Name: Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age
ISBN: 9781635767704

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Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age

Lori Garver

Hardcover

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Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver recounts how she took on the greed and corrupt politics of the US space program, inciting the expansion of space exploration into the private sector and paving the way for "space pirates" like Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk.

When she rose to second-in-command at NASA, Lori Garver was determined to do more than just break a glass ceiling. She set out to break the self-interested system of government-controlled space exploration run by Congress, the aerospace industry, entrenched bureaucrats, and hero-astronauts trying to protect their own profits and mythology.

In Space Pirates, Garver recounts her fight for change from inside the space agency and how it put her in the crosshairs of established interests who viewed her as a threat to the trillion-dollar government contracting system that has centralized power in the United States since World War II. Garver's hard-won victories paved the way for a new era of transcendental change at NASA in collaboration with her "space pirates"-- Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson. Working to unleash the potential of these visionaries, Garver pried spaceflight from the tight grip and the aerospace/military industrial complex and helped create a more peaceful, inclusive, and meaningful space age.

Including previously unpublished conversations and insights on the epic battles that have transitioned space access to private interests for a fraction of the cost of previous NASA programs, Space Pirates offers a blueprint for how to drive productive and meaningful government change.

Book Details

Publisher: Diversion Books
Publish Date: Jun 21st, 2022
Pages: 304
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 9.06in - 6.06in - 1.02in - 1.25lb
EAN: 9781635767704
Categories: • Space Science - Space Exploration• Aeronautics & Astronautics• Women in Business

About the Author

Garver, Lori: - Lori Garver is a leading figure in the US space program who pioneered innovations that are transforming NASA. She was the principal advisor on aerospace issues to three presidential candidates and led the NASA transition team for President Obama. Garver served as the Deputy Administrator of the Space Agency from 2009 to 2013 and is known as the architect of the new era of commercial partnerships that allow SpaceX to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

Garver is the founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship, an internship and mentorship program for collegiate women interested in pursuing space careers. She is the recipient of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Aerospace and has been awarded three NASA Distinguished Service Medals. She lives in Washington, DC.

Praise for this book

"Former NASA official Lori Garver offers a front-row seat to the decades-long struggles within and among space bureaucrats and space billionaires. Bring popcorn, as you bear witness to an untold slice of space history."

--Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist and author of Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier

"Lori made a real difference to
the future of spaceflight. Most people put their career first, so they play
politics and pander to the vested interests. But there are some who truly care
about humanity's future in space and will do the right thing in the face of
immense opposition. We are fortunate to have several such people in NASA senior
leadership and Lori was one of them...Lori did a lot of good."

--Elon Musk

"The recent progress of commercial space travel is the result of decades
of work by many determined individuals and organizations. Lori's compelling
memoir, Escaping Gravity, captures what it means to use space
exploration to transform and benefit humanity right here on Earth. The book
gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how a band of dreamers defied gravity and
the status quo to launch a new space age."

--Richard Branson

"Transformative change in government is often sought, but rarely achieved.
In this revealing and personal book, Garver tells the fascinating story of how
she helped a band of dreamers, rogue bureaucrats and billionaires usher in a
new space age."

--From the foreword by Walter Isaacson

"In this personal,
take-no-prisoners account, Lori Garver pulls back the curtain on the new space
race, where political science joins rocket science to create today's critical
mass. Buckle up for a revealing and fascinating ride!"

--Lynn Sherr, author of Sally Ride: America's First Woman in
Space

"We are living at the most exciting time in space exploration since the
Apollo era, in part because the world's largest space agency, NASA, got around
to trying something new, the funding of commercial crews. Lori Garver tells it
like it is...or was for a woman effecting change at NASA despite men of the
military industrial complex--and their cost-plus contracts. It wasn't rocket
science, it was much harder than that. Don't take my word(s) for it; read this
book."

--Bill Nye, CEO, The Planetary Society

"Lori Garver is a self-proclaimed 'space pirate, ' who took on NASA, the
aerospace industry and even members of Congress, as part of a tumultuous
groundswell that helped launch the modern commercial space industry. Told without
fear or favor, her compelling tale transcends the space industry and shows us,
from the inside, how Washington works--who wins, who loses and who bears the
scars."

--Christian Davenport Washington Post space reporter and author of The
Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos.

"As much as anyone not named Elon Musk, Lori Garver has helped prod, push,
and pull NASA to embrace commercial space and all of its promise. Now, as this
industry has become the envy of the world, Garver tells how it was done over
the last three decades. She names names, yanks skeletons from closets, and
writes illuminatingly about the brilliant future ahead of us."

