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  • Ambassadors from Earth: Pioneering Explorations with Unmanned Spacecraft

  • Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Spaceflight
  • Written by: Jay Gallentine
  • Narrated by: Douglas R Pratt
  • Length: 20 hrs and 1 min

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Ambassadors from Earth: Pioneering Explorations with Unmanned Spacecraft cover art

Ambassadors from Earth: Pioneering Explorations with Unmanned Spacecraft

Written by: Jay Gallentine
Narrated by: Douglas R Pratt
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Publisher's Summary

Ambassadors from Earth relates the story of the first unmanned space probes and planetary explorers - from the Sputnik and Explorer satellites launched in the late 1950's to the thrilling interstellar Voyager missions of the '70's - that yielded some of the most celebrated successes and spectacular failures of the space age.

Keep in mind that our first mad scrambles to reach orbit, the moon, and the planets were littered with enough histrionics and cliffhanging turmoil to rival the most far-out sci-fi film. Utilizing original interviews with key players, journal excerpts, and primary source documents, Jay Gallentine delivers a quirky and unforgettable look at the lives and legacy of the Americans and Soviets who conceived, built, and guided those unmanned missions to the planets and beyond. Of special note is his in-depth interview with James Van Allen, the discoverer of the rings of planetary radiation that now bear his name.

Ambassadors from Earth is an engaging bumper-car ride through a fog of head-banging uncertainty, bleeding-edge technology, personality clashes, organizational frustrations, brutal schedules, and the occasional bright spot. Confessed one participant, “We were making it up as we went along”.

The book is published by University of Nebraska Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2009 Jay Gallentine (P)2020 Redwood Audiobooks

What the critics say

An intriguing and essential read on the history of unmanned space programs..." (Journal for the History of Discoveries)  

Many space buffs, especially young ones, should find this a satisfying narrative." (Publishers Weekly

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