Test Gods: Virgin Galactic and the Making of a Modern Astronaut
Written by Nicholas Schmidle
Narrated by Nicholas Schmidle
5/5
()
About this audiobook
This program is read by the author.
In the spirit of The Right Stuff, updated for the 21st century, Test Gods is an epic story about extreme bravery and sacrifice, about the thin line between lunacy and genius. Most of all, it is a story about the pursuit of meaning in our lives—and the fulfillment of our dreams.
Working from exclusive inside reporting, New Yorker writer Nicholas Schmidle tells the remarkable story of the test pilots, engineers, and visionaries behind Virgin Galactic’s campaign to build a space tourism company. Schmidle follows a handful of characters—Mark Stucky, Virgin’s lead test pilot; Richard Branson, the eccentric billionaire funding the venture; Mike Moses, the grounded, unflappable president; Mike Alsbury, the test pilot killed in a fatal crash; and others—through personal and professional dramas, in pursuit of their collective goal: to make space tourism a reality.
Along the way, Schmidle weaves his relationship with his father—a former fighter pilot and decorated war hero—into the tragedies and triumphs that Branson’s team confronts out in the Mojave desert as they design, build, and test-fly their private rocket ship. Gripping and novelistic, Test Gods leads us, through human drama, into a previously unseen world—and beyond.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company
Nicholas Schmidle
Nicholas Schmidle writes for the New Yorker and is the author of To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan. His work has also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, Slate, the Washington Post, and many others. Schmidle has been a National Magazine Award finalist, a two-time Livingston Award finalist, and winner of a Kurt Schork Award. He is a former fellow at the Institute of Current World Affairs, the New America Foundation, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a former resident at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center. In 2017, Schmidle was a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. He currently lives in London with his family.
Related to Test Gods
Related audiobooks
Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Apollo Moon Landings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Apollo 11: The Inside Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Burning Blue: The Untold Story of Christa McAuliffe and NASA's Challenger Disaster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Defying Limits: Lessons from the Edge of the Universe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCanadarm and Collaboration: How Canada’s Astronauts and Space Robots Explore New Worlds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAd Astra: An Illustrated Guide to Leaving the Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5X-15 Diary: The Story of America's First Spaceship Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Einstein's Fridge: How the Difference Between Hot and Cold Explains the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How We'll Live on Mars Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Star Builders: Nuclear Fusion and the Race to Power the Planet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mission: A True Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Autonomy: The Quest to Build the Driverless Car-And How It Will Reshape Our World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Man On the Moon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration, and Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Interstellar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Aviation & Aeronautics For You
The Future of Geography: How the Competition in Space Will Change Our World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: FAA-H-8083-25B (Federal Aviation Administration) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kelly: More Than My Share of It All Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wright Brothers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5His Majesty's Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World's Largest Flying Machine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of the Moon: A Guide to Our Closest Neighbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Airplane Flying Handbook: FAA-H-8083-3B (Federal Aviation Administration) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Man on the Moon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Man On the Moon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flights of Fancy: Defying Gravity by Design and Evolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5To Conquer the Air: The Wright Brothers and the Great Race for Flight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pass Your Instrument Pilot Checkride 2.0: Your Examiner's Favorite Checkride Questions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Day They Fell From The Sky: 10 Lone Survivors and Their Harrowing and Incredible True Stories of Plane-Crash Survival Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHighest Duty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pass Your Commercial Pilot Checkride Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Disappearing Act: The Impossible Case of MH370 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Picking Through The Pieces: The Life Story of an Aircraft Accident Investigator Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aviation Instructor's Handbook: FAA-H-8083-9B (Federal Aviation Administration) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sky Below: A True Story of Summits, Space, and Speed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Flight: Charles Lindbergh's Daring and Immortal 1927 Transatlantic Crossing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for Test Gods
9 ratings0 reviews