--Eric Berger, Senior Space Editor at Ars Technica and author of Liftoff:
Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX

"How do you move a mountain? How do you change an industry with entrenched
corporations making billions from and intent on keeping the status quo?
Fiercely vilified and opposed, Lori Garver remained undaunted in her quest and
ultimate success in leading the transformation from bureaucracy, resistance,
and risk aversion into the dynamic commercial space era we know today. Watching
the transformation unfold since first working with her in the late 1990s to garner
private investment in space has been rewarding even beyond my two spaceflights.
Escaping Gravity is a personal and compelling story about those who
recognized what widely-accessible space could mean, and the force of a team
dedicated to breaking the status quo. It is among the most important stories in
the history of space and offers extraordinary lessons in leadership, tenacity,
and political maneuvering."

--Mary Ellen Weber, NASA Astronaut (ret.)

"Lori Garver is an unsung hero of a new
space age. As NASA's
deputy administrator, she took on the old space aristocracy, made a lot of
enemies, but won enough friends and battles to preserve the important
dream of easier, cheaper access to space. Certainly, we would not see Elon
Musk where he is now if Lori Garver hadn't been in that job."

--Miles O'Brien, broadcast news
journalist, PBS NewsHour, CNN, Discovery Channel

"Lori Garver was the catalyst that
helped bring NASA into the new Space Age. No one has done more than Lori to
stand up to parochial (and patriarchal) interests in this industry and usher in
a more meaningful and sustainable space program. Escaping Gravity is an
enduring story of how a woman with a different background and perspective can
make a difference--and become a force to be reckoned with."

--Emily Calandrelli, award-winning
science communicator and host of FOX's Xploration Outer Space
and Netflix's Emily's Lab

"Escaping Gravity delivers
the inside story of today's commercial spaceflight revolution. Before SpaceX,
Blue Origin, Virgin and XPRIZE, the space industry was an old boys club, with a
handful of military defense companies. It was ultra-expensive and risk
averse. Lori Garver led the charge to topple the old school, and engage
the entrepreneurial engine we now see today. If it weren't for Lori
Garver's passion and vision, we would not be on our way to the Moon and Mars
today."

--Peter H. Diamandis, MD,
Founder/Chairman of XPRIZE and Singularity University and author of Abundance, BOLD and The Future is Faster Than
You Think

"If you're interested in the story of a
pioneering woman revolutionizing the male-dominated space industry, read this
book. If you're interested in the key early turning points of Elon Musk's and
Richard Branson's space efforts, read this book. If you're interested in how to
effect substantive change within government, industry, and the nonprofit
sector, read this book! Lori's life story is filled with incredible adventures
and she has had a profound impact on humanity's future in space and on Earth."

--George Whitesides, former CEO of Virgin
Galactic

"Lori Garver's Escaping Gravity
is a must read to understand the 21st century remaking of the US space
industry. Her clear-eyed view from inside NASA and the halls of American power
reveals the why and how behind the new Space Age that's now underway. Lori
artfully gives personal introductions to dozens of influential people--from the
billionaires who are now household names, to the politicians, officials,
celebrities, entrepreneurs, executives, and more involved. Her story is
gripping and personal, interwoven with never-before-told conversations,
historical facts, and battles of will."

--Michael Sheetz, CNBC space reporter

"Not a week goes by without a new headline about yet another
commercial space mission. NASA is now among the loudest cheerleaders, but that
was not always the case. In Escaping Gravity, former NASA Deputy
Administrator Lori Garver documents the long internal and external struggles
that often went on behind the scenes wherein the agency slowly warmed to
commercial space. She was there in the trenches pushing the agency to
transform. If you want to truly understand the origins of the current
revolution in commercial space, this book is a must-read."

--Keith
Cowing, Editor at NASAWatch.com

"Change is not easy-especially in fields that push the edges of our
capabilities, come with high stakes and offer untold rewards. But evolution demands embracing change whether in government or in the private sector. Lori
Garver's gripping story reveals how a woman with a different background
and perspective broke traditional barriers at NASA and within the space
industry to beat both gravity and the status quo."

-Dr. Mae Jemison, NASA Astronaut (ret.)

"In a hard-hitting text, Garver names names,
gives details of the backroom deals she fought against, and generally
portrays NASA as an egregious example of the military-industrial
complex. . . . A scathing memoir that shows the ugly side of NASA while offering hope for a better future for the space agency."

--Kirkus Reviews

"In fast-paced, lay-friendly prose, Garver makes a solid case that recent advances by private space exploration companies SpaceX and Blue Origin vindicate her belief in the importance of commercial space flight. This passionate insider look offers plenty to consider."

--Publishers Weekly