Featured in The Economist's Best Books of 2024

USA Today Bestseller

How did a shaky startup defy expectations and become the world's leading spaceflight company? Get the untold story of the team of game-changers, led by a well-known billionaire, who are sending NASA astronauts to space--and just might carry the human race to Mars.

One company dominates the modern space industry: SpaceX, founded by controversial entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2002, now sending more payloads into orbit than the rest of the world combined. But Musk didn't do it alone--the saga of SpaceX is the story of a diverse cadre of true believers in the limitless potential of space travel.

For the first time, Reentry relates the definitive chronicle of how this daring team was able to redefine what it takes to reach the stars.

With Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist Eric Berger, author of Liftoff, as your guide, you'll accompany SpaceX's innovative thinkers during their toughest trials and most audacious moments, including:

• Creating the first orbital rockets that land by themselves and fly again
• Transporting a 120-foot rocket from Texas to Florida
• Recovering from a Hell's Bells accident before the first Falcon Heavy launch
• Frantically searching the ocean for the first rocket that splashed down intact
• Identifying the $20 part that led to a rocket exploding in flight
• Slicing up an engine days before it launched into space

From launchpad explosions to a pernicious cricket infestation to the demanding management style of Musk himself, the rise of SpaceX was beset with challenges and far from inevitable. Find out how the startup beat the odds and flew high enough to outpace their rivals . . . and where they're going next.

* THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Winner of the Hugo Award * Scientific American's #1 Book for 2023 * Winner of Royal Society's Trivedi Prize * A Guardian Best Book of 2024 * A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * A Times Best Science and Environment Book of 2023 * A Tor.com Best Book of 2023 *

Exceptional. . . Forceful, engaging and funny . . . This book will make you happy to live on this planet -- a good thing, because you're not leaving anytime soon. --New York Times Book Review

From the bestselling authors of Soonish, a brilliant and hilarious off-world investigation into space settlement

Earth is not well. The promise of starting life anew somewhere far, far away--no climate change, no war, no Twitter--beckons, and settling the stars finally seems within our grasp. Or is it? Critically acclaimed, bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of research, they aren't so sure it's a good idea. Space technologies and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the knowledge needed to have space kids, build space farms, and create space nations in a way that doesn't spark conflict back home. In a world hurtling toward human expansion into space, A City on Mars investigates whether the dream of new worlds won't create nightmares, both for settlers and the people they leave behind. In the process, the Weinersmiths answer every question about space you've ever wondered about, and many you've never considered:

Can you make babies in space? Should corporations govern space settlements? What about space war? Are we headed for a housing crisis on the Moon's Peaks of Eternal Light--and what happens if you're left in the Craters of Eternal Darkness? Why do astronauts love taco sauce? Speaking of meals, what's the legal status of space cannibalism?

With deep expertise, a winning sense of humor, and art from the beloved creator of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, the Weinersmiths investigate perhaps the biggest questions humanity will ever ask itself--whether and how to become multiplanetary.

Get in, we're going to Mars.

The long-awaited memoir of a trailblazer and role model who is telling her story for the first time.
Eileen Collins was an aviation pioneer her entire career, from her crowning achievements as the first woman to command an American space mission as well as the first to pilot the space shuttle to her early years as one of the Air Force's first female pilots. She was in the first class of women to earn pilot's wings at Vance Air Force Base and was their first female instructor pilot. She was only the second woman admitted to the Air Force's elite Test Pilot Program at Edwards Air Force Base. NASA had such confidence in her skills as a leader and pilot that she was entrusted to command the first shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster, returning the US to spaceflight after a two-year hiatus. Since retiring from the Air Force and NASA, she has served on numerous corporate boards and is an inspirational speaker about space exploration and leadership.

Eileen Collins is among the most recognized and admired women in the world, yet this is the first time she has told her story in a book. It is a story not only of achievement and overcoming obstacles but of profound personal transformation. The shy, quiet child of an alcoholic father and struggling single mother, who grew up in modest circumstances and was an unremarkable student, she had few prospects when she graduated from high school, but she changed her life to pursue her secret dream of becoming an astronaut. She shares her leadership and life lessons throughout the book with the aim of inspiring and passing on her legacy to a new generation.

Inspired by insights gained in spaceflight, a NASA astronaut offers key lessons to empower Earthbound readers to fight climate change

When Nicole Stott first saw Earth from space, she realized how interconnected we are and knew she had to help protect our planetary home.

In Back to Earth, Stott imparts essential lessons in problem-solving, survival, and crisis response that each of us can practice to make change. She knows we can overcome differences to address global issues, because she saw this every day on the International Space Station. Stott shares stories from her spaceflight and insights from scientists, activists, and changemakers working to solve our greatest environmental challenges. She learns about the complexities of Earth's biodiversity from NASA engineers working to enable life in space and from scientists protecting life on Earth for future generations. Ultimately, Stott reveals how we each have the power to respect our planetary home and one another by living our lives like crewmates, not passengers, on an inspiring shared mission

Discover the amazing wonders of the night sky with this expanded edition to 100 Things to See in the Night Sky, perfect for every amateur stargazer and armchair astronomer

Keep your feet on the ground and experience the night sky to the fullest by exploring planets, satellites, and constellations with this all-inclusive reference guide to space. 100 Things to See in the Night Sky, Expanded Edition is full of information on the many amazing things you can see with a telescope, or just your naked eye

From shooting stars to constellations and planets to satellites, this book gives you a clear picture of what you can see on any given night. Learn about the celestial bodies that have captured people's imaginations for centuries, with specific facts alongside traditional myths and beautifully illustrated photographs and star charts that will help you know where to look for the best view.

With this illuminating guide, you'll enjoy hours of stargazing, whether you're travelling, camping, sitting in your back yard, or simply flipping through the beautiful images in this book.

There's something intriguing to be learned on practically every page... How to Astronaut] captures the details of an extraordinary job and turns even the mundane aspects of space travel into something fascinating.--Publishers Weekly

Ride shotgun on a trip to space with astronaut Terry Virts. A born storyteller with a gift for the surprising turn of phrase and eye for the perfect you-are-there details, he captures all the highs, lows, humor, and wonder of an experience few will ever know firsthand. Featuring stories covering survival training, space shuttle emergencies, bad bosses, the art of putting on a spacesuit, time travel, and much more

The NASA Graphics Standards Manual: Remastered Edition is a modern spin on the original NASA Graphics Standards Manual published in 1976 and puts it into a new and clean format. Using high-resolution scans of the original book, over two-hundred man-hours were spent in recreating and remastering the original drawings with very fine details. This book is not in the same format as the original, as the original manual was in a binder. However, much care was taken in ensuring the correct image and font proportions were used. The original double-spread pages were reformatted to fit onto two single facing pages. Photos from the original book were replaced with the original photos sourced from the NASA library, and missing photos were replaced with similar photos obtained from the NASA library.

This edition is published with the highest quality print-on-demand techniques along with the most vivid color, and printed on thick 70 lb. paper. Fine type sized as small as three point Helvetica is still legible, and the reproduced drawings are clean and crisp. If you are a fan of NASA, then this book is a great addition to your NASA library.

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD - NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A riveting feat of science writing that recasts that most familiar of celestial objects into something eerily extraordinary, pivotal to our history, and awesome in the original sense of the word.--Ed Yong, New York Times bestselling author of An Immense World

FINALIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE - A NEW YORKER AND SMITHSONIAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

Many of us know that the Moon pulls on our oceans, driving the tides, but did you know that it smells like gunpowder? Or that it was essential to the development of science and religion? Acclaimed journalist Rebecca Boyle takes readers on a dazzling tour to reveal the intimate role that our 4.51-billion-year-old companion has played in our biological and cultural evolution.

Our Moon's gravity stabilized Earth's orbit--and its climate. It drew nutrients to the surface of the primordial ocean, where they fostered the evolution of complex life. The Moon continues to influence animal migration and reproduction, plants' movements, and, possibly, the flow of the very blood in our veins.

While the Sun helped prehistoric hunters and gatherers mark daily time, early civilizations used the phases of the Moon to count months and years, allowing them to plan farther ahead. Mesopotamian priests recorded the Moon's position in order to make predictions, and, in the process, created the earliest known empirical, scientific observations. In Our Moon, Boyle introduces us to ancient astronomers and major figures of the scientific revolution, including Johannes Kepler and his influential lunar science fiction.

Our relationship to the Moon changed when Apollo astronauts landed on it in 1969, and it's about to change again. As governments and billionaires aim to turn a profit from its resources, Rebecca Boyle shows us that the Moon belongs to everybody, and nobody at all.

In US Army Insider Missions 3, JP's extraordinary covert missions as an active Army soldier continue with him returning to the submerged Atlantic Space Ark with human-looking 'Nordic' extraterrestrials who are returning a crystal jewel embedded with the Ark's organic consciousness. These Nordics reveal that they have taken over the Atlantic and other space arks to further activate and protect them as humanity's geo-political crises reach a boiling point. Soon after, JP visits a secret assimilation facility at a major US military base that astonishingly makes Nordic visitors indistinguishable from ordinary humans.

JP also travels abroad to a subterranean castle in an icy region that has a massive stash of gold plates that are being loaded onto shipping containers for transport all over the world, which may be part of an Earth Alliance project to convert our planet from FIAT to gold-backed currencies. In the now familiar underground Ant kingdom, JP learns that a sleeping giant has awakened to become their king and will lead the Ant People to a new realm. Finally, JP undergoes a series of mysterious testing procedures in preparation for a covert mission to Saturn, which reveal deeply disturbing implications for him.

In 2008, JP had his first encounter with Nordic extraterrestrials who activated his ability to interact with ancient technologies such as those found on space arks and in underground civilizations. These extraterrestrials had also made secret technology exchange agreements with the USAF, which included disclosure requirements. JP enlisted in the US Army in 2019 on the advice of USAF military officers who had encouraged him two years earlier to expose the existence of a secret space program operating out of MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. JP subsequently released dozens of photos of highly classified antigravity flying triangles and rectangles, including those he had been taken aboard during military abductions. Upon enlistment, JP gained access to the military's highly classified special access programs and due to the USAF disclosure agreement with the Nordics, he has been allowed to divulge unprecedented secrets.

Inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar system

Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of several of the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn lurk vast oceans that may have existed for as long as Earth, and together may contain more than fifty times its total volume of liquid water. Could there be organisms living in their depths? Alien Oceans reveals the science behind the thrilling quest to find out.

Kevin Peter Hand is one of today's leading NASA scientists, and his pioneering research has taken him on expeditions around the world. In this captivating account of scientific discovery, he brings together insights from planetary science, biology, and the adventures of scientists like himself to explain how we know that oceans exist within moons of the outer solar system, like Europa, Titan, and Enceladus. He shows how the exploration of Earth's oceans is informing our understanding of the potential habitability of these icy moons, and draws lessons from what we have learned about the origins of life on our own planet to consider how life could arise on these distant worlds.

Alien Oceans describes what lies ahead in our search for life in our solar system and beyond, setting the stage for the transformative discoveries that may await us.

Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can't walk for a year? have sex? smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour? To answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of quizzical and startlingly bizarre space simulations. As Mary Roach discovers, it's possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA's new space capsule (cadaver filling in for astronaut), Roach takes us on a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth.

Fundamentally, Paul Szymanski and Jerry Drew remind us that--more than just simply a clash of weapons--all warfare manifests as a competition between human minds. The same holds true in the battle beyond in outer space. The contests of space warfare will test the knowledge, experience, fears, beliefs, stamina, and will of the people, their military commanders, and their political leadership like never before. It is thus essential to prepare for the military implications of wars that extend into space, to root space warfare in the military thought of the past, to adapt it to the needs of the future, and to complete its integration as an essential part of the Western way of war. Beginning with the word war itself, Szymanski and Drew guide the reader through a comprehensive consideration of the levels of warfare as viewed through the eyes of experienced space warfare practitioners. They make relevant centuries-old terms of art, linking the Napoleonic thought of the past to the network-dependent wars of the future and explaining esoteric disciplines like orbital warfare and electromagnetic operations in a way that will appeal to both novices and veterans of the discipline. In so doing, they expand upon the existing lexicon of war, instructing the reader on how to fight and win the coming war in space. Rich in symbology, illustrations, and historical examples, this book could not come at a more critical time for the security of the United States and its Allies.

A handy field guide for the best stargazing experience whether in your own back yard, camping, or travelling--including information showing you which planets, constellations, stars, and manmade objects you can see with a telescope, or just your naked eye!

The night sky is full of amazing things to see--from shooting stars and constellations to planets and satellites--but it can be hard to tell what you're seeing, or where to look for the best view. 100 Things to See in the Night Sky gives you a clear picture of what you can see on any given night, either using a small telescope, or just your naked eye.

Each object is presented as a separate entry, with background information on the makeup, appearance, and history of the object, along with easy-to-follow instructions on how to find it. For astronomy and space fans of all ages, this guide helps you explore the galaxy and see the stars--while keeping your feet on the ground.

Every culture and society has read stories in the night sky. From the careful attention of astronomers across all times and all parts of the world to the search for alien life, the stories found in the shapes of constellations to the expansive imaginings of science fiction, there has always been life up there, at the very least, for our imaginations.

Mythologies of Outer Space brings together academics and artists to explore diverse imaginings of outer space. It examines questions that, in a world where outer space is increasingly accessible, are no longer only science fiction. Is outer space terra nullius, open for settlement? What if there is life beyond earth? Will we repeat the mistakes of the colonial age on other planets? Should parts of outer space be protected, like nature reserves? What about resource extraction? Do celestial bodies, like the moon, have rights?

Astronaut Robert Thirsk, Mi'kmaw astronomer Hilding Neilson, digital humanities scholar Chris Pak, and outer space archaeologist Alice Gorman, among others, are joined by artists including David Hoffos and Dianne Bos, literary scholars, art critics, scientists, and a poet to explore how humanity thinks about outer space in this joyful, curious book.

Award-winning science writer and documentarian Rod Pyle presents an insider's perspective on the most unusual and bizarre space missions ever devised inside and outside of NASA. The incredible projects described here were not merely flights of fancy dreamed up by space enthusiasts, but actual missions planned by leading aeronautical engineers. Some were designed but not built; others were built but not flown; and a few were flown to failure but little reported: A giant rocket that would use atomic bombs as propulsion (never mind the fallout), military bases on the moon that could target enemies on earth with nuclear weapons, a scheme to spray-paint the lenses of Soviet spy satellites in space, the rushed Soyuz 1 spacecraft that ended with the death of its pilot, the near-disaster of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the mysterious Russian space shuttle that flew only once and was then scrapped--these are just some of the unbelievable tales that Pyle has found in once top-secret documents as well as accounts that were simply lost for many decades. These stories, complimented by many rarely-seen photos and illustrations, tell of a time when nothing was too off-the-wall to be taken seriously, and the race to the moon and the threat from the Soviet Union trumped all other considerations. Readers will be fascinated, amused, and sometimes chilled.

Antarctica is a land about to be exposed over its well-guarded secrets and ancient hidden mysteries ... In 1955, as a result of a secret agreement reached between the Eisenhower Administration and a German breakaway group in Antarctica, a transnational corporate space program began to emerge. The secret infusion of personnel and resources from US military contractors into Antarctica allowed this transnational corporate program to steadily grow into a major space power, which would eventually surpass and eclipse the secret space programs run by the US Navy, Air Force, and the classified space programs of other nations. Whistleblower claims substantiate that many of the classified programs conducted there violate the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, and constitute crimes against humanity due to the abuse of a captive slave labor force. Dr. Michael Salla daringly exposes the major corporations involved in these illegal programs, and how the truth is hidden from company shareholders and the public. Today, Antarctica's secrets are slowly being revealed by the increasing volcanic activity that is melting the massive ice shelves, exposing ancient artifacts and crashed extraterrestrial spacecraft. Full disclosure of Antarctica s history, and current events involving multiple space programs and transnational corporations, will vitally aid in transforming our planet, and prepare humanity for the major geological events that lie ahead as the melting ice unveils all that has previously been hidden.

2024 Outstanding Academic Title, given by Choice Reviews

How the scientific community overlooked, ignored, and denied the catastrophic fallout of decades of nuclear testing in the American West

In December of 1950, President Harry Truman gave authorization for the Atomic Energy Commission to conduct weapons tests and experiments on a section of a Nevada gunnery range. Over the next eleven years, more than a hundred detonations were conducted at the Nevada Test Site, and radioactive debris dispersed across the communities just downwind and through much of the country. In this important work, James C. Rice tells the hidden story of nuclear weapons testing and the negligence of the US government in protecting public health.

Downwind of the Atomic State focuses on the key decisions and events shaping the Commission's mismanagement of radiological contamination in the region, specifically on how the risks of fallout were defined and redefined, or, importantly, not defined at all, owing to organizational mistakes and the impetus to keep atomic testing going at all costs. Rice shows that although Atomic Energy Commission officials understood open-air detonations injected radioactive debris into the atmosphere, they did not understand, or seem to care, that the radioactivity would irrevocably contaminate these communities.

The history of the atomic Southwest should be a wake-up call to everyone living in a world replete with large, complex organizations managing risky technological systems. The legacy of open-air detonations in Nevada pushes us to ask about the kinds of risks we are unwittingly living under today. What risks are we being exposed to by large organizations under the guise of security and science?

COL (USA Ret) and bestselling author Gene P Abel lays out the truth about UFOs and offers readers a fascinating exploration of the existence of an intelligent extraterrestrial race in this exploration of sightings and their potential impact on the future, and security, of the human race.

There are few events that would be of more importance, or more startling, than if, in the near future, we found ourselves confronted by another intelligent race with abilities and technology far superior to anything that currently exists on Earth. In What, If Anything, Is Out There? Gene P. Abel, COL (USA Ret.), details historic events that may well have been sightings by our ancestors and begins to explore what these encounters could mean for our security in the future. Drawing upon his years of military experience, Abel offers a unique insider's perspective as he guides readers through a thoughtful history into the Roswell incident of 1947 and beyond.

In the wake of the Department of Defense acknowledgement that the US Navy has encountered UFOs, and in a moment where sightings are on the rise, What If Anything, Is Out There is a timely, and much-needed, look at the role of intelligent life in the universe.