Out of This World!

By Scott Lindrup | February 7 2018 | General

On February 6th, at around a quarter to four in the afternoon, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket blasted off from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on its first test flight. It carried a cherry red Tesla Roadster as cargo. Strapped into the front seat, a mannequin dubbed Starman gripped the wheel. SpaceX streamed the launch over YouTube and Kennedy Space Center attracted the largest crowd to view a launch since the final Space Shuttle launch.



Rocket launches have become fairly routine as more and more companies launch satellites to expand global connectivity, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has brought spectacle back to the space race. We love Outer Space here at Penguin Random House. If you want to learn more about the people and the rockets that are pushing us further and further into the frontier, check out the titles below. What does it take to be an astronaut? How do you go about building a spaceship? Will orbiting hotels still serve a continental breakfast?

Elon Musk is also a well known fan of science fiction. If you pay close attention to Starman’s dashboard, he’s left a little Easter egg for fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Apparently, there is also a copy of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Series included on a 5D laser optical quartz storage device. I’m not sure how to attach a 5D, laser optical quartz storage device to my phone so I’ll just have my copy in paperback.


Our Path to a New Home in the Planets
9780804172424
From a leading planetary scientist and an award-winning science writer, a thrilling look into the developments that have turned space colonization, once thought of as only science fiction, into an achievable goal for humanity.
$17.00 US
Oct 17, 2017
5-3/16 x 8
Paperback
336 Pages
Vintage

An Astronaut Photographs the World
9781426218644
A NASA astronaut and distinguished space photographer who spent more than seven months off the planet presents his astonishing aerial images of Earth, along with captivating tales of life at the edge of the atmosphere.
$40.00 US
Oct 03, 2017
9-1/8 x 10-7/8
Hardcover
304 Pages
National Geographic

A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight
9781101980491
For readers of books on innovation like Jon Gertner's The Idea Factory, Ashlee Vance's Elon Musk, and Walter Isaacson's The Innovators and space and aviation fansThe historic race that reawakened the promise of manned spaceflight.
$19.00 US
Sep 05, 2017
5-1/2 x 8-7/16
Paperback
464 Pages
Penguin Books

The Step-by-Step Way to Draw Astronauts, Rockets, Space Stations, Planets, Meteors, Comets, Asteroids, and More
9780399580192
Part of the best-selling Draw 50 series this step-by-step guide to sketching and rendering astronauts, planets, asteroids, comets, spaceships, space stations, and other elements related to outer space exploration is for artists of all levels.
$9.99 US
Jul 25, 2017
8-1/2 x 10-7/8
Paperback
64 Pages
Watson-Guptill

Science for the Savvy Space Traveler!
9780143129776
Fueled by imagination and grounded in science, the first guidebook to the solar system's most exciting vacation destinations.
$20.00 US
Jun 06, 2017
5-1/2 x 7-1/2
Hardcover
240 Pages
Penguin Books

Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets, and the New Search for Life beyond Our Solar System
9781588346254
Presents a radical new way of looking at the universe and our place in it based on the latest scientific discoveries
$17.95 US
Feb 13, 2018
6 x 9
Paperback
224 Pages
Smithsonian Books

The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon
9780812988703
The inside, lesser-known story of NASA's boldest and riskiest mission: Apollo 8, mankind's first journey to the Moon on Christmas in 1968. A riveting account of three heroic astronauts who took one of the most dangerous space flights ever, from the New York Times bestselling author of Shadow Divers.
$28.00 US
Apr 03, 2018
6-1/8 x 9-1/4
Hardcover
384 Pages
Random House

Five Novels in One Outrageous Volume
9780345453747
In one complete volume, here are the five classic novels from Douglas Adams’s beloved Hitchhiker series.Now celebrating the pivotal 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series! The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read) Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space. The Restaurant at the End of the UniverseThe moment before annihilation at the hands of warmongers is a curious time to crave tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his comrades as they hurtle across the galaxy in a desperate search for a place to eat. Life, the Universe and Everything The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky– so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals can avert Armageddon: mild-mannered Arthur Dent and his stalwart crew. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish Back on Earth, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription thrusts him back to reality. So to speak. Mostly Harmless Just when Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, all hell breaks loose. Can he save the Earth from total obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter from herself?Includes the bonus story “Young Zaphod Plays It Safe” “With droll wit, a keen eye for detail and heavy doses of insight . . . Adams makes us laugh until we cry.”—San Diego Union-Tribune “Lively, sharply satirical, brilliantly written . . . ranks with the best set pieces in Mark Twain.”—The Atlantic
$20.00 US
Apr 30, 2002
6-1/8 x 9-1/4
Paperback
832 Pages
Del Rey

9780553382570
The first novel in Isaac Asimov's bestselling science fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series, now with a striking new cover.
$18.00 US
Apr 29, 2008
5-1/2 x 8-1/4
Paperback
272 Pages
Del Rey