Colin Burgess offers a comprehensive yet personal look at the 1962 orbital mission of Wally Schirra aboard the spacecraft Sigma 7, the first book about this popular pioneering astronaut which explores his entire life and accomplishments. This continues the Pioneers in Early Spaceflight series, the volumes of which form an excellent record of Project Mercury's pioneering early phase of the Space Age. Schirra’s pre-NASA life is examined, as well as his training as a NASA astronaut and for his Mercury MA-8 flight. The 6-orbit flight of Sigma 7 is fully covered from its origins through to the spacecraft’s safe recovery from the ocean after a highly successful Mercury mission. Schirra’s participation on the Gemini 6 and Apollo 7 missions is also told, but in brief, and the book also relates his post-NASA life and activities through to his passing in 2007. The Mercury Seven occupy a unique spot in the history of human spaceflight, and Schirra is at last given his due as one of the contributing astronauts in this painstakingly researched book.

In the desert Southwest, Kimble Monroe and others fight for their lives against the "bugs," self-replicating, solar-powered, metal-eating machines.

From James Rollins, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sigma Force series, comes another electrifying combination of suspense, history, science, action, and ingenious speculation. Deep in the Rocky Mountains, a gruesome discovery—hundreds of mummified bodies—stir international attention and fervent controversy. Despite doubts about the bodies’ origins, the local Native American Heritage Commission lays claim to the prehistoric remains, along with the strange artifacts found in the same cavern: gold plates inscribed with an unfathomable script. During a riot at the dig site, an anthropologist dies horribly: burned to ash in a fiery explosion in plain view of television cameras. All evidence points to a radical group of Native Americans, including one agitator, a teenage firebrand who escapes with a vital clue to the murder and calls on the one person who might help: her uncle, Painter Crowe, director of Sigma Force. To protect his niece and uncover the truth, Painter will ignite a war across the nation’s most powerful intelligence agencies. Yet, an even greater threat looms as events in the Rocky Mountains have set in motion a frightening chain reaction, a geological meltdown that threatens the entire western half of the U.S. From the volcanic peaks of Iceland to the blistering deserts of the American Southwest, from the gold vaults of Fort Knox to the bubbling geysers of Yellowstone, Painter Crowe joins forces with Commander Gray Pierce to penetrate the shadowy heart of a dark cabal, one that has been manipulating American history since the founding of the thirteen colonies. But can he discover the truth—one that could topple governments—before it destroys all he holds dear?

At 7:15 a.m. on October 3, 1962, Project Mercury Astronaut Walter M. Schirra, Jr., in his Sigma 7 spacecraft, was launched into space and orbited the Earth six times, completing another step in the grand U.S. program to send a man to the Moon and then return him safely to Earth. Because of the brief durations of the previous Mercury flights, the astronauts spent the majority of their flight time in getting to orbit and preparing to leave orbit. Schirra's six-orbit mission lasted more than nine hours, which for the first time allowed an astronaut to experience an extended period of weightlessness. In addition, the time available allowed Schirra to engage in orbital manoeuvring, exercising the various manual and automatic control modes, and to spend time on photography and scientific experiments. After his return to the United States, Schirra described his Sigma 7 mission as "a text book flight." A compilation of inputs from engineering, operations and medical personnel had been integrated into a single flight plan, which Schirra then carried out exactly as he had trained. The unqualified success of this flight paved the way for the planned upcoming one-day mission, an important milestone on the journey to the Moon. In this book the Mission Press Kit and press releases are combined with the major post-mission reports to provide a comprehensive picture of the flight from the planning stages through to its successful completion. Sigma 7 - The NASA Mission Reports is taken directly from the NASA archives. It presents the details of the Mercury-Atlas 8 mission, the overall Project Mercury game plan, astronaut Walter M. Schirra, Jr., and all of the many professional support people and facilities that went into making the mission a complete success. Includes a CD-ROM featuring: An exclusive interview with Mercury Astronaut Walter M. Schirra, Jr; The NASA movie -- Flight of Sigma 7; NASA movie -- Unmanned Mercury Missions; NASA Document (pdf) -- Space Medicine in Project Mercury.

This reference manual is designed to help those interested in passing the ASQ's certification exam for Six Sigma Green Belts and others who want a handy reference to the appropriate materials needed to conduct successful Green Belt projects. It is a reference handbook on running projects for those who are already knowledgeable about process improvement and variation reduction. The primary layout of the handbook follows the ASQ Body of Knowledge (BoK) for the Certified Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB) updated in 2015. The authors were involved with the first edition handbook, and have utilized first edition user comments, numerous Six Sigma practitioners, and their own personal knowledge gained through helping others prepare for exams to bring together a handbook that they hope will be very beneficial to anyone seeking to pass the ASQ or other Green Belt exams. In addition to the primary text, the authors have added a number of new appendixes, an expanded acronym list, new practice exam questions, and other additional materials

This textbook covers the fundamental mechanisms of the Six Sigma philosophy, while showing how this approach is used in solving problems that affect the variability and quality of processes and outcomes in business settings. Further, it teaches readers how to integrate a statistical perspective into problem solving and decision-making processes. Part I provides foundational background and introduces the Six Sigma methodology while Part II focuses on the details of DMAIC process and tools used in each phase of DMAIC. The student-centered approach based on learning objectives, solved examples, practice and discussion questions is ideal for those studying Six Sigma.