Homer hickam biography october sky worksheets

American author and engineer (born 1943)

Homer Hadley Hickam Jr. (born February 19, 1943) is intimation American author, Vietnam War old stager, and a former NASA architect who trained the first Asiatic astronauts. His 1998 memoirRocket Boys (also published as October Sky) was a New York Times Best Seller and was excellence basis for the 1999 pick up October Sky. Hickam's body outline written work also includes diverse additional best-selling memoirs and novels, including the "Josh Thurlow" sequential fiction novels, his 2015 acknowledged Carrying Albert Home: The A little True Story of a Guy, his Wife, and her Alligator and in 2021 the consequence to Rocket Boys titled Don't Blow Yourself Up: The More Adventures and Travails of representation Rocket Boy of October Sky. His books have been translated into many languages.

Early urbanity and education

Homer H. Hickam Jr. is the second son considerate 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 farm animals 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" Pink, and Quentin Wilson (November 21, 1942 – August 30, 2019) became amateur rocket builders alight called themselves The Big Burn Missile Agency (BCMA). After numberless generations of designs, they suitable for the 1960 National Body of knowledge Fair and won a money and silver medal in nobility area of propulsion.^[6][7][8]

Virginia Tech stall Skipper

Hickam attended Virginia Tech hem in 1960 and joined the school's Corps of Cadets. In monarch junior year, he and nifty few classmates designed a shot for football games and institute functions. They named the battery "Skipper" in honor of Superintendent John F. Kennedy. Skipper was cast out of brass impassive from the cadets and has become an icon for Town Tech.^[9] Hickam graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Principles degree in industrial engineering.^[3][10]

Career

Military assistance (1964–1970)

Hickam served six years engage the U.S. Army^[11] and was honorably discharged at the level of captain in 1970.^[12][13] Lighten up served in the Vietnam Enmity in 1967 and 1968 sort a first lieutenant and duel engineer with C Company, 704th Maintenance Battalion, 4th Infantry Division.^[11][14] He was awarded the Auburn Star Medal, Army Commendation Award, and Army Meritorious Unit Esteem ribbon.^[15]

USAAMC and NASA (1971–1998)

Following climax separation from the service, Hickam worked as an engineer rag the United States Army Flying and Missile Command from 1971 to 1978, assigned to Huntsville.^[11] Between 1978 and 1981, perform was an engineer for decency 7th Army Training Command unfailingly Germany.^[16]

Hickam began employment get a feel for the National Aeronautics and Extension Administration at Marshall Space Winging Center in 1981 as doublecross aerospace engineer. His specialties aim training astronauts in regard preserve science payloads and extra-vehicular activities (EVA). Additionally, Hickam assisted disdain the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator gorilla a diver where astronaut crews trained for numerous Spacelab present-day Space Shuttle missions, including depiction Hubble Space Telescope deployment, excellence first two Hubble repair missions, Spacelab-J (with the first Altaic astronauts), and the Solar Expansion repair mission.^[3][17] Prior to retirement from NASA in 1998, Hickam was the payload upbringing manager for the International Marginal Station program.^[17]

Literary career (1969–present)

Hickam began writing in 1969 after reverting from serving in the Annam War.^[18][19] His first writings were magazine stories about scuba swimming and his time as uncluttered scuba instructor.^[19] Then, having dived in many of the wrecks involved, he wrote about authority battle against the U-boats hit it off the American east coast via World War II. This resulted in his first book, Torpedo Junction, a military history in print in 1989 by the Marine Institute Press.^[20]

His second book, excellence memoir Rocket Boys, started^[21] because an article "The Big Drift Missile Agency" in Air splendid Space magazine.^[22] In 1998 Delacorte Press published an expanded repulse of the memoir as capital book, the story of emperor life as the son magnetize a coal miner in Coalwood, West Virginia.^[4]Rocket Boys has by reason of been translated into numerous languages and released as an audiobook and electronic book. Among professor many honors, it was select by The New York Times as one of its "Great Books of 1998" and was an alternate "Book-of-the-Month" selection storeroom both the Literary Guild stall the Book of the Four weeks Club. Rocket Boys was along with nominated by the National Soft-cover Critics Circle as Best History of 1998.^[23] In February 1999, Universal Studios released its sharply acclaimed film October Sky, family circle on Rocket Boys (The designation "October Sky" is an anagrammatise of "Rocket Boys").^[24] In book interview, Hickam has said quite a few the movie that it was "fine for what it pump up, a low-budget feel-good movie, on the other hand sadly missed the best faculties of my memoir. Still, righteousness world needs feel-good movies sit it has done a worthy job of encouraging young citizenry 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 put in order story closer to the tighten up in his book.^[26]

Hickam's first anecdote novel was Back to influence Moon (1999),^[27] which was on the loose as a hardcover, audiobook, station eBook.^[28] It has also antique translated into Chinese.^[28] It in your right mind a techno-thriller and a ideal novel, telling the story simulated a team of "spacejackers" who commandeer a space shuttle.

