SEATTLE, April 20, 2010--Mark Mayfield covered the earliest Space Shuttle flights as a reporter for United Press International. On May 1, Mayfield will be at the Museum with a lavishly illustrated presentation based upon his new book, "The Spaceflight Vault - A History of NASA's Manned Missions," a retrospective of the first 50 years of human spaceflight. "This book allows the reader to venture through the early rocket dreamers, follow the astronauts to the surface of the moon and dream of the possibilities that lie ahead."- Chris Kraft, former NASA flight controller and director of Johnson Space Center. The program is in the William M. Allen Theater at 2 p.m., and is free with admission to the Museum. A book signing follows the presentation. The Book
"The Spaceflight Vault: A History of NASA's Manned Missions" traces the extraordinary journey from the early rocketry pioneers to the astronauts of today. Filled with hundreds of photos from the archives at Johnson Space Center, Clark University and private collections, The Spaceflight Vault is a stunning visual history of man's achievements in space. The "vault" also contains replicas of historic memorabilia such as pages from Dr. Robert Goddard's handwritten diary, written tests from the Mercury astronaut selection program, Gemini flight menus, Apollo 7 checklists, media passes from early shuttle launches, front pages from numerous issues of The Johnson Space Center Roundup and much more.
Mark Mayfield
A child of the 1960s and '70s, Mark Mayfield channeled an obsession with spaceflight into a journalism career that included coverage of the earliest space shuttle flights as a reporter for United Press International. He went on to work for 10 years as a writer and editor at USA Today before making a transition into the national magazine industry. He served as editor-in-chief of House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Southern Accents and Art & Antiques magazines.
The first thing he did after establishing his own media company in 2005 was to return to the subject he has enjoyed his entire life: space and rocketry. He created a new magazine called LAUNCH and served as its chief editor-giving him an opportunity to interview many of the astronauts, flight controllers and engineers who built America's space program.
Mayfield is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where he served as editor of the campus newspaper, The Crimson White, during his senior year, when he was also named the university's top male journalism graduate. He was also named UA's top journalism alumnus in 1990. He currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the university's communication school, and on the Publications Advisory Committee for the alumni magazine.
Mayfield lives in Westchester County, New York, just north of Manhattan.
