Download or read book Eccentric Orbits written by John Bloom and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Good corporate drama . . . an enlightening narrative of how new communications infrastructures often come about.” —The Economist, “A Book of the Year 2016” In the early 1990s, Motorola developed a revolutionary satellite system called Iridium that promised to be its crowning achievement. Its constellation of 66 satellites in polar orbit was a mind-boggling technical accomplishment, surely the future of communication. The only problem was that Iridium the company was a commercial disaster. Only months after launching service, it was $11 billion in debt, burning through $100 million a month and crippled by baroque rate plans and agreements that forced calls through Moscow, Beijing, Fucino, Italy, and elsewhere. Bankruptcy was inevitable—the largest to that point in American history. And when no real buyers seemed to materialize, it looked like Iridium would go down as just a “science experiment.” That is, until Dan Colussy got a wild idea. Colussy, a former head of Pan-Am now retired and working on his golf game in Palm Beach, heard about Motorola’s plans to “de-orbit” the system and decided he would buy Iridium and somehow turn around one of the biggest blunders in the history of business. Impeccably researched and wonderfully told, Eccentric Orbits is a rollicking, unforgettable tale of technological achievement, business failure, the military-industrial complex, and one of the greatest deals of all time. “Deep reporting put forward with epic intentions . . . a story that soars and jumps and dives and digresses . . . [A] big, gutsy, exciting book.” —The Wall Street Journal, “A Top 10 Nonfiction Book of 2016” “Spellbinding . . . A tireless researcher, Bloom delivers a superlative history . . . A tour de force.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Download or read book Satellite Orbits written by Oliver Montenbruck and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This modern presentation guides readers through the theory and practice of satellite orbit prediction and determination. Starting from the basic principles of orbital mechanics, it covers elaborate force models as well as precise methods of satellite tracking. The accompanying CD-ROM includes source code in C++ and relevant data files for applications. The result is a powerful and unique spaceflight dynamics library, which allows users to easily create software extensions. An extensive collection of frequently updated Internet resources is provided through WWW hyperlinks.
Download or read book Leaving Orbit written by Margaret Lazarus Dean and published by Graywolf Press. This book was released on 2015-05-19 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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?
Download or read book Orbit s First Day of School written by Kyle Hamsher and published by Mascot Books. This book was released on 2018-01-02 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's Houston Astros mascot Orbit's first day of school and he is SO excited to learn about new things here on Earth! But new places can be a little bit scary, too. Join Orbit as he learns how to make new friends, love his new home, and embrace what makes him different because it is also what makes him special!
Download or read book Satellites written by Michel Capderou and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-12-31 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This useful resource deals with satellite orbits, showing how the wide range of available orbits can be used in communications, positioning, remote-sensing, meteorology, and astronomy.
Download or read book Star Crossed Orbits Inside The U S Russian Space Alliance written by James Oberg and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2001-11-07 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insider's view into the U.S.-Russian space program In Star-Crossed Orbits, space veteran and bestselling author James Oberg combines riveting personal memoir with top-notch investigative journalism to tell the complete untold story of the U.S.-Russian space alliance. With unparalleled access to official Russian archives, facilities, and key individuals associated with the Russian space program, he describes the strengths and weaknesses that each side of the alliance brings to the table. And he reveals for the first time the full story of Russia's decaying space program and how it ultimately was saved from collapse by Western funds. Praise for Star Crossed Orbits: "A unique background and base of experience underlies this remarkable book by Jim Oberg. It is must reading for anyone who wishes to understand the culture with which one must deal when attempting to cooperate with Russia or counter its initiatives, whether peaceful or otherwise. Times change with the clock." --Dr. H.H. 'Jack' Schmitt, Apollo moon walker, US Senator "Jim Oberg's new book is an absolute must read for those who have followed the first decades of the human exploration of space. He reveals all sorts of insider information on all sides of the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, later Russia, as they attempted to forge a successful partnership in space. . . Don't miss this one!" --Admiral Richard Truly, Space Shuttle Astronaut and former NASA Administrator "[Star-Crossed Orbits] is a great piece of investigative journalism. [Its] detailed, comprehensive and well documented description of the political environment that shaped the International Space Station is a service to NASA and the nation. . . [This] book is a must read for program managers, engineers and scientists engaged in present and future projects with Russia." --Gene Kranz, Apollo Flight Director, author of 'Failure is Not An Option' "Finally, someone is telling it like it is about the Russian manned space programthe good, the bad and the ugly. The Russians pulled the wool over our eyes for decades. It continues even today, only now America is paying for it. I have relied on Jim for years because no one knows it or tells it like he does." --Walter Cunningham, Apollo VII Astronaut (first manned Apollo mission) "In this reasoned indictment, James Oberg reveals the self-delusional and cynically deceptive deals in which the US allowed Russia to be a controlling partner in constructing the International Space station. He details the terrible cost in time, national treasure and integrity that this causedand how, despite these self-inflicted barriers, America's much-maligned space workers successfully built it anyway." --Frederick C. Durant III, Former Assistant Director, National Air and Space Museum
Download or read book Theory and Design Methods of Special Space Orbits written by Yasheng Zhang and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-25 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the theory and design of special space orbits. Offering a systematic and detailed introduction to the hovering orbit, spiral cruising orbit, multi-target rendezvous orbit, initiative approaching orbit, responsive orbit and earth pole-sitter orbit, it also discusses the concept, theory, design methods and application of special space orbits, particularly the design and control method based on kinematics and astrodynamics. In addition the book presents the latest research and its application in space missions. It is intended for researchers, engineers and postgraduates, especially those working in the fields of orbit design and control, as well as space-mission planning and research.
Download or read book For the Wolf written by Hannah Whitten and published by Orbit. This book was released on 2021-06-01 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! The first daughter is for the Throne. The second daughter is for the Wolf. An instant NYT bestseller and word-of-mouth sensation, this dark, romantic debut fantasy weaves the unforgettable tale of a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn't the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood. As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose—to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return the world's captured gods. Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can't control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can't hurt those she loves. Again. But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn't learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood—and her world—whole. "If you ever wished Beauty and the Beast had more eldritch forest monsters and political machinations, this is the romance for you."―Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January "A brilliant dark fantasy debut!" —Jodi Picoult, NYT bestselling author
Download or read book Queen of the Conquered written by Kacen Callender and published by Orbit. This book was released on 2019-11-12 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ambitious and unflinching tale of colonialism, conquest, and revenge, Queen of the Conquered begins a powerful fantasy series set in a Caribbean-inspired world. *Named one of TIME's Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time * World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, winner On the islands of Hans Lollik, Sigourney Rose was the only survivor when her family was massacred by the colonizers. When the childless king of the islands declares he will choose his successor from amongst eligible noble families, Sigourney is ready to exact her revenge. But someone is killing off the ruling families to clear a path to the throne. And as the bodies pile up and all eyes regard her with suspicion, Sigourney must find allies among her prey and the murderer among her peers... lest she become the next victim. Praise for Queen of the Conquered: "A storm of a novel as epic as Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo." —Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Beasts Made of Night "The book's absorbing setting, captivating lead, and relevant themes of race and class complement each other with alternating delicacy and savagery."—NPR Books "Callender's first adult novel draws race relations, conquest, magic, and politics into an imaginative, layered story that will keep readers twisting until the end." —Library Journal Islands of Blood and Storm Queen of the Conquered King of the Rising
Download or read book Orbital Decay written by Allen Steele and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2013-09-03 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Locus Award: Space-station workers discover a shocking global surveillance plot in this novel from “the master of science-fiction intrigue” (The Washington Post). Popeye Hooker knows that space isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. A former fisherman who takes a job building low orbital stations to escape a failed relationship, he finds that in space, construction work is still a grind. And when they aren’t building the space stations that will usher humanity into the stars, Sam Sloane and the rest of the beamjacks get high, blast the Grateful Dead, and stare through telescopes at the world they left behind. But life in orbit is about to get much more interesting. Nestled among the life support equipment that keeps them alive and the entertainment systems that keep them happy, the beamjacks find something astonishing. Turns out, their home isn’t just a space station—it’s a giant antenna designed to spy on every inhabitant of Earth. It’s the greatest privacy invasion ever perpetrated, and the beamjacks won’t stand for it. They may not be pioneers, but these roughnecks are about to become revolutionaries. Timely—and with Orwellian undertones, Allen Steele’s debut won the Locus Award for Best First Novel. Perfect for fans of Robert Heinlein, Robert J. Sawyer, and Greg Bear, Orbital Decay blends fantasy and science fiction with a prescient attention paid to the dangers of government surveillance.
Download or read book Frozen Orbit written by Patrick Chiles and published by Baen Books. This book was released on 2020-01-07 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE BEGINNING OF LIFE AWAITS AT THE END OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. A FROZEN ANSWER AT THE EDGE OF PLANETARY SPACE Set to embark on NASA’s first expedition to the outer planets, the crew of the spacecraft Magellan learns someone else has beaten them by a few decades: a top-secret Soviet project codenamed Arkangel. Now during their long race to the Kuiper Belt, astronauts Jack Templeton and Traci Keene must unwind a decades-old mystery buried in the pages of a dead cosmonaut’s journal. The solution will challenge their beliefs about the nature of humanity, and will force the astronauts to confront the question of existence itself. And the final answer lies at the edge of the Solar System, waiting to change everything. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Farside by Patrick Chiles: "The situations are realistic, the characters interesting, the perils harrowing, and the stakes could not be higher...The story is one of problem solving, adventure, survival, improvisation, and includes one of the most unusual episodes of space combat in all of science fiction. It would make a terrific movie."— John Walker, Ricochet.com "...a fast-paced and exciting story which bounces between the borders of technological thriller and science fiction...Farside is an impressive effort."—Mark Lardas, The Galveston County Daily News
Download or read book The Great Witch of Brittany written by Louisa Morgan and published by Redhook. This book was released on 2022-02-15 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Set in the late 1700s, a tale of magic and fate, triumph and heartbreak, and the powerful bonds between mothers and daughters unfolds in this spellbinding novel from a master storyteller. Brittany, 1762 There hasn’t been a witch born in the Orchière clan for generations. According to the elders, that line is dead, leaving the clan vulnerable to the whims of superstitious villagers and the prejudices of fearmongering bishops. Ursule Orchière has been raised on stories of the great witches of the past. But the only magic she knows is the false spells her mother weaves over the gullible women who visit their fortune-telling caravan. Everything changes when Ursule comes of age and a spark of power flares to life. Thrilled to be chosen, she has no idea how magic will twist and shape her future. Guided by an ancient grimoire and the whispers of her ancestors, Ursule is destined to walk the same path as the great witches of old. But first, the Orchière magical lineage must survive. And danger hovers over her, whether it’s the bloodlust of the mob or the flames of the pyre. Return to the world of A Secret History of Witches with the bewitching tale of Ursule Orchière and her discovery of magical abilities that will not only change the course of her life but every generation that comes after her. For more from Louisa Morgan, check out: A Secret History of Witches The Witch's Kind The Age of Witches
Download or read book Hitchers written by Will McIntosh and published by Start Publishing LLC. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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!
Download or read book Orbits written by Guochang Xu and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-12 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The development of the orbits theory lags behind the development of satellite technology. This book provides, for the first time in the history of human satellite development, the complete third order solution of the orbits under all possible disturbances. It describes the theory of satellite orbits, derives the complete solutions of the orbital disturbances, describes the algorithms of orbits determination based on the theory, describes the applications of the theory to the phenomenon of the satellite formation physically. The subjects include: Orbits Motion Equations, Disturbance theory, Solutions of the differential Equations, Algorithms of Orbits determinations, Applications of the theory to the satellite formation.
Download or read book Senlin Ascends written by Josiah Bancroft and published by Orbit. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book in the word-of-mouth phenomenon debut fantasy series about one man's dangerous journey through a labyrinthine world. "One of my favorite books of all time" -- Mark Lawrence The Tower of Babel is the greatest marvel in the world. Immense as a mountain, the ancient Tower holds unnumbered ringdoms, warring and peaceful, stacked one on the other like the layers of a cake. It is a world of geniuses and tyrants, of luxury and menace, of unusual animals and mysterious machines. Soon after arriving for his honeymoon at the Tower, the mild-mannered headmaster of a small village school, Thomas Senlin, gets separated from his wife, Marya, in the overwhelming swarm of tourists, residents, and miscreants. Senlin is determined to find Marya, but to do so he'll have to navigate madhouses, ballrooms, and burlesque theaters. He must survive betrayal, assassins, and the illusions of the Tower. But if he hopes to find his wife, he will have to do more than just endure. This quiet man of letters must become a man of action.
Download or read book The Fallen Blade written by Jon Courtenay Grimwood and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2011-02-03 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Venice, 1407. The city is at the height of its powers. In theory, Duke Marco commands, but Marco is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle rule in his stead. They seem all powerful, yet live in fear of assassins better than their own. On the night their world changes, Marco's young cousin prays in the family chapel for deliverance from a forced marriage. It is her misfortune to be alone when Mamluk pirates break in to abduct her - an act that will ultimately trigger war. Elsewhere Atilo, the Duke's chief assassin, cuts a man's throat. Hearing a noise, he turns back to find a boy drinking from the victim's wound. The speed with which the angel-faced boy dodges his dagger and scales a wall stuns Atilo. He knows then he must hunt him. Not to kill him, but because he's finally found what he thought was impossible - someone fit to be his apprentice. Award-winning author Jon Courtenay Grimwood is a master storyteller. Here, he blends history, politics and dark fantasy in a compelling vision of an alternative Venice.
Download or read book Reflections from Earth Orbit written by Winston E. Scott and published by Apogee Books. This book was released on 2005 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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'.
