Sky Alert!: When Satellites Fail (Springer Praxis Books) - Softcover

Les Johnson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1461418291 ISBN 13: 9781461418290

Publisher: Springer, 2013

Synopsis

This book explores what our world would be like if we were suddenly to lose most or all of our space assets. The author reviews threats to satellites, describes the weather, GPS, defense and communications at risk, and discusses how to secure and protect them.

About this title

From the Back Cover

How much do we depend on space satellites? Defense, travel, agriculture, weather forecasting, mobile phones and broadband, commerce...the list seems endless. But what would our live be like if the unimaginable happened and, by accident or design, those space assets disappeared?

Sky Alert! explores what our world would be like, looking in turn at areas where the loss could have catastrophic effects. The book

- demonstrates our dependence on space technology and satellites;

- outlines the effect on our economy, defense, and daily lives if satellites and orbiting spacecraft were destroyed;

- illustrates the danger of dead satellites, spent rocket stages, and space debris colliding with a functioning satellites;

- demonstrates the threat of dramatically increased radiation levels associated with geomagnetic storms;

- introduces space as a potential area of conflict between nations.

About the Author

Les Johnson is the Deputy Manager for NASA’s Advanced Concepts Office at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He is also the co-author of three published popular science books, Living Off the Land in Space (Springer/Copernicus 2007), the 2008 PROSE Award finalist, Solar Sails - A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel (Springer/Copernicus 2008), and Paradise Regained – The Regreening of Earth (Springer/Copernicus 2009). He is also the co-author of the science fiction novel, Back to the Moon (Baen/2010). 

In the early 2000s, Les was NASA’s Manager for Interstellar Propulsion Research and later managed the $100M In-Space Propulsion Technology Program. He has worked for NASA since 1990 and has served in various technical and management roles. 

Les is the NASA co-investigator on the Japanese space tether experiment “T-Rex” that flew in late 2010. He was the Chief Scientist for the ProSEDS space experiment, twice received NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal, and holds 3 space technology patents.

Les earned his Master’s degree at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN and his Bachelor’s Degree from Transylvania University in Lexington, KY. He has numerous peer-reviewed publications and was published in Analog. He is a frequent contributor to the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society and a member of the National Space Society, The World Future Society, and MENSA.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1461418291
• ISBN 13: 9781461418290
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 210