Homer Hickam's New Book "Crater"
Keith’s note: “Rocket Boys” author and former NASA employee Homer Hickam has a new book coming out titled “Crater”. According to his website: “A mining colony on the moon. A teen sent on a deadly mission. And a secret bigger than two worlds. It’s the 22nd Century. A tough, pioneering people mine the moon for Helium-3 to produce energy for a desperate, war-torn Earth. Sixteen-year old Crater Trueblood loves his job as a Helium-3 miner. But when he finds courage he didn’t know he had and saves a fellow miner, his life changes forever. Impressed by his heroism, the owner of the mine orders Crater to undertake a dangerous mission. Crater doubts himself, but he has no choice. He must go.” Check out the nicely done trailer for the book.
I have enjoyed over the years the science fiction written by university professors, NASA employees etc
lately I have been having good fun with my friends over at “Centuari Dreams” and “Icarus Interstellar” poking fun at ideas of spending trillions of future tax payer dollars on a senate ordered helium 3 mining venture………………..
why would you do this?
I recently dug up the email address’s for the director of the national ignition facility an emailed him with my community college student idea that we have plenty of helium 3 right here on earth!
here is my plan to sell to you:)
I invite Mr hickams to write this theme into his next book :),
A future starship it is discovered must be in the realm of the economics of the civilization that builds it and this means that helium 3 is in fact all around us on earth and most likely everywhere else in the solar system, its Lithium that is used in thermal nuclear weapons mainly the Teller–Ulam and layer cake designs.
(fission-fusion-fission yields HE3 from lithium)
I suggested Teller–Ulam micro capsules last year to the national ignition facility for testing or at least computer simulation testing as the prospects of igniting lithium with a thin layer of fissile material on the micro capsules outer shell in the the NIF test chamber must have brought on some fear and loathing, but I wonder? with the NIF powerful lasers and/Xray derived source who would need the fissile outer shell in a lithium micro capsule? or in a in space engine who would care about a fissile outer shell far removed from our planets biosphere?
I did receive a response from the NIF public relations director but I cant find any content in his response :)I can not discern if he agrees or is in horror with the idea of a Teller-Ulam micro-capsule experiment in the NIF test chamber, but when I suggested the computer simulation of this idea, he did respond to that email with a suggestion that my community college adviser help me file a request with his office of research………………………
check mate!
its not likely there is anyone at my community college would have the expertise to to help me with NIF grant writing idea but some of you out there do.
I have a prediction, a Icuares Interstellar fusion engine could utilize the proposed Teller–Ulam micro-capsules with a lower kilohertz cycle but with a larger burst of energy per cycle thus we would have a pusher plate needed for the fusion engine 🙂 or a hybrid Daedalus
Icarus starship engine.
Dear Steven: You write your books and I’ll write mine but as the author of a dozen best-sellers, let me give you some advice. When people read novels, what people are interested in is other people, not dopey science, not clunky plots, but people, especially interesting people doing interesting stuff. Good luck. I’ll look forward to your next book.
Crater falls into that category. None of those things are in it. The background is the moon 120 years in the future when a tough people are working on an uncaring moon. They’re just trying to make a living.