The historic quest to rekindle the human exploration and colonization of space led by two rivals and their vast fortunes, egos, and visions of space as the next entrepreneurial frontier. The Space Barons is the story of a group of billionaire entrepreneurs who are pouring their fortunes into the epic resurrection of the American space program. Nearly a half-century after Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, these Space Barons-most notably Elon Musk...

Examines the current state and future of the space travel industry, discussing the rise of private companies engaged in commercialized space flight, the building of new spacecraft and rockets, and the development of spaceports.

The Ars Technica senior space editor chronicles the first four historic flights that launched SpaceX, describing how, after three failed attempts, the fourth flight helped transform SpaceX from a shaky startup into the world's leading edge rocket company. Less than 20 years after its founding, SpaceX boasts the largest constellation of commercial satellites in orbit, has pioneered reusable rockets, and in 2020 became the first private company to...

"Two eminent scientists debate UFO incidents and persuasive cases, and explore what we still need to know about the phenomenon"-- "Two eminent scientists debate UFO incidents, persuasive cases, and exploration of what we still need to know about the phenomena. From the outset, Hynek and Vallee make their position clear: UFOs represent an unknown but real phenomenon. The far-reaching implications take us to the very edge of what we consider the known...

For anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered, "Are we alone?" A brilliant examination of the science behind the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and its pioneer, Jill Tarter, the inspiration for the main character in Carl Sagan's Contact.
Jill Tarter is a pioneer, an innovator, an adventurer, and a controversial force. At a time when women weren't encouraged to do much outside the home, Tarter ventured as...

"This superbly designed and lavishly illustrated book marks a special moment in history: the final mission of the space shuttle. Noted space and science author Piers Bizony has put together a retrospective that covers all 134 space shuttle missions, including the final flight of the shuttle, which is scheduled for September 2010. In addition to covering every space shuttle mission, the book also covers the development and design of the space shuttle,...

"An amusing and informative illustrated guide to life beyond our own planet that covers everything from training for and living in space to the future of space travel and tourism. Now that suborbital space tourism is predicted to become a billion-dollar industry in the next ten years and NASA has announced its plans for landing humans on Mars in the 2030s, the dream of traveling and living in space is taking on new reality. But given that life on...

"Alone in a Spartan black cockpit, test pilot Mike Melvill rocketed toward space. He had eighty seconds to exceed the speed of sound and begin the climb to a target no civilian pilot had ever reached. He might not make it back alive. If he did, he would make history as the world s first commercial astronaut. The spectacle defied reason, the result of a competition dreamed up by entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, whose vision for a new race to space required...

"On July 20th, 1969, over half of the world's population tuned in to witness the first lunar landing, waiting with bated breath as Neil Armstrong ventured outside the cabin door of Apollo 11 and declared "that's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." As the most expensive civilian scientific and technological program in American history, Project Apollo symbolized the unmatched prestige of American space exploration. Yet despite appearances,...

"A companion to PBS's American Experience draws on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered archival material to chronicle the stories of the visionaries who helped America win the space race with the first lunar landing"--Publisher. "A charismatic young president issued the historic Moon landing challenge. This book, which greatly expands the companion PBS series, tell the stories of the visionaries--based on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered...