Proving A New Way To Fly Into Orbit
Hans-Peter follows a secretive inventor who is trying to build a tri-propellant rocket engine to get people into space cheaply. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I have always found aerospace design fascinating and I began thinking about an airplane that could fly into Low Earth Orbit back in the days of the X-15 and Project Mercury. When the first Space Shuttle flew in April of 1981 and turned out to be more than ten times as expensive than promised, I started to refine my thinking. The grounding of the Space Shuttle fleet compelled me to summarize my thinking and write-up my conclusions concerning rocket engine performance.
I found the science in the novel to be well-developed. What kind of research did you do to make sure you got it right?
By way of background, before I started writing, I worked in aerospace in electro chemistry at Lockheed and then systems analyses at both TRW and Northrop Aircraft. My novel started life as a performance inquiry into the math and physics for a real airplane/spaceship that could replace the Space Shuttle; but when I had the right math to support the configuration, I decided to write a novel rather than a technical paper. I had a lot more fun turning the study into a novel than trying to publish it in the right periodical.
What character did you enjoy writing for? Was there one that was more challenging to write for?
I enjoyed writing Traypart, he thinks and says things that I have thought and said in similar situations during my aerospace career. I always find writing distinctive voices for each character a challenge. Max was easy and fun, but I needed to think hard about getting it right for Ruthiebelle.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I have a novelette titled, The Peril of Liquid Nitrogen, that I may release through one of the Kindle options. As of yet I’m not sure which one is best. For the interested, my other novel is, The Prisoners of Technocracy, and it is also on Amazon.
Hans-Peter, the novel’s namesake, has spent his considerable career looking for that truly low-cost way into orbit. From an abandoned Air Force Base now called Norton Field, he has focused on tri-propellant rocket engines. His work is generally scoffed off as science fiction, but who is to say how near we are to his hypersonic airplane.
Ruthiebell, an old college acquaintance and now the science editor of the largest newspaper in L.A., is one of the few people who remember Hans-Peter’s interest in Low Earth Orbit. She is also discreet enough that “Black World” whistleblowers are willing to give her their best information. She knows things most insiders don’t and has developed her own agenda.
When she learns that Hans-Peter’s titanium metals factory has rolled out a new hypersonic airplane, she decides to renew her acquaintance. She knows from anonymous sources that at extreme altitudes and hypersonic speeds there’s more up there than thin air. On the pretext of reporting his experimental flights, she hopes to achieve her own goals. She decides to visit him and see how much she can squeeze out of her old friend.
Posted on June 25, 2023, in Interviews and tagged adventure, author, book, book recommendations, book review, book reviews, book shelf, bookblogger, books, books to read, David Poland, ebook, fiction, goodreads, Hans-Peter, indie author, kindle, kobo, literature, nook, novel, read, reader, reading, science fiction, story, writer, writing. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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