A True Space Race Adventure You Won’t Believe Actually Happened

Just three days before the 1968 Saturn-Apollo 502 launch, a 26-year-old systems engineer discovered a mistake that could send America’s most powerful rocket veering wildly off course. Reporting it would delay the mission for months. Ignoring it could end in disaster.

So he chose a third option.
He stole the flight control computer.

Grandpa Stole a Rocket! is the unbelievable true story of George “Papa” Dasher, a young NASA engineer whose quick thinking, courage, and borderline-illegal ingenuity helped save a critical Apollo test mission. When Papa realized the rocket’s pitch and yaw controls were malfunctioning, he assembled a small band of trusted colleagues, snuck into the 300-foot-tall Saturn V under the cover of night, unbolted the garbage-can-sized computer, and hauled it away in a station wagon. What followed was an all-night race across Florida to the unit’s manufacturer—and a desperate attempt to repair the device before anyone noticed it was missing.

Grandpa Stole a Rocket

Told through the eyes of Papa’s granddaughter, this book blends space history, family memoir, and edge-of-your-seat storytelling into an inspiring tale that proves sometimes the heroes of history aren’t astronauts—they’re the engineers behind the scenes.

⭐ Perfect for readers who love:

Real NASA and Apollo-era stories

Engineering and STEM adventures

Inspiring true tales of problem-solving and grit

Family memoirs with humor and heart

Books like Hidden Figures, The Right Stuff, or Apollo 13

Inside this unbelievable but true story, you’ll discover:

The high-pressure world of NASA during the Space Race

How a single engineering mistake could have jeopardized an entire mission

The daring midnight mission to extract the flight control computer

The humorous, human moments of a young newlywed caught in the chaos

The hidden heroes who helped make the Moon landing possible.