The bestselling author of "Pandora's Clock" returns with a riveting thriller set in the world of commercial spaceflight. The year is 2009, and when a micrometeorite punches through the wall of a just-launched spacecraft, killing the pilot, passenger Kip Dawson discovers he is truly alone.

This is an up-to-date investigation of the emerging commercial space business. It explores who are the players, the celebrities and technical innovators that are making this important new industry a reality. It is the most comprehensive look at the industry in terms of covering the companies, the role of NASA and other space agencies, as well as the strategic implications of private space systems. It examines the business risks and other possible show-stoppers that might inhibit the growth of commercial spaceflight systems. Space tourism is seen as more than a fad but a crucial next step in the evolution of humankind. The book is unique in terms of exploring new technologies of the future, and reviewing the regulatory and legal ramifications of private space now and into the next decade.

While the glories and tragedies of the space shuttle make headlines and move the nation, the story of the shuttle forms an inseparabe part of a lesser-known but no less important drama—the search for a reusable single-stage-to-orbit rocket. Here an award-winning student of space science, Andrew J. Butrica, examines the long and tangled history of this ambitious concept, from it first glimmerings in the 1920s, when technicians dismissed it as unfeasible, to its highly expensive heyday in the midst of the Cold War, when conservative-backed government programs struggled to produce an operational flight vehicle. Butrica finds a blending of far-sighted engineering and heavy-handed politics. To the first and oldest idea—that of the reusable rocket-powered single-stage-to-orbit vehicle—planners who belonged to what President Eisenhower referred to as the military-industrial complex.added experimental ("X"), "aircraft-like" capabilties and, eventually, a "faster, cheaper, smaller" managerial approach. Single Stage to Orbit traces the interplay of technology, corporate interest, and politics, a combination that well served the conservative space agenda and ultimately triumphed—not in the realization of inexpensive, reliable space transport—but in a vision of space militarization and commercialization that would appear settled United States policy in the early twenty-first century. -- D. M. Ashford

Collects many of the most visually significant photographs taken during the first forty-one years of orbital space travel, in a volume that reflects the achievements of the space program, the natural wonders of the planet, and the consequences of pollution. Reprint.

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.

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

A complete update of a classic reference by specialists at the Mayo Clinic, Henderson's Orbital Tumors, Fourth Edition collates the Clinic's fifty years' experience in managing tumors involving the orbit. Drawing on case reports and extensive follow-up data from over 1,700 patients treated at the Clinic, the authors formulate comprehensive guidelines on diagnosis and medical and surgical treatment of the entire spectrum of orbital tumors. This new edition reflects the latest advances in diagnosis and treatment, including improved imaging technology, more accurate pathologic diagnosis, new radiotherapy options, new surgical approaches, and therapy using monoclonal antibodies. More than 460 illustrations, 43 in full color, complement the text.