Kirjahaku

A brief guide to the real science of interstellar travelWith known exoplanets now numbering in the thousands and initiatives like 100 Year Starship and Breakthrough Starshot advancing the idea of interstellar travel, the age-old dream of venturing forth into the cosmos and perhaps even colonizing distant worlds may one day become a reality. A Traveler’s Guide to the Stars reveals how.Les Johnson takes you on a thrilling tour of the physics and technologies that may enable us to reach the stars. He discusses the latest exoplanet discoveries, promising interstellar missions on the not-so-distant horizon, and exciting new developments in space propulsion, power, robotics, communications, and more. But interstellar travel will not be easy, and it is not for the faint of heart. Johnson describes the harsh and forbidding expanse of space that awaits us, and he addresses the daunting challenges—both human and technological—that we will need to overcome in order to realize tomorrow’s possibilities.A Traveler’s Guide to the Stars is your passport to the next great frontier of human discovery, providing a rare inside look at the remarkable breakthroughs in science and technology that will help tomorrow’s space travelers chart a course for the stars.

A brief guide to the real science of interstellar travelWith known exoplanets now numbering in the thousands and initiatives like 100 Year Starship and Breakthrough Starshot advancing the idea of interstellar travel, the age-old dream of venturing forth into the cosmos and perhaps even colonizing distant worlds may one day become a reality. A Traveler’s Guide to the Stars reveals how.Les Johnson takes you on a thrilling tour of the physics and technologies that may enable us to reach the stars. He discusses the latest exoplanet discoveries, promising interstellar missions on the not-so-distant horizon, and exciting new developments in space propulsion, power, robotics, communications, and more. But interstellar travel will not be easy, and it is not for the faint of heart. Johnson describes the harsh and forbidding expanse of space that awaits us, and he addresses the daunting challenges—both human and technological—that we will need to overcome in order to realize tomorrow’s possibilities.A Traveler’s Guide to the Stars is your passport to the next great frontier of human discovery, providing a rare inside look at the remarkable breakthroughs in science and technology that will help tomorrow’s space travelers chart a course for the stars.

“Sky Alert! What Happens When Satellites Fail” explores for the first time what our modern world would be like if we were suddenly to lose most, if not all, of our space assets. The author demonstrates humankind’s dependence on space satellites and show what might happen to various aspects of our economy, defense, and daily lives if they were suddenly destroyed. The book opens with a consideration of how our space assets might be lost in the first place: through orbital debris, war, and solar storms. The author then looks at what would happen if our satellites were lost, including the effect on weather forecasting, and the Global Positioning System, explaining GPS in detail and its importance to the military, including spy satellites and military reconnaissance, commerce, civilians, communications and remote sensing – both resource monitoring and locating and environmental monitoring and science. The effects of losing such assets as the International Space Station as well as such research satellites as the Hubble Space Telescope or the Chandra X-Ray Observatory are also considered. Part III of the book looks at how we can protect our satellites, preparing for the worst, reducing the growth and amount of orbital debris, preventing acts of war in space and hardening against space radiation. The book ends on an optimistic note: most spacefaring nations are now working together to develop new technologies to reduce the threat posed by orbital debris and in-space nuclear detonations and treaties exist to limit the development and use of weapons in space. Finally, it is hoped that it will not be long before we will be able to better predict and take precautions against solar storms. The global economy has now become so dependent upon satellites that their loss would be devastating – to the economy, to national security, and potentially, to the day-to-day survival of those who live in the world’s most advancedeconomies.

The year is 2065 and an accidental encounter in space leads to the discovery that we are not alone in the universe—and that our continued existence as a species may be in jeopardy. Chris Holt, working in his office at the Space Resources Corporation, discovers that one of the asteroids he is surveying for mining is actually not an asteroid at all but a derelict spaceship. The word gets out and soon the world's powers are competing to explore and claim for themselves the secrets that it holds. What they don't know is that across the galaxy, a war has been underway for millennia. A war between alien civilizations that have very different ideas about what should be done about emerging spacefaring civilizations like our own. The artificial intelligence resident in the derelict Holt discovered has been in our solar system since before the dawn of human civilization, watching, waiting and keeping quiet lest the interstellar war return and wipe out the sentient race that now resides there—humanity. And that war might soon be again coming to our front door. The truth can only be discovered on Methone, a tiny, egg-shaped moon of the planet Saturn. Who will get there first? And will it be in time? About Mission to Methone: "The spirit of Arthur C. Clarke and his contemporaries is alive and well in Johnson’s old-fashioned first-contact novel, set in 2068.... includes plenty of realistic detail and puts fun new spins on familiar alien concepts.... There’s a great deal here for fans of early hard SF."—Publishers Weekly "With equal parts science fiction and international intrigue....an exciting, fast-paced read that you will not want to put down."—Booklist About Rescue Mode by Ben Bova and Les Johnson: "... a suspenseful and compelling narrative of the first human spaceflight to Mars."—Booklist

We are all touched by death in some way. Les Johnson's, Tell Everyone, takes you through the jarring experiences of loss and pain that left him without a wife, and almost without his daughter, Heather. The ripples that move through his family after these events are devastating, and his vulnerable retelling makes it relatable.The narrative weaves through a series of events, journals, and letters to his daughter while she was in a coma for weeks. However, the lasting message is the one she brings back with her when she awakens and is determined to tell everyone, of the glad tidings sent directly from Jesus to be shared with all the world.The question of God's existence, his plan for us, and where we go after this life are beautifully answered in a captivating way. This is a gift in book form, and is addressed to me, you and everyone, so give a gift that lasts, and Tell Everyone.

We are all touched by death in some way. Les Johnson's, Tell Everyone, takes you through the jarring experiences of loss and pain that left him without a wife, and almost without his daughter, Heather. The ripples that move through his family after these events are devastating, and his vulnerable retelling makes it relatable.The narrative weaves through a series of events, journals, and letters to his daughter while she was in a coma for weeks. However, the lasting message is the one she brings back with her when she awakens and is determined to tell everyone, of the glad tidings sent directly from Jesus to be shared with all the world.The question of God's existence, his plan for us, and where we go after this life are beautifully answered in a captivating way. This is a gift in book form, and is addressed to me, you and everyone, so give a gift that lasts, and Tell Everyone.

NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT Humanity has finally made it to the stars. Colony worlds thrive and there is general peace among the settled systems. Until now. Matte black ships of an advanced design appear in colonial systems. Their drives and weapons are not extremely advanced beyond their Terran counterparts — just superior enough to be utterly devastating. Colonies and their populations are obliterated. Once settled worlds are rendered radioactive wastelands. Earth herself lies defenseless before the marauding enemy. DEFEND THE SKIES OF EARTH Standing against the invasion are British Space Navy Captain Winslow Price and Anika Ahuja of the Indian Space Forces. Compatriots. Fierce competitors. Former lovers. They are the best of the best when it comes to military starship captains. Now they are on a quest that will plumb the scientific wells of existence itself, where the primordial knot of spacetime may be unraveling. Price and Ajuja are sworn to do whatever it takes to defend Earth and humanity from ultimate obliteration by an enemy that will not even speak its name. Even if it pushes each to the brink of life and death in battle. Even if it leads each beyond space and time—and to edge of ultimate possibility! TAKE THE BATTLE TO THE STARS About Mission to Methone: “The spirit of Arthur C. Clarke and his contemporaries is alive and well in Johnson’s old-fashioned first-contact novel, set in 2068. . . . includes plenty of realistic detail and puts fun new spins on familiar alien concepts. . . . There’s a great deal here for fans of early hard SF.”—Publishers Weekly “With equal parts science fiction and international intrigue . . . an exciting, fast-paced read that you will not want to put down.”—Booklist About Rescue Mode by Ben Bova and Les Johnson: “. . . a suspenseful and compelling narrative of the first human spaceflight to Mars.”—Booklist

NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT Humanity has finally made it to the stars. Colony worlds thrive and there is general peace among the settled systems. Until now. Matte black ships of an advanced design appear in colonial systems. Their drives and weapons are not extremely advanced beyond their Terran counterparts—just superior enough to be utterly devastating. Colonies and their populations are obliterated. Once-settled worlds are rendered radioactive wastelands. Earth herself lies defenseless before the marauding enemy. DEFEND THE SKIES OF EARTH Standing against the invasion are two of humanity’s finest starship captains: Winslow Price of the British Space Navy and Anika Ahuja of the Indian Space Forces. Compatriots. Fierce competitors. Former lovers. Now they are on a quest that will plumb the scientific wells of existence, where the primordial knot of spacetime may be unraveling. Price and Ahuja are sworn to do whatever it takes to defend Earth and humanity from ultimate obliteration by an enemy that will not even speak its name. Even if it pushes each to the brink of life and death in battle. Even if it leads each beyond space and time—and to the edge of ultimate possibility! TAKE THE BATTLE TO THE STARS “Johnson, a NASA physicist, brings verisimilitude and scientific accuracy to this adventure, and his passion for the details of space travel will undoubtedly please readers looking for old-school hard science fiction.” —Publishers Weekly About Mission to Methone: “The spirit of Arthur C. Clarke and his contemporaries is alive and well in Johnson’s old-fashioned first-contact novel, set in 2068. . . . includes plenty of realistic detail and puts fun new spins on familiar alien concepts. . . . There’s a great deal here for fans of early hard SF.”—Publishers Weekly “With equal parts science fiction and international intrigue . . . an exciting, fast-paced read that you will not want to put down.”—Booklist About Rescue Mode by Ben Bova and Les Johnson: “. . . a suspenseful and compelling narrative of the first human spaceflight to Mars.”—Booklist