An introduction to Delta-v
By: Daniel Suarez
Tags: Deltav, Asteroid Mining, Space Exploration, Space Tech Thriller, Science Fiction Adventure

My new space-tech thriller, Delta-v, comes out on April 23! I thought I’d share some thoughts on the inspiration and research behind the book — and why it’s more science than fiction.

Cover letter that accompanied early Delta-v galleys

Delta-v (delta-vē ; noun, informal) — a change in velocity; a measure of the impulse needed to reach an intended trajectory; typically symbolized as ‘Δv’.

Dear Reader,

A new space race is on — and this time not just governments will take part.

As a boy growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, I was transfixed by all things space. Carl Sagan’s Cosmos series inspired me to dream of an interplanetary future. I watched every Shuttle launch, and spent countless hours in the library reading science fiction and perusing the works of space pioneers like Peter Glaser and physicist Gerard O’Neill — whose 1977 book, The High Frontier, fascinated me. O’Neill proposed 20-mile-long colony ships orbiting Earth in deep space, while Glaser planned to create a cislunar economy by building massive solar arrays in orbit to transmit clean electricity back to a (then) energy-starved world. At the time their plans received serious consideration within NASA and in mainstream media.

But new sources of fossil fuel soon ‘solved’ Earth’s energy crisis, and launch costs for the Space Shuttle remained stubbornly high. So O’Neill’s and Glaser’s visionary ideas faded from view.

And now here we are — 40 years later. Overuse of those same fossil fuels, whose momentary shortage once inspired orbiting solar arrays, is now heating our world to dangerous levels. A recent report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that humanity has just 12 years to drastically reduce carbon emissions or face a ‘climate catastrophe.’

Avoiding the imminent effects of climate change will require nothing less than a complete rebuilding of the energy infrastructure of the world in the next several decades. And it will have to be done while still delivering economic opportunity to billions of people. But how?

One way is to follow O’Neill’s and Glaser’s plan and lift our most carbon-intensive industry — power generation — off Earth’s surface and into orbit, drastically reducing our impact on Earth’s ecosystem. In the process, we can unify humanity toward a common goal — preserving our home planet — while also sowing the seeds for sustainable economic growth and outward expansion into the solar system.

However, despite rocket reusability it still costs too much to launch large constructs into low Earth orbit. Even if money was no object and sufficient launch facilities existed, tens of thousands of rocket launches would also damage the environment.

So where do we obtain the resources necessary to build huge orbiting solar arrays and kick-start an entire space-borne economy without making things worse here on Earth? And how do we accomplish it before the worst effects of climate change set in?

The answer lies with near-Earth asteroids — some of which can be reached with less acceleration than it takes to reach our own Moon. Millions of tons of resources (iron, nickel, cobalt, water, nitrogen, and more) can be mined and returned from asteroids to cislunar space, where buyers in an off-world commodities market could use them to build solar arrays, off-world manufacturing plants, orbiting habitats, and more.

Delta-v tells the story of the very first such commercial asteroid mining expedition. Eