Leap of Faith: An Astronaut's Journey Into the Unknown

Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. (1927-2004) was an aerospace engineer and air force pilot who became one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the United States' first manned space program. In 1963 he piloted the final Mercury spaceflight and was the last American to fly an entirely solo orbital mission. Two years later Cooper served as command pilot of Gemini 5 on an eight-day mission alongside astronaut Pete Conrad. In 1970, having flown 222 hours in space, he retired from NASA and the air force at the rank of colonel. After leaving NASA, Cooper served on numerous corporate boards and was a technical consultant in such fields as high-performance boat design, construction, and energy. He also worked for the Walt Disney Company as vice president of research and development for Epcot. His hobbies included deep-sea salvaging and designing aircraft inspired by the UFOs he observed and studied during his career as a pilot and astronaut. Bruce Henderson is a journalist and author, born in 1946. His career has included newspaper reporter, magazine editor, private investigator, and field producer for television. He taught reporting and writing courses at Stanford University and USC School of Journalism. He is the author (or co-author) of over twenty nonfiction books. His recent work includes And the Sea Will Tell (co-authored by Vincent Bugliosi and was adapted for a CBS miniseries), Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War, Trace Evidence: The Hunt for the I-5 Serial Killer, Rescue at Los Banos: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of World War II, and Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler.