Leaving Orbit

Leaving Orbit PDF Author: Margaret Lazarus Dean
Publisher: Graywolf Press
ISBN: 1555973418
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
Winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, a breathtaking elegy to the waning days of human spaceflight as we have known it In the 1960s, humans took their first steps away from Earth, and for a time our possibilities in space seemed endless. But in a time of austerity and in the wake of high-profile disasters like Challenger, that dream has ended. In early 2011, Margaret Lazarus Dean traveled to Cape Canaveral for NASA's last three space shuttle launches in order to bear witness to the end of an era. With Dean as our guide to Florida's Space Coast and to the history of NASA, Leaving Orbit takes the measure of what American spaceflight has achieved while reckoning with its earlier witnesses, such as Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, and Oriana Fallaci. Along the way, Dean meets NASA workers, astronauts, and space fans, gathering possible answers to the question: What does it mean that a spacefaring nation won't be going to space anymore?

Leaving Orbit

Leaving Orbit PDF Author: Margaret Lazarus Dean
Publisher: Graywolf Press
ISBN: 1555973418
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 341

Get Book Here

Book Description
Winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, a breathtaking elegy to the waning days of human spaceflight as we have known it In the 1960s, humans took their first steps away from Earth, and for a time our possibilities in space seemed endless. But in a time of austerity and in the wake of high-profile disasters like Challenger, that dream has ended. In early 2011, Margaret Lazarus Dean traveled to Cape Canaveral for NASA's last three space shuttle launches in order to bear witness to the end of an era. With Dean as our guide to Florida's Space Coast and to the history of NASA, Leaving Orbit takes the measure of what American spaceflight has achieved while reckoning with its earlier witnesses, such as Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, and Oriana Fallaci. Along the way, Dean meets NASA workers, astronauts, and space fans, gathering possible answers to the question: What does it mean that a spacefaring nation won't be going to space anymore?

Leaving Earth

Leaving Earth PDF Author: Robert Zimmerman
Publisher: eBookIt.com
ISBN: 1456632833
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 839

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Book Description
In this definitive account of the quest to establish a human presence in lifeless outer space, award-winning space historian Robert Zimmerman reveals the great global gamesmanship between Soviet and American political leaders that drove the space efforts of both following the Apollo lunar landings in the 1960s and 1970s. Beaten to the Moon by their Cold War enemies, the Russians were intent on being first to the planets. They knew that to reach other worlds they needed to learn how to build interplanetary spaceships, and believed that manned space stations held the greatest promise for making that possible. Thus, from the very moment they realized they had lost the race to the Moon, the Soviet government worked feverishly to build a viable space station program - one that would dwarf the American efforts and allow the Russians to claim the vast territories of space as their own. Like the race between the tortoise and the hare, the ponderously bureaucratic Soviet Union actually managed to overtake the United States in this space station race. Their efforts - sometimes resulting in terrifying near death exploits - not only put them far ahead of NASA, it also served to reshape their own society, helping to change it from a communist dictatorship to a freer and more capitalist society. At the same time, the American space program at NASA was also evolving, but not for the better. In fact, in many ways the two programs - and nations - were slowly but inexorably trading places. Drawing on his vast store of knowledge about space travel and modern history, as well as hundreds of interviews with cosmonauts, astronauts, and scientists, Zimmerman has superbly captured the exciting story of space travel in the last half of the twentieth century. "Leaving Earth" tells that story, and is required reading for space and history enthusiasts alike who wish to understand the context of the space exploration renaissance taking place now, in the twenty-first century.

Reflections from Earth Orbit

Reflections from Earth Orbit PDF Author: Winston E. Scott
Publisher: Apogee Books
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
In spite of the recent loss of the space shuttle Columbia, there are those who believe in the seemingly routine nature of space flight. The author's experiences however confirm the tremendous curiosity and overall fascination the world maintains for flying in space. As a public speaker, he talks regularly to thousands of people of all ages and from every walk of life. These audience members universally are inquisitive about life in space and the makeup of the individuals who form the corps of con-temporary space explorers. Reflections From Earth Orbit is not your typical 'how do you go to the bathroom in space' book. It is a book about life as told through the memories, or reflections, of the author navy Captain Winston Scott. These reflections were prompted by events that occurred during two space shuttle missions as a NASA astronaut aboard the space shuttles Endeavour and Columbia. It has been written that Captain Scott's journey to the stars is a testament to perseverance and vision. Reflections is his attempt to share some of the experiences that drove him to overcome his life's obstacles and become one of a select few who journeyed beyond the bonds of earth into outer space. Through Reflections the author takes the reader into space. He gives vivid descriptions of life in space emphasising the everyday aspects of living with which the average, everyday person is curious and to which he or she can relate. As his memory is jogged by an event in space, Captain Scott relates a fascinating story with lessons learned from his past. He has succeeded in capturing the essence of life in space and sharing the space flight experience with the reader. Although not every chapter follows this exact format, e.g. Where Have You Gone Sky King, Reflections will entertain, educate, and inspire a general audience. In other words, one does not have to be a space enthusiast to enjoy 'Reflections'.

Hitchers

Hitchers PDF Author: Will McIntosh
Publisher: Start Publishing LLC
ISBN: 1597803367
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
Two years ago, on the same day but miles apart, Finn Darby lost two of the most important people in his life: his wife Lorena, struck by lightning on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, and his abusive, alcoholic grandfather, Tom Darby, creator of the long-running newspaper comic strip Toy Shop. Against his grandfather’s dying wish, Finn has resurrected Toy Shop, adding new characters, and the strip is more popular than ever, bringing in fan letters, merchandising deals, and talk of TV specials. Finn has even started dating again. When a terrorist attack decimates Atlanta, killing half a million souls, Finn begins blurting things in a strange voice beyond his control. The voice says things only his grandfather could know. Countless other residents of Atlanta are suffering a similar bizarre affliction. Is it mass hysteria, or have the dead returned to possess the living? Finn soon realizes he has a hitcher within his skin... his grandfather. And Grandpa isn’t terribly happy about the changes Finn has been making to Toy Shop. Together with a pair of possessed friends, an aging rock star, and a waitress, Finn races against time to find a way to send the dead back to Deadland... or die trying!

The Liberated

The Liberated PDF Author: Dafydd ab Hugh
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743420578
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Major Kira and the ambitious Kai Winn have never seen eye to eye, but when Cardassian renegades invade Deep Space Nine, determined to capture one of the sacred Orbs of the Prophets, the two women must work together to preserve both the Orb and the safety of everyone aboard the station. Captain Sisko and the crew of the Defiant cannot come to Kira's aid; they are too busy teaching an entire world how to fight back against a vicious invasion -- even if it means breaking the Prime Directive!

Earth Afire

Earth Afire PDF Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 142994384X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
One hundred years before Ender's Game, the aliens arrived on Earth with fire and death. This is the story of the First Formic War. Victor Delgado beat the alien ship to Earth, but just barely. Not soon enough to convince skeptical governments that there was a threat. They didn't believe that until space stations and ships and colonies went up in sudden flame. And when that happened, only Mazer Rackham and the Mobile Operations Police could move fast enough to meet the threat. Fans of Ender's Game will thrill to Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston's Earth Afire. THE ENDER UNIVERSE Ender series Ender’s Game / Speaker for the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind / Ender in Exile / Children of the Fleet Ender’s Shadow series Ender’s Shadow / Shadow of the Hegemon / Shadow Puppets / Shadow of the Giant / Shadows in Flight The First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) Earth Unaware / Earth Afire / Earth Awakens The Second Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) The Swarm / The Hive Ender novellas A War of Gifts / First Meetings At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Go for Orbit

Go for Orbit PDF Author: Seddon
Publisher: Your Space Press
ISBN: 9780996217811
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
This book features the memoirs of Dr. Rhea Seddon, beginning with her selection as an Astronaut and covering her 19 years with NASA.

Blameless

Blameless PDF Author: Gail Carriger
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 0316082562
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season in the third book of the NYT bestselling Parasol Protectorate series. Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead. While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto. Blameless is the third book of the Parasol Protectorate series: a comedy of manners set in Victorian London, full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Ai Athena

Ai Athena PDF Author: Mark J. Curtis
Publisher: Archway Publishing
ISBN: 1480874140
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
After a couple days working on the drive, the AI and I got it back online but couldn’t find out why we had jumped to where we were. It didn’t matter anyway; the drive would be useless until we could see the stars. I was just sitting there staring at the monitor when I noticed a red bracket at the center of the screen flashing. The scanners were locking onto something, but I couldn’t tell what... An artificial intelligence named Athena is placed into an experimental ship with a middle-aged scientist at the helm. The captain has developed a special jump engine with the ability to fold space. After a few travel attempts, the captain and Athena end up inside a nebula in another part of the galaxy and discover the outer barrier of the nebula is deadly and disrupts energy patterns. They aren’t alone inside this dangerous nebula, however. Thousands of ships from other civilizations are similarly trapped. With the help of Athena, the captain makes contact and fear gives way to curiosity and camaraderie. Athena soon grows so advanced, it’s hard to tell if she is real or artificial. She and the captain must now devise a way to escape the nebula, and through this journey, Athena finds life and the captain finds immortality.

Sanctuary

Sanctuary PDF Author: John Vornholt
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743420128
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The planet Sanctuary -- A fabled world in unexplored space which is thought to be the last refuge of the persecuted, home to both the justly and unjustly accused. Though its name has been translated into every language in the galaxy, Starfleet has never known its exact location. When the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise™ is assigned to capture a dangerous criminal named Auk Rex, their pursuit takes them to an unexplored sector of space. Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy continue the pursuit in a shuttlecraft, following Auk Rex to the surface of the planet, Sanctuary. Soon, Kirk and his crew are locked in a life and death struggle on the mysteriouus planet, which harbors deadly secrets and never releases its visitors.