Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age

“Rocket science is typically seen as far more difficult than political science, but the opposite has often proven to be the case,” writes former NASA deputy administrator Garvey in her fascinating debut. As she traces her rise through the ranks, Garver recounts her first job after college, working for astronaut John Glenn’s 1984 presidential campaign. That experience and subsequent ones (including as a space policy adviser to Michael Dukakis in 1988) positioned Garver for a career at NASA, where in 1996 she began working on strategy. Garver was a firm believer in leveraging private sector capital and flexibility to make space missions more affordable, and due in part to her vision, President Obama named her to lead his transition team for NASA and nominated her as deputy administrator after his inauguration. While in that position, Garver put in place a plan that involved “incentiviz[ed] the private sector to build on the commercial cargo program within NASA” and which gained her some enemies: “The people holding the reins...went batshit crazy.” In fast-paced, lay-friendly prose, Garver makes a solid case that recent advances by private space exploration companies SpaceX and Blue Origin vindicate her belief in the importance of commercial space flight. This passionate insider look offers plenty to consider. (June)