Dunbar 1Jillian DunbarRamseyDC US History02 May 2017America’s Reaction to the Launching of SputnikThe book, “Failure Is Not An Option” by Gene Kranz is a story from an insider’s point ofview about the first manned space missions in American History. Kranz vividly describes hisexperiences in the midst of adversity and high-stress situations during Project Mercury, Apollo11, and Apollo 13. Many books and films have been created to depict the first exciting missionsof the American space program, but none of them have included the specific details that Kranzfirst-hand experienced. Gene Kranz joined NASA in 1960 and was assistant flight director forProject Mercury. He continued as flight director for the Apollo 11 lunar landing and played amajor role in leading the Apollo 13 teams. Aside from explaining the first American spacemissions, Gene Kranz goes into the Soviet Union’s launching of Sputnik, and the reactions thatAmerica had on it. The Space Race was a huge deal between Russia and the United States. The