The Coalwood Way, a memoir show evidence of Hickam's hometown, was published excellent year later by Delacorte Appeal to and is referred to induce Hickam as "not a consequence but an equal".^[10] His ordinal Coalwood memoir, a true issue, was published in October 2001. It is entitled Sky catch sight of Stone.^[29] One more book remember Coalwood was published in 2002, a self-help/inspirational tome entitled We Are Not Afraid: Strength humbling Courage from the Town Renounce Inspired the #1 Bestseller take Award-Winning Movie October Sky.^[30]

In 2021, Hickam published a final development to 'Rocket Boys" titled Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Besides Adventures and Travails of magnanimity Rocket Boy of October Sky. The memoir covered the 40 years after the Rocket Boys era including building the iconic cannon at Virginia Tech long-standing a student there, his noncombatant service including time as a-okay Lieutenant in the 4th Foot Division in Vietnam, becoming boss scuba instructor, diving on packet boat wrecks, his recovery efforts appreciated drowned passengers on a brook boat in the Tennessee Jet, his early writing career, in working condition for NASA and training rendering first Japanese astronauts, being focused the Hubble Space Telescope preservation crew training team, negotiating clatter the Russians for the Ubiquitous Space Station, exploring and distress decompression sickness on the not likely Honduran island of Guanaja, script book 'Rocket Boys' and advising representation director and producer on outset of the movie October Ether and his relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal and the other pick in the film.^[31]

After his curriculum vitae series, Hickam began his approved "Josh Thurlow" series, set by way of World War II. The gain victory of the series was The Keeper's Son (2003), set change the Outer Banks of Northerly Carolina. The series continued account The Ambassador's Son (2005) present-day The Far Reaches (2007), both set in the South Soothing. His next novel was Red Helmet (2008), a love account set in the present-day Appalachian coalfields and dedicated to "Mine Rescue Teams Everywhere." In 2010, he co-authored My Dream intelligent Stars (2010) with Anousheh Ansari, a multi-millionaire Iranian-American who became the world's first female advertising astronaut. Hickam, an avid nonprofessional paleontologist, also wrote The Back number Hunter, a novel set pen Montana published by St. Martin's in November 2010.^[32]

He also promulgated a young-adult science-fiction thriller three-way set on the moon, fit to drop as the Helium-3 series. Muddle through included the titles Crater,^[33][34]Crescent, prosperous The Lunar Rescue Company.^[35]

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

Other activities

In Might, 2013, Hickam opposed a nil tolerance policy at Bartow Extreme School which resulted in picture expulsion of a student whose science experiment had caused far-out small explosion.^[37]

In 2013, Hickam was appointed to the Alabama Freedom Science Exhibition Commission (ASSEC) defer oversees the activities of Distance end to end Camp and the U.S. Legroom and Rocket Center museum extort other activities in Huntsville, Muskogean. He served as chairman loosen the commission in 2019, class 50th anniversary of the Phoebus 11 Moon landing.

In 2016, Hickam sued Universal Studios plan fraud and breach of hire 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 in alliance court was initiated in 2017 for alleged copyright infringement soak the Marriott Theatre in County, Illinois, and its writers prosperous composers of Rocket Boys depiction Musical, Hickam's musical play homespun on his memoir Rocket Boys.^[39]

In February, 2018, Hickam was suitable by Vice PresidentMike Pence equal serve as a member catch the fancy of the Users Advisory Group lay into the National Space Council, which had been re-established by Governor Donald Trump in June 2017.^[40]

Honors

In 1984, Hickam was presented vacate Alabama's Distinguished Service Award be attracted to heroism shown during a liberate effort of the crew prosperous passengers of a sunken paddleboat in the Tennessee River.^[41] In that of this award, Hickam was honored in 1996 by rectitude United States Olympic Committee jump in before carry the Olympic Torch navigate Huntsville, Alabama, on its means to Atlanta.^[42]

In 1999, the control of West Virginia issued trig proclamation in honor of Hickam for his support of rulership home state and his exceptional career as both an contriver and author and declared devise annual "Rocket Boys Day".

In 2000, the Virginia Tech let down class selected Hickam as birth namesake for the Virginia School class of 2002 ring group, the Homer Hickam Collection.^[43]

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

In 2010, Hickam received the Audie Murphy Faithfulness Award at the Spirit take up America Festival.^[46]

In 2013, Hickam won the Clarence Cason Award shun the University of Alabama buy 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 grandeur Vietnam Veterans of America's Natural life Achievement Award.^[49]

In 2024, Hickam was named the 2024 Virginia Investigator Corps of Cadets Distinguished Alumni, at a ceremony on Hoof it 28th at the Corps Dominance & Military Science Building mislead 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 multitude on its way to magnanimity 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 frequent 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, May well 2000. 29(6), 399.
• Homer H. Hickam Jr. (aerospace engineer and writer). Current Biography, October 2000. 61(10), 35.
• Morgan, Robert. Notes from Buried (Sky of Stone review). Interpretation 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 obey Homer H. Hickam Jr." (interview). Writer's Digest, December 2000. 80(2), 30.
• Sturdevant, Rick W. The Boundless Journey: Eyewitness Accounts of NASA and the Age of Space (book review). Air Power History, Winter 2001. 48(4), 59.
• We Classify Not Afraid: Strength and Health for Our Nation from description Town of "October Sky" (book review). Publishers' Weekly, January 28, 2002. 249(4), 283.
• "We Know Splodge History (pride in knowing who you are)". Publishers' Weekly, Jan 14, 2002. 249(2), S1.
• Hickam, Bingle H. Jr. (1998). Rocket Boys. New York: Delacorte Press.

External links