Final Orbit Chris Hadfield 9781529435955

1975. A new Apollo mission launches into orbit, on course to dock with a Russian Soyuz spacecraft: three NASA astronauts and three cosmonauts, joining to celebrate a new dawn of Soviet-American cooperation.

But a third power is rising, in the race to dominate Space. As NASA Flight Controller Kaz Zemeckis listens in from Earth, three of the six astronauts are killed in an unexplained accident. And from a remote location in east Asia, a capsule secretly launches with China's very first astronaut aboard, purpose unknown . . .

Full of Cold War intrigue and real historical characters, Final Orbit accelerates to a thrilling conclusion - and brings to life the loneliness, majesty and pure rush of Space flight, with all of the hard-won experience of a writer who is himself one of the most decorated astronauts alive.

Praise for the Apollo Murders series

'A nail-biting Cold War thriller' James Cameron

'An exciting journey to an alternate past' Andy Weir

'Not to be missed' Frederick Forsyth

'Explosive' Gregg Hurwitz

'Exciting, authentic' Linwood Barclay

Colonel Chris Hadfield is one of the most seasoned and accomplished astronauts in the world. A multiple New York Times bestselling author, his books An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, You Are Here, The Apollo Murders, The Defector and The Darkest Dark have sold over a million copies worldwide.

He was the top test pilot in both the US Air Force and the US Navy, and a Cold War fighter pilot intercepting armed Soviet bombers in North American airspace. A veteran of three spaceflights, he crewed the US Space Shuttle twice, piloted the Russian Soyuz, helped build space station Mir, conducted two space walks, and served as Commander of the International Space Station. He was also NASA's Director of Operations in Russia.

Chris is the co-creator and host of the BBC series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes? and helped create and host, along with actor Will Smith, the National Geographic series One Strange Rock. His zero-gravity version of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' has received more than 50 million views, and his TED talk on fear over 10 million.

He advises SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and other space companies, chairs the board of the Open Lunar Foundation, leads the CDL-Space international tech incubator, and teaches a MasterClass on space exploration.