The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Book given five-star review
An Inverness author who has written a book about life as an astronaut has had his book praised by former Nasa astronaut and Kennedy Space Center ambassador Brian Duffy.
During a recent visit to Scotland, Brian, a pilot and commander on four space shuttle missions, saw a copy of Ken MacTaggart’s book, Astronaut Owners’ Workshop Manual, published by Haynes.
“This is a great book and a great way to tell a story,” said Brian, 64, who was delighted to find a photograph he’d taken included in the publication.
“I took that picture on my second mission. It’s of a crewmate preparing for a spacewalk.”
Mr MacTaggart became fascinated with space at an early age.
“I remember being in Glasgow and my father taking me out into the street, with a coat over my pyjamas to stare at the sky. Only later did I realise we were looking for Sputnik, the first Earth satellite, which had just been launched by Russia.
“Being Scotland, it was inevitably cloudy, so althoughwesawnothing, my curiosity about the sky was sparked off,” Mr MacTaggart said.
Over a long and varied career he has worked as a writer and editor in London, economist at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, worked on UK foreign aid projects in Afghanistan and Africa, and been a technical adviser on the TV space movie, Moonshot.
While working as a journalist in London in the 1980s he met Apollo astronaut, Rusty Schweickart.
“The moon flights were then long finished, and public interest had faded. Butwestayed in touch over the years and as the moon flights receded into the past, public curiosity grew again,” he said.
“That spurred renewed interest in the extraordinary achievements of the 12 men who walked on the moon all those years ago. Six remain alive, the youngest aged 86, and soon there will be none.”
Asked to name his favourite astronauts, he said: “The crewof Apollo 12 whomadethesecondlunar landing. They had a harmonious and fun- filled flight to the Moon despite the dangers and stayed close friends afterwards.”
Mr MacTaggart said: “I’m really pleased to know Brian liked the book. He is just a few weeks younger than me, and piloted four daring Space Shuttle flights, helping assemble the International Space Station, which UK astronaut Tim Peake visited last year.
“That picture he took of his crewmate making a spacewalkappears inmany media outlets, but the photographer and subject are never explained. I was able to track down and publish some of the details.”