Homer Hadley Hickam Jr. (born February 19, 1943) is an American author, Vietnam War veteran, and a former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

engineer who trained the first

Japanese astronauts Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese dia ...

. His 1998 memoir ''

Rocket Boys ''October Sky '' is the first memoir in a series of four, by American engineer Homer Hickam Jr. originally published in 1998 as ''Rocket Boys''. Later editions were published under the title ''October Sky'' as a tie-in to the 1999 film adaptat ...

'' (also published as ''October Sky'') was a ''New York Times'' Best Seller and was the basis for the 1999 film '' October Sky''. Hickam's body of written work also includes several additional best-selling memoirs and novels, including the "Josh Thurlow" historical fiction novels, his 2015 best-selling ''Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of a Man, his Wife, and her Alligator'' and in 2021 the sequel to ''Rocket Boys'' titled ''Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Further Adventures and Travails of the Rocket Boy of October Sky.'' His books have been translated into many languages.

Early life and education

Homer H. Hickam Jr. is the second son of Homer Sr. and Elsie Gardener Hickam (née Lavender). He was born and raised in Coalwood, West Virginia, and graduated from

Big Creek High School Big Creek High School was a Grade 9 through 12 public high school located in War, West Virginia. It was operated by the McDowell County Schools and governed by the McDowell County Board of Education. Big Creek High School closed after the 2009– ...

in 1960. He and friends Roy Lee Cooke, Sherman Siers, Jimmy O'Dell Carroll, Billy Rose, and

Quentin Wilson ''October Sky '' is the first memoir in a series of four, by American engineer Homer Hickam Jr. originally published in 1998 as ''Rocket Boys''. Later editions were published under the title ''October Sky'' as a tie-in to the 1999 film adaptat ...

became amateur rocket builders and called themselves The Big Creek Missile Agency (BCMA). After many generations of designs, they qualified for the 1960 National Science Fair and won a gold and silver medal in the area of propulsion.

Virginia Tech and Skipper

Hickam attended

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

in 1960 and joined the school's Corps of Cadets. In his junior year, he and a few classmates designed a cannon for football games and school functions. They named the cannon "Skipper" in honor of President John F. Kennedy. Skipper was cast out of brass collected from the cadets and has become an icon for Virginia Tech. Hickam graduated in 1964 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

industrial engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information an ...

Career

Military service (1964–70)

Hickam served six years in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged at the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1970. He served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in 1967 and 1968 as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

and combat engineer with C Company, 704th Maintenance Battalion, 4th Infantry Division. He was awarded the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. W ...

, Army Commendation Medal, and

Army Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

ribbon.

USAAMC and NASA (1971–98)

Following his separation from the service, Hickam worked as an engineer for the

United States Army Aviation and Missile Command The United States Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) develops, acquires, fields and sustains aviation, missile and unmanned aerial vehicles. AMCOM is primarily responsible for lifecycle management of army missile, helicopter, unmanned gro ...

from 1971 to 1978, assigned to

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

. Between 1978 and 1981, he was an engineer for the 7th Army Training Command in Germany. Hickam began employment with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1981 as an aerospace engineer. His specialties included training

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s in regard to science payloads and extra-vehicular activities (EVA). Additionally, Hickam assisted at the

Neutral Buoyancy Simulator The Neutral Buoyancy Simulator was a neutral buoyancy pool located at NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Engineers and astronauts developed hardware and practiced procedures in this tank from its completion in 1968 through its ...

as a diver where astronaut crews trained for numerous

Spacelab Spacelab was a reusable laboratory developed by European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier ...

and

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...

missions, including the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...

deployment, the first two Hubble repair missions, Spacelab-J (with the first Japanese astronauts), and the Solar Max repair mission. Prior to his retirement from NASA in 1998, Hickam was the payload training manager for the

International Space Station program The International Space Station programme is tied together by a complex set of legal, political and financial agreements between the fifteen nations involved in the project, governing ownership of the various components, rights to crewing and ...

