A novel of technology, terrorism, and hope

Two hundred thousand feet up, things go horribly wrong. An experimental low-orbit spaceplane breaks up on reentry, falling to earth over a trail hundreds of miles long. And it its wake is the beginning of the most important mission in the history of space. America needs energy, and Dan Randolph is determined to give it to them. He dreams of an array of geosynchronous powersats, satellites which gather solar energy and beam it to generators on Earth, freeing America from its addiction to fossil fuels and breaking the power of the oil cartels forever. But the wreck of the spaceplane has left his company, Astro Manufacturing, on the edge of bankruptcy. Worse, Dan discovers that the plane worked perfectly right up until the moment that saboteurs knocked it out of the sky. And whoever brought it down is willing and able to kill again to keep Astro grounded. Now Dan has to thread a dangerous maze. The visible threats are bad enough: Rival firms want to buy him out and take control of his dreams. His former lover wants to co-opt his unlimited-energy ideal as a campaign plank for the candidate she's grooming for the presidency. NASA and the FAA want to shut down his maverick firm. And his creditors are breathing down his neck. Making matters even more dangerous, an international organization of terrorists sees the powersat as a threat to their own oil-based power. And they've figured out how to use it as a weapon in their war against the West. A sweeping mix of space, murder, romance, politics, secrets, and betrayal, Powersat will take you to the edge of space and the dawning of a new world. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The power systems of space vehicles have undergone significant development during the previous decade, and will continue to do so in the immediate future. Until now, except for the scattered results of conferences and a few publications with sketchy coverage, no single volume has covered the entire spectrum of the subject. Spacecraft Power

The prospectus of humans living, working, and establishing communities in space can no longer be dismissed as the romantic notions of science fiction writers and space buffs. With the launch of the space shuttle human kind will enter a new era in space exploration, one giant step closer to the goal of human colonization. Our understanding of man’s role in space is maturing, and the myths of life in space as a slick Buck Rogers episode or a scene from Star Wars must give way to a realistic plan for human life in other part of the solar system. We are ready now for a factual assessment of the challenges ahead: in Toward Distant Suns, the prospects of space exploration and space colonization have come of age. Here, for the first time, is a realistic look at what humankind must accomplish in order to colonize near space. Based on the most up-to-date research available, Toward Distant Suns tackles the problems of technology and lifestyle that will face those men and women whose mission is to settle space. Here is realistic, in-depth coverage of: space shuttle’s role in near space construction, development of new, more versatile rocket fuels and motors, building the large communications platforms, power satellites the “Space Spider,” and space colonies, the space workers—how they will be chosen, trained, and transported; life in zero-g—space tourism and space war; “suburbanizing” space earth dwellers; the real future of interstellar colonization Toward Distant Suns also takes a new look at the tantalizing question: What is our place in the galaxy? It reviews the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence experiments, the latest work on interstellar flight and colonization, and the current scientific information on planetary formation and humanoid development, to reach the startling conclusion: Mankind may be unique and along.

Two hundred thousand feet up, things go horribly wrong. An experimental low-orbit spaceplane breaks up on reentry, falling to earth over a trail hundreds of miles long. And it its wake is the beginning of the most important mission in the history of space. America needs energy, and Dan Randolph is determined to give it to them. He dreams of an array of geosynchronous powersats, satellites which gather solar energy and beam it to generators on Earth, freeing America from its addiction to fossil fuels and breaking the power of the oil cartels forever. But the wreck of the spaceplane has left his company, Astro Manufacturing, on the edge of bankruptcy. Worse, Dan discovers that the plane worked perfectly right up until the moment that saboteurs knocked it out of the sky. And whoever brought it down is willing and able to kill again to keep Astro grounded. Now Dan has to thread a dangerous maze. The visible threats are bad enough: Rival firms want to buy him out and take control of his dreams. His former lover wants to co-opt his unlimited-energy ideal as a campaign plank for the candidate she's grooming for the presidency. NASA and the FAA want to shut down his maverick firm. And his creditors are breathing down his neck. Making matters even more dangerous, an international organization of terrorists sees the powersat as a threat to their own oil-based power. And they've figured out how to use it as a weapon in their war against the West. A sweeping mix of space, murder, romance, politics, secrets, and betrayal, Powersat will take you to the edge of space and the dawning of a new world.

"An earlier version of this novel was first published in Analog science fiction and fact in 2011."--T.p. verso.

This book takes the reader on a journey through the history of extremely ambitious, large and complex space missions that never happened. What were the dreams and expectations of the visionaries behind these plans, and why were they not successful in bringing their projects to reality thus far? As spaceflight development progressed, new technologies and ideas led to pushing the boundaries of engineering and technology though still grounded in real scientific possibilities. Examples are space colonies, nuclear-propelled interplanetary spacecraft, space telescopes consisting of multiple satellites and canon launch systems. Each project described in this book says something about the dreams and expectations of their time, and their demise was often linked to an important change in the cultural, political and social state of the world. For each mission or spacecraft concept, the following will be covered: • Description of the design. • Overview of the history of the concept and the people involved. • Why it was never developed and flown • What if the mission was actually carried out – consequences, further developments, etc.