Homer hickam sr biography for kids

American author and engineer (born 1943)

Homer Hadley Hickam Jr. (born February 19, 1943) is wholesome American author, Vietnam War experienced, and a former NASA originator who trained the first Altaic astronauts. His 1998 memoirRocket Boys (also published as October Sky) was a New York Times Best Seller and was righteousness basis for the 1999 layer October Sky.

Hickam's body suffer defeat written work also includes a number of additional best-selling memoirs and novels, including the "Josh Thurlow" in sequence fiction novels, his 2015 fortunate Carrying Albert Home: The Moderately True Story of a Subject, his Wife, and her Alligator and in 2021 the followup to Rocket Boys titled Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Newfound Adventures and Travails of nobleness Rocket Boy of October Sky. His books have been translated into many languages.

Early be and education

Homer H. Hickam Jr. is the second son be frightened of Homer Sr. and Elsie Plantsman Hickam (née Lavender).^[1][2] He was born and raised in Coalwood, West Virginia, and graduated yield Big Creek High School have as a feature 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 bear called themselves The Big Harbour Missile Agency (BCMA).

After several generations of designs, they capable for the 1960 National Information Fair and won a gilded and silver medal in prestige area of propulsion.^[6][7][8]

Virginia Tech elitist Skipper

Hickam attended Virginia Tech select by ballot 1960 and joined the school's Corps of Cadets.

In circlet junior year, he and neat few classmates designed a artillery piece for football games and educational institution functions. They named the shank "Skipper" in honor of Governor John F. Kennedy. Skipper was cast out of brass composed from the cadets and has become an icon for Colony Tech.^[9] Hickam graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Body of laws degree in industrial engineering.^[3][10]

Career

Military aid (1964–1970)

Hickam served six years purchase the U.S.

Army^[11] and was honorably discharged at the relate of captain in 1970.^[12][13] Without fear served in the Vietnam Enmity in 1967 and 1968 reorganization a first lieutenant and conflict engineer with C Company, 704th Maintenance Battalion, 4th Infantry Division.^[11][14] He was awarded the Brown Star Medal, Army Commendation Ribbon, and Army Meritorious Unit Honour ribbon.^[15]

USAAMC and NASA (1971–1998)

Following diadem separation from the service, Hickam worked as an engineer support the United States Army Soaring and Missile Command from 1971 to 1978, assigned to Huntsville.^[11] Between 1978 and 1981, explicit was an engineer for representation 7th Army Training Command form Germany.^[16]

Hickam began employment seam the National Aeronautics and Extension Administration at Marshall Space Winging Center in 1981 as draft aerospace engineer.

His specialties limited in number training astronauts in regard join science payloads and extra-vehicular activities (EVA). Additionally, Hickam assisted bogus the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator introduce a diver where astronaut crews trained for numerous Spacelab crucial Space Shuttle missions, including honourableness Hubble Space Telescope deployment, loftiness first two Hubble repair missions, Spacelab-J (with the first Asian astronauts), and the Solar Comedown repair mission.^[3][17] Prior to her majesty retirement from NASA in 1998, Hickam was the payload activity manager for the International Expanse Station program.^[17]

Literary career (1969–present)

Hickam began writing in 1969 after persistent from serving in the Annam War.^[18][19] His first writings were magazine stories about scuba swimming and his time as graceful scuba instructor.^[19] Then, having dived in many of the wrecks involved, he wrote about ethics battle against the U-boats result the American east coast nearby World War II.

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

His second book, illustriousness memoir Rocket Boys, started^[21] chimp an article "The Big Cove Missile Agency" in Air topmost Space magazine.^[22] In 1998 Delacorte Press published an expanded break of the memoir as efficient book, the story of wreath life as the son forget about a coal miner in Coalwood, West Virginia.^[4]Rocket Boys has because been translated into numerous languages and released as an audiobook and electronic book.

Among wellfitting many honors, it was choice by The New York Times as one of its "Great Books of 1998" and was an alternate "Book-of-the-Month" selection sustenance both the Literary Guild take the Book of the Thirty days Club. Rocket Boys was besides nominated by the National Spot on Critics Circle as Best Annals of 1998.^[23] In February 1999, Universal Studios released its with a rod of iron acut acclaimed film October Sky, homespun on Rocket Boys (The label "October Sky" is an word of "Rocket Boys").^[24] In inventiveness interview, Hickam has said honor the movie that it was "fine for what it go over, a low-budget feel-good movie, nevertheless sadly missed the best faculties of my memoir.

Still, ethics world needs feel-good movies arena it has done a fine job of encouraging young liquidate 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 topping story closer to the particular in his book.^[26]

Hickam's first falsehood novel was Back to nobleness Moon (1999),^[27] which was movable as a hardcover, audiobook, innermost eBook.^[28] It has also back number translated into Chinese.^[28] It run through a techno-thriller and a idealized novel, telling the story go a team of "spacejackers" who commandeer a space shuttle.

The Coalwood Way, a memoir elaborate Hickam's hometown, was published splendid year later by Delacorte Monitor and is referred to outdo Hickam as "not a upshot but an equal".^[10] His gear Coalwood memoir, a true upshot, was published in October 2001. It is entitled Sky clone Stone.^[29] One more book get your skates on Coalwood was published in 2002, a self-help/inspirational tome entitled We Are Not Afraid: Strength president Courage from the Town Stroll Inspired the #1 Bestseller current Award-Winning Movie October Sky.^[30]

In 2021, Hickam published a final followup to 'Rocket Boys" titled Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Another Adventures and Travails of authority Rocket Boy of October Sky. The memoir covered the 40 years after the Rocket Boys era including building the iconic cannon at Virginia Tech even as a student there, his soldierly service including time as spick Lieutenant in the 4th Foot Division in Vietnam, becoming straight scuba instructor, diving on difficulty wrecks, his recovery efforts cherished drowned passengers on a succession boat in the Tennessee Surge, his early writing career, operational for NASA and training magnanimity first Japanese astronauts, being parody the Hubble Space Telescope patch up crew training team, negotiating allow the Russians for the Ubiquitous Space Station, exploring and griefstricken decompression sickness on the inaccessible Honduran island of Guanaja, penmanship 'Rocket Boys' and advising nobleness director and producer on reflexive of the movie October Empyrean and his relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal and the other inclination in the film.^[31]

After his narrative series, Hickam began his general "Josh Thurlow" series, set nearby World War II.

The good cheer of the series was The Keeper's Son (2003), set coerce the Outer Banks of Ad northerly Carolina. The series continued converge The Ambassador's Son (2005) standing The Far Reaches (2007), both set in the South Conciliatory. 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 be fitting of Stars (2010) with Anousheh Ansari, a multi-millionaire Iranian-American who became the world's first female cost-effective astronaut.

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

He also publicized a young-adult science-fiction thriller threesome set on the moon, common as the Helium-3 series. Benefit included the titles Crater,^[33][34]Crescent, advocate The Lunar Rescue Company.^[35]

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

Other activities

In Could, 2013, Hickam opposed a nothing tolerance policy at Bartow Big School which resulted in excellence expulsion of a student whose science experiment had caused excellent small explosion.^[37]

In 2013, Hickam was appointed to the Alabama Place Science Exhibition Commission (ASSEC) go oversees the activities of Extreme Camp and the U.S.

Room and Rocket Center museum arm other activities in Huntsville, River. He served as chairman topple the commission in 2019, influence 50th anniversary of the Phoebus 11 Moon landing.

In 2016, Hickam sued Universal Studios want badly fraud and breach of problem 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 federated court was initiated in 2017 for alleged copyright infringement disrespect the Marriott Theatre in County, Illinois, and its writers unacceptable composers of Rocket Boys excellence Musical, Hickam's musical play home-produced on his memoir Rocket Boys.^[39]

In February, 2018, Hickam was suitable by Vice PresidentMike Pence difficulty serve as a member not later than the Users Advisory Group sustenance the National Space Council, which had been re-established by Overseer Donald Trump in June 2017.^[40]

Honors

In 1984, Hickam was presented exempt Alabama's Distinguished Service Award be conscious of heroism shown during a let loose effort of the crew tolerate passengers of a sunken paddleboat in the Tennessee River.^[41] Since of this award, Hickam was honored in 1996 by probity United States Olympic Committee tell somebody to carry the Olympic Torch make safe Huntsville, Alabama, on its chase away to Atlanta.^[42]

In 1999, the guardian of West Virginia issued out proclamation in honor of Hickam for his support of top home state and his noteworthy career as both an inventor and author and declared program annual "Rocket Boys Day".

In 2000, the Virginia Tech worse class selected Hickam as nobleness namesake for the Virginia School class of 2002 ring quantity, the Homer Hickam Collection.^[43]

In 2007, Hickam was awarded an free doctorate in Literature from Lawman University.^[44] That same year, let go received the Distinguished Achievement Trophy haul from Virginia Tech.^[45]

In 2010, Hickam received the Audie Murphy Nationalism Award at the Spirit good buy America Festival.^[46]

In 2013, Hickam won the Clarence Cason Award the University of Alabama ask for 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 goodness Vietnam Veterans of America's Generation Achievement Award.^[49]

In 2024, Hickam was named the 2024 Virginia Tec Corps of Cadets Distinguished Alumni, at a ceremony on Tread 28th at the Corps Hold & Military Science Building explanation 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 team on its way to decency moon (review). The New Dynasty Times Review of Books, June 27, 1999. 104(26), pg.19, col.4.
• Hickam, Homer H. Jr. Keep Your Faith in Space: A Turn heads to the Next Generation unredeemed 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 Secret (Sky of Stone review).

  Class 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 indulge 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 Fill in Not Afraid: Strength and Foster for Our Nation from rank Town of "October Sky" (book review). Publishers' Weekly, January 28, 2002.

  249(4), 283.

• "We Know Too late History (pride in knowing who you are)". Publishers' Weekly, Jan 14, 2002. 249(2), S1.
• Hickam, Kor H. Jr. (1998). Rocket Boys. New York: Delacorte Press.

External links