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	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher

ESCAPING GRAVITY

Lori Garver

My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age

A book for readers who loved Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly and Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance, ESCAPING GRAVITY recounts how Garver took on the greed and corrupt politics of the US space program, inciting the expansion of space exploration into the private sector and paving the way for "space pirates" like Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk.

When she rose to second-in-command at NASA, Garver was determined to do more than just break a glass ceiling. She set out to break the self-interested system of government-controlled space exploration run by Congress, the aerospace industry, entrenched bureaucrats, and hero-astronauts trying to protect their own profits and mythology.

ESCAPING GRAVITY is about Garver's fight for change from inside the space agency and how it put her in the crosshairs of established interests who viewed her as a threat to the trillion-dollar government contracting system that has centralized power in the United States since World War II. Garver's hard-won victories paved the way for a new era of transcendental change at NASA in collaboration with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson. Working to unleash the potential of these visionaries, Garver pried spaceflight from the tight grip and the aerospace/military industrial complex and helped create a more peaceful, inclusive, and meaningful space age.

It's a story of the space age meets the big business of innovation. Including previously unpublished conversations and insights on the epic battles that have transitioned space access to private interests for a fraction of the cost of previous NASA programs, ESCAPING GRAVITY offers a blueprint for how to drive productive and meaningful government change.

Lori Garver is a leading figure in the US space program who pioneered innovations that are transforming NASA. She was the principal advisor on aerospace issues to three presidential candidates and led the NASA transition team for President Obama. Garver served as the Deputy Administrator of the Space Agency from 2009 to 2013 and is known as the architect of the new era of commercial partnerships that allow SpaceX to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Garver is the founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship, an internship and mentorship program for collegiate women interested in pursuing space careers. She is the recipient of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Aerospace and has been awarded three NASA Distinguished Service Medals.

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Book Published 2022-06-07 by Diversion
Book Published 2022-06-07 by Diversion

Comments

We are living at the most exciting time in space exploration since the Apollo era, in part because the world's largest space agency, NASA, got around to trying something new, the funding of commercial crews. Lori Garver tells it like it is... or was for a woman effecting change at NASA despite men of the military industrial complex - and their cost-plus contracts. It wasn't rocket science, it was much harder than that. Don't take my word(s) for it; read this book.

Lori made a real difference to the future of spaceflight. Most people put their career first, so they play politics and pander to the vested interests. But there are some who truly care about humanity's future in space and will do the right thing in the face of immense opposition. We are fortunate to have several such people in NASA senior leadership and Lori was one of them... Lori did a lot of good.

Lori Garver's Escaping Gravity is a must read to understand the 21st century remaking of the US space industry. Her clear-eyed view from inside NASA and the halls of American power reveals the why and how behind the new Space Age that's now underway. Lori artfully gives personal introductions to dozens of influential people - from the billionaires who are now household names, to the politicians, officials, celebrities, entrepreneurs, executives, and more involved. Her story is gripping and personal, interwoven with never-before-told conversations, historical facts, and battles of will.

Transformative change in government is often sought, but rarely achieved. In this revealing and personal book, Garver tells the fascinating story of how she helped a band of dreamers, rogue bureaucrats and billionaires usher in a new space age.

Lori Garver was the catalyst that helped bring NASA into the new Space Age. No one has done more than Lori to stand up to parochial (and patriarchal) interests in this industry and usher in a more meaningful and sustainable space program. Escaping Gravity is an enduring story of how a woman with a different background and perspective can make a difference - and become a force to be reckoned with.

Not a week goes by without a new headline about yet another commercial space mission. NASA is now among the loudest cheerleaders, but that was not always the case. In Escaping Gravity, former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver documents the long internal and external struggles that often went on behind the scenes wherein the agency slowly warmed to commercial space. She was there in the trenches pushing the agency to transform. If you want to truly understand the origins of the current revolution in commercial space, this book is a must-read.

Lori Garver is a self-proclaimed 'space pirate,' who took on NASA, the aerospace industry and even members of Congress, as part of a tumultuous groundswell that helped launch the modern commercial space industry. Told without fear or favor, her compelling tale transcends the space industry and shows us, from the inside, how Washington works - who wins, who loses and who bears the scars.

In this personal, take-no-prisoners account, Lori Garver pulls back the curtain on the new space race, where political science joins rocket science to create today's critical mass. Buckle up for a revealing and fascinating ride!

The recent progress of commercial space travel is the result of decades of work by many determined individuals and organizations. Lori's compelling memoir, Escaping Gravity, captures what it means to use space exploration to transform and benefit humanity right here on Earth. The book gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how a band of dreamers defied gravity and the status quo to launch a new space age.

If you're interested in the story of a pioneering woman revolutionizing the male-dominated space industry, read this book. If you're interested in the key early turning points of Elon Musk's and Richard Branson's space efforts, read this book. If you're interested in how to effect substantive change within government, industry, and the nonprofit sector, read this book! Lori's life story is filled with incredible adventures and she has had a profound impact on humanity's future in space and on Earth.

As much as anyone not named Elon Musk, Lori Garver has helped prod, push, and pull NASA to embrace commercial space and all of its promise. Now, as this industry has become the envy of the world, Garver tells how it was done over the last three decades. She names names, yanks skeletons from closets, and writes illuminatingly about the brilliant future ahead of us.

Escaping Gravity is a personal and compelling story about those who recognized what widely-accessible space could mean, and the force of a team dedicated to breaking the status quo. It is among the most important stories in the history of space and offers extraordinary lessons in leadership, tenacity, and political maneuvering.

In Escaping Gravity, Lori Garver, career champion of everything space, offers a front-row seat to the decades-long struggles within and among space bureaucrats and space billionaires. From presidents to heads of agencies to astronauts to key members of Congress, she knew them all and they knew her - and they did not always see eye to eye. Bring popcorn as you bear witness an untold slice of space history.

Escaping Gravity delivers the inside story of today's commercial spaceflight revolution. Before SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin and XPRIZE, the space industry was an old boys club, with a handful of military defense companies. It was ultra-expensive and risk averse. Lori Garver led the charge to topple the old school, and engage the entrepreneurial engine we now see today. If it weren't for Lori Garver's passion and vision, we would not be on our way to the Moon and Mars today.

Lori Garver is an unsung hero of a new space age. As NASA's deputy administrator, she took on the old space aristocracy, made a lot of enemies, but won enough friends and battles to preserve the important dream of easier, cheaper access to space. Certainly, we would not see Elon Musk where he is now if Lori Garver hadn't been in that job.