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Author
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Topic: Touching Infinity (Jay Gallentine/Outward Odyssey)
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Jay Gallentine
Member Posts: 245
From: Shorewood, MN, USA
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 05-16-2012 07:54 AM
   
This past week I wrapped up a series of new interviews with Viktor Kerzhanovich. He worked on many of the Venus landing projects and was involved with the two balloons that the Soviet Union flew in the Venusian atmosphere.This material will fold into the section I'm doing up right now on the 'Vega' flights to Venus and Halley's comet. That's an odd combo perhaps, but makes sense in the context of celestial mechanics. Vega also definitely represented a 'compromise' mission, in which an original idea was modified in order to accommodate several goals. I probably have one or two interviews left and then this last section will come together over the late summer months. This fall and early winter are budgeted for revisions and, unfortunately, some trimming. As usual, these people have done so many interesting things that it's hard to encapsulate it all in one book - especially with my 'day-by-day in the trenches' approach that I sometimes fall in to. Looking forward to seeing many of you at Spacefest! |
Philip
Member Posts: 4761
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 07-24-2012 10:38 AM
Superb Jay and great to see you could have interviews with some of Russia's leading space engineers. Can't wait to get my hands on the book... |
Jay Gallentine
Member Posts: 245
From: Shorewood, MN, USA
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 08-05-2012 10:28 AM
Well, it's about three months 'til deadline. Pretty much every spare moment is being channeled into fleshing out material in the final chapters, and slimming some of the earlier ones. Since my last post I've conducted additional interviews, and refined major sections of the text. There is kind of a 'boiling down' process that is happening right now. Many Viking folks are monitoring Curiosity quite closely, as all are interested in seeing the results of its tests on Martian soil. This machine could endorse, nullify, or completely re-write the Viking results. No pressure there! Thanks again for all the support. |
jiffyq58
Member Posts: 126
From: Durham, NC, USA
Registered: Jun 2011
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posted 08-05-2012 10:40 AM
Jay, it was great to meet you at Spacefest. Our conversations were among the highlights of that event for me.Really looking forward to the new book. In the meantime, I'm staying up late with my fingers crossed, to watch and see if Curiosity can execute that soft landing tonight! — Jeff |
Jay Gallentine
Member Posts: 245
From: Shorewood, MN, USA
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 08-25-2012 02:22 PM
Jeff, thanks for your kind post; that means a lot. I'm working on the final chapters right now. About two months until the first deadline. And hooray for Curiosity! |
Jay Gallentine
Member Posts: 245
From: Shorewood, MN, USA
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 10-10-2012 08:14 AM
I can report that the book is drafted in its entirety. During these few remaining weeks until deadline, I am plowing through corrections and trying to trim the text down a bit.Verifying details from missions like Viking and Venera has me in daily contact with multiple participants. Many of these people are in their late 70s, or early/mid 80s, and can still talk about this stuff like it was yesterday. |
Philip
Member Posts: 4761
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 10-10-2012 08:39 AM
Superb Jay, we're certainly looking forward to your second book!Some background information http://www.spacefest.info/IV/about/Jay.html
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cspg
Member Posts: 3955
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
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posted 10-10-2012 09:07 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Jay Gallentine:
Many of these people are in their late 70s, or early/mid 80s, and can still talk about this stuff like it was yesterday.
Lucky them and lucky you. Those moments are simply priceless. |
jiffyq58
Member Posts: 126
From: Durham, NC, USA
Registered: Jun 2011
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posted 10-10-2012 11:16 AM
Jay, it all sounds pretty exciting. This past weekend, I was given a box of my "space stuff" from my parents, and this was stuff I hadn't seen since the mid-70s. I found what looks like a complete set of the bulletins JPL sent to interested parties about the Mariner 9 mission as it progressed. That was the best you could do back in the pre-internet days. I've got a bunch of those bulletins for Mariner 10, too, but not sure yet if it is most or all of them.Anyway, it is a lot of fun going through all of the stuff I collected/hoarded about both manned and unmanned space exploration. I can't wait to be reminded about a lot of that, and to learn many, many new things about our planetary explorations from your forthcoming book. |
Philip
Member Posts: 4761
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 10-13-2012 05:05 AM
Just heard through the grapevine that there might be a change of title as the second book focuses on the missions to the rocky inner planets Venus and Mars? |
Jay Gallentine
Member Posts: 245
From: Shorewood, MN, USA
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 10-31-2012 11:05 PM
The first draft of the manuscript has gone to the publisher. Of course, for me it's about the sixth or seventh draft, but this marks the initial submission to them. Colin has been seeing the chapters along the way.Still very much to do - some factual corrections didn't make the deadline, and it's still too long. But the work has come a very long way and I'm excited to tell some stories that frankly have never been heard before. I am also aiming for 100% previously-unpublished pictures. Not sure if I'll make that, but it'll be close anyhow! cspg, you're absolutely correct that the moments of personal contact with these people are priceless. There are days when I think about all the history that these people have seen, and here I am trying to pull just a little more out of them, and it's truly a fortunate position to be in. jiffyq58, you've got some priceless material there in those Mariner reports! Hang on to that stuff; it's quite difficult to find hard-copy originals. And Philip, you are correct that the final title is still in flux. The book focuses squarely on the inner solar system - our first landings and rovings and testings for life. The title needs to reflect that, while still evoking the grandeur and majesty of exploration. Thanks again for all your support! |
Philip
Member Posts: 4761
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 05-11-2013 06:58 AM
Jay, how's the writing progressing on the 2nd book... Definitive title yet? |
Jay Gallentine
Member Posts: 245
From: Shorewood, MN, USA
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 05-13-2013 09:19 PM
Thanks for the nudge!At this stage, the book is tightening up nicely. I have been doing a complete front-to-back read-through which, to the dismay of my family, is being done out loud. But it's pretty much the only way I can gauge how smoothly the text is reading. (Ambassadors from Earth was read out loud at least three times. Occasionally I had to go out and sit in the car to do this.) My list of corrections is now mercifully short. Also, the state of the pictures has really improved. I continue to hunt for those elusive gems - shots from people's basements that nobody has ever seen before. And overall, I am quite pleased with the results so far. My scanner has been working overtime as I've processed old photographs, someone's yearbook photo, and even an original printout of data from Viking. I believe the Press is still aiming for a release in 2014. And it'll be ready! |
cspg
Member Posts: 3955
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
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posted 05-14-2013 06:28 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Jay Gallentine:
(Ambassadors from Earth was read out loud at least three times. Occasionally I had to go out and sit in the car to do this.)
Writing doesn't seem to be that much fun but when you tell it like this, it made me laugh. Sorry.  (Watch out for the neighbors, they might think you're a weirdo from another planet!). |
Jay Gallentine
Member Posts: 245
From: Shorewood, MN, USA
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 05-17-2013 05:19 PM
What seems to drive the family MOST crazy is when I am trying to determine which version of a sentence sounds best. Each sentence must sound as if there was no other choice except to structure it THAT way. Also, I try to avoid unintentional alliteration at ALL COSTS, so this leads to repetitive readings of multiple versions of a single sentence - all out loud, of course.I used to edit movies and TV shows, so this sort of repetition is old hat and no big deal. If the earbud had yet to be invented, I'm sure I'd be living on the street. |
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