Literary career

Hickam began writing in 1969 after returning from serving in the Vietnam War. His first writings were magazine stories about

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

and his time as a scuba instructor. Then, having dived in many of the wrecks involved, he wrote about the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

against the

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s along the

American east coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. This resulted in his first book, '' Torpedo Junction'', a military history best-seller published in 1989 by the Naval Institute Press. In 1998,

Delacorte Press Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...

published Hickam's second book, ''

'', the story of his life as the son of a coal miner in Coalwood, West Virginia. ''Rocket Boys'' has since been translated into numerous languages and released as an

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

and electronic book. Among its many honors, it was selected by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as one of its "Great Books of 1998" and was an alternate "Book-of-the-Month" selection for both the

Literary Guild The Literary Guild of America is a mail order book club selling low-cost editions of selected current books to its members. Established in 1927 to compete with the Book of the Month Club, it is currently owned by Bookspan. It was a way to encourag ...

and the

Book of the Month Club Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members ...

. ''Rocket Boys'' was also nominated by the

National Book Critics Circle The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) with more than 700 members. It is the professional association of American book review editors and critics, known primarily for the National Book Critics C ...

as Best Biography of 1998. In February 1999,

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

released its critically acclaimed film '' October Sky'', based on ''Rocket Boys'' (The title "October Sky" is an

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...

of "Rocket Boys"). In an interview, Hickam has said of the movie that it was "fine for what it is, a low-budget feel-good movie, but sadly missed the best parts of my memoir. Still, the world needs feel-good movies and it has done a good job of encouraging young people to go after their dreams." He has since co-written a musical play entitled ''Rocket Boys the Musical'', which, according to Homer Hickam, tells a story closer to the one in his book. Hickam's first fiction novel was '' Back to the Moon'' (1999), which was released as a hardcover, audiobook, and eBook. It has also been translated into Chinese. To date, ''Back to the Moon'' is Hickam's only novel specifically about space. It is a techno-thriller and a romantic novel, telling the story of a team of "spacejackers" who commandeer a shuttle. '' The Coalwood Way'', a memoir of Hickam's hometown, was published a year later by Delacorte Press and is referred to by Hickam as "not a sequel but an equal". His third Coalwood memoir, a true sequel, was published in October 2001. It is entitled '' Sky of Stone''. His final book about Coalwood was published in 2002, a self-help/inspirational tome entitled ''We Are Not Afraid: Strength and Courage from the Town That Inspired the #1 Bestseller and Award-Winning Movie October Sky''. After his memoir series, Hickam began his popular "Josh Thurlow" series, set during

. The first of the series was ''The Keeper's Son'' (2003), set on the

Outer Banks of North Carolina The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...

. The series continued with ''The Ambassador's Son'' (2005) and ''The Far Reaches'' (2007), both set in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. His next novel was ''Red Helmet'' (2008), a love story set in the present-day

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...

n coalfields and dedicated to "Mine Rescue Teams Everywhere." In 2010, he co-authored ''My Dream of Stars'' (2010) with

Anousheh Ansari Anousheh Ansari ( fa, انوشه انصاری ; née Raissyan; born September 12, 1966) is an Iranian American engineer and co-founder and chairwoman of Prodea Systems. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO o ...

, a multi-millionaire

Iranian-American Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busine ...

who became the world's first female commercial astronaut. Hickam, an avid amateur

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

, also wrote ''The Dinosaur Hunter'', a novel set in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

published by St. Martin's in November 2010. He also published a young-adult science-fiction thriller trilogy set on the moon, known as the Helium-3 series. It included the titles ''Crater'', ''Crescent'', and ''The Lunar Rescue Company''. In 2015, Wm Morrow/HarperCollins published his best-selling ''Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of a Man, His Wife, and Her Alligator'', which has since been published in 17 languages and won many awards. In 2021, Hickam published his well-regarded sequel to 'Rocket Boys" titled ''Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Further Adventures and Travails of the Rocket Boy of October Sky.'' The memoir covered the 40 years after the Rocket Boys era including building the iconic cannon at Virginia Tech while a student there, his military service including time as a Lieutenant in the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam, becoming a scuba instructor, diving on ship wrecks, his recovery efforts of drowned passengers on a river boat in the Tennessee River, his early writing career, working for NASA and training the first Japanese astronauts, being on the Hubble Space Telescope repair crew training team, negotiating with the Russians for the International Space Station, exploring and suffering decompression sickness on the remote Honduran island of Guanaja, writing 'Rocket Boys' and advising the director and producer on set of the movie October Sky and his relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal and the other actors in the film. In 2016, Hickam sued

for fraud and breach of contract over rights to his ''Rocket Boys'' sequels, including ''The Coalwood Way'', ''Sky of Stone'', ''We Are Not Afraid'', and ''Carrying Albert Home''. The lawsuit was settled in 2017 to Hickam's satisfaction. A lawsuit in federal court was initiated in 2017 for alleged copyright infringement by the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois, and its writers and composers of ''Rocket Boys the Musical'', Hickam's musical play based on his memoir ''Rocket Boys''.

Other activities

In May 2013, Hickam opposed a zero tolerance policy at Bartow High School which resulted in the expulsion of a student whose science experiment had caused a small explosion. In February 2018, Hickam was appointed by

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

to serve as a member of the Users Advisory Group of the National Space Council, which had been re-established by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

in June 2017. In 2018, Hickam was involved in a controversy with a NASA intern who replied to one of his Twitter posts with an obscene statement.

Honors

In 1984, Hickam was presented with

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

's Distinguished Service Award for heroism shown during a rescue effort of the crew and passengers of a sunken paddleboat in the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

. Because of this award, Hickam was honored in 1996 by the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

to carry the Olympic Torch through Huntsville, Alabama, on its way to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. In 1999, the governor of West Virginia issued a proclamation in honor of Hickam for his support of his home state and his distinguished career as both an engineer and author and declared an annual "Rocket Boys Day". In 2000, the Virginia Tech junior class selected Hickam as the namesake for the Virginia Tech class of 2002 ring collection, the ''Homer Hickam Collection''. In 2007, Hickam was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

in Literature from

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges ...

. That same year, he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from

. In 2010, Hickam received the Audie Murphy Patriotism Award at the Spirit of America Festival. In 2013, Hickam won the Clarence Cason Award from the University of Alabama for his non-fiction writing. In 2014, Hickam won the Appalachian Heritage Writer's Award at Shepherd University.

Books

''Coalwood'' series

*'' Rocket Boys: A Memoir'' () *'' The Coalwood Way'' () *'' Sky of Stone'' () *'' We Are Not Afraid'' () *'' Carrying Albert Home'' () *'' Don't Blow Yourself Up'' ()

''Josh Thurlow'' series

*'' The Keeper's Son'' () *'' The Ambassador's Son'' () *'' The Far Reaches'' () *Non-fiction companion volume: ''Torpedo Junction'' ()

Others

* '' Back to the Moon'': A Novel () * '' Red Helmet'' () * '' Torpedo Junction'' () * '' The Dinosaur Hunter'' () * '' From Rocket Boys to October Sky'' An Amazon Kindle Single * '' Paco: The Cat Who Meowed in Space'' An Amazon Kindle Single * '' The Helium-3 Trilogy: Crater, Crescent, and The Lunar Rescue Company''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hickam, Homer Jr. 1943 births Living people People from McDowell County, West Virginia Virginia Tech alumni Novelists from West Virginia American aerospace engineers Appalachian writers NASA people Space advocates 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Engineers from West Virginia Military personnel from West Virginia United States Army officers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers