Magnificent Desolation (book) notes that "Aldrin removes his space helmet and shows us the very human face of an all-American hero." The ISBN number of "Magnificent Desolation" is . Magnificent Desolation (book) Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon is the second of two autobiographical books written by Buzz Aldrin, the former Apollo 11 astronaut who with Neil Armstrong made the first human Moon landing. The book concentrates mainly on the period after his return from space, and illuminates many of the difficulties he had in coping with his instant world-wide fame following the achievement. He writes candidly about depression, the
Buzz Aldrin trailblazing mission; rendezvous from above had already been successfully performed by Gemini 9, and the tethered vehicle exercise by Gemini 11. Even gravity-gradient stabilization had been attempted by Gemini 11, albeit unsuccessfully. Gemini 12 was launched from Launch Complex 19 at 20:46 UTC on November 11, 1966. The Gemini Agena Target Vehicle was launched about an hour and a half before. The mission's first major objective was to rendezvous with this target vehicle. As the target and Gemini 12 capsule drew closer together, radar contact between the two deteriorated until it became unusable, forcing the crew to rendezvous manually. Aldrin