Deep Space Probe Kronos

A manned deep space mission goes horribly wrong. Decades in the future, when near-light-speed space travel is a reality, an explosion rips through deep space probe Kronos, crippling it, killing half the crew, and terminating their assignment. The Perseverance, a new class of military ship with the capacity to catch up to Kronos, is launched, carrying the uncanny Colonel Bruce on board. His ability to overcome every obstacle, coupled with a secret mission he can’t reveal, makes him a formidable, if inscrutable hero. Murder and sabotage become commonplace onboard ship. It is up to Colonel Bruce to unravel the mystery . . . and live long enough to tell all that he knows. When President of the United States Robert Hughes Daley saves a survivor of a flying vehicle off the coast of the Seychelles: “What say we take your helmet off and let you breathe some fresh air, Captain.” “Good idea,” the pilot exasperated wearily. He then touched a button at his wrist, and the helmet came off with another hiss of an airtight seal being broken. The pilot then reached up and removed the helmet completely. Daley could only stare in confusion. The skin color, the shape of the eyes, texture of hair, the teeth – oh, my God – the teeth! The pilot, for gross appearances was human, but upon further examination was no more human than the orangutans of Borneo.

The Space Age is nearly 50 years old but exploration of the outer planets and beyond has only just begun. Deep-Space Probes Second Edition draws on the latest research to explain why we should explore beyond the edge of the Solar System and how we can build highly sophisticated robot spacecraft to make the journey. Many technical problems remain to be solved, among them propulsion systems to permit far higher velocities, and technologies to build vehicles a fraction of the size of today’s spacecraft. Beyond the range of effective radio control, robot vehicles for exploring deep space will need to be intelligent, ‘thinking’ craft – able to make vital decisions entirely on their own. Gregory Matloff also looks at the possibility for human travel into interstellar space, and some of the immense problems that such journeys would entail. This second edition includes an entirely new chapter on holographic message plaques for future interstellar probes – a NASA-funded project.

Discusses the objectives and technology of unmanned spacecraft.

There is currently tremendous interest in the search for extrasolar life and extraterrestrial intelligence, and this is expressed by financial backing from NASA for extrasolar exploration by space probes. This book will be an authoritative and comprehensive survey of the present-day state of the art in the field of extrasolar and interstellar space exploration, focusing on the most promising techniques.

In the tradition of Dan Brown, expect a wild ride from start to finish, as John B. Macurdy’s The Masada Scroll mixes history, exotic locations, arcane religion, ancient texts, and plenty of modern action adventure. When former CIA assassin Nick Strahan undertakes a mission to help an old friend in trouble, archaeologist Dr. Jones, Strahan must evade danger or be assassinated himself. A shadow network of disparate and unlikely bedfellows helps him at each step along the way. Strahan can only guess at the explosive nature of Dr. Jones’ find, and will do everything he can to make sure his find comes to light. “Strahan still didn’t see any particular car that might be trailing him, but several other drivers had taken his passing them at a truly remarkable speed as a challenge. As a result, they had made the ludicrous decision to pick up the gauntlet and try to stay with him. This happenstance made for a truly comical scene playing itself out on the road behind Strahan as he watched the variety of unskilled drivers, who also lacked true performance automobiles, attempt to mirror his highly technical maneuvers. Equally humorous were the cornucopia of hand gestures that reflected the collective commuters’ opinion of the road-rage drivers attempting to mimic him. But he flew over the East River so quickly he barely noticed he’d been over water.”

Cameron St. James is an American high-altitude reconnaissance pilot who was shot down over North Korea in 1972. Running for his life, he meets another American, a man who discovered an ancient book that shows the path to become the ultimate human. He returns to the U.S. in 1988, embarking on a mission to eradicate pedophiles, serial killers, and drug lords. This second installment of the Gemini Masters series takes place in 2016. After completing a mission on the outskirts of Albuquerque, St. James fortuitously meets Monica Ridge, the FBI special agent in charge of the Albuquerque FBI office. Their meeting unexpectedly turns into a romance that surprises them both. Unknown to them, Monica’s ex-husband is stalking her, intent on killing her. Seeing St. James in the picture only adds fuel to his plans. Meanwhile, Master Gin and Boswell, who work for Dr. Morris Thorpe at the HOPE SECT, learn that a computer genius from the 1960s, a man who designed the software that changes the nuclear codes, may have created a back door into the nuclear arsenal, deciding that civilization cannot be saved. Sooner or later, she was going to have to tell him that she had been chasing him for years, even though until yesterday she had no idea who he was. Over the years, her FBI crime statistics had shown an irregular spike in the violent deaths of drug lords, pedophiles and serial killers …