Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 16 in 1971 and to fly to the Moon as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 19 during 1972, the mission was cancelled in 1970 and as a result, Carr lost the chance to walk on the Moon. Reassigned to the Skylab program, on 16 November 1973, Jerry Carr, Ed Gibson and Bill Pogue were launched on the 84-day Skylab 4 mission. During three months in space, Carr and his crew logged over 1,563 hrs in experiment research time, completed 1,214 orbits and took over 19,000 frames of Earth observation photography and 73,300 frames of the Sun. Carr also participated in three of the four EVAs, totalling 15 hrs 51 min space walking experience. After several technical assignments involved in the development of the Space Shuttle, Carr left NASA in 1977 to become a professional engineer and consultant, and subsequently set up Camus as a family business which provided consultancy to the space industry in the development of space stations and exploring the Moon and Mars. In 1998 he retired from Camus to devote his time to assisting his artist wife Pat Musick with her highly successful career and art business in rural Arkansas.

Taken from the Apogee Books website - cgpublishing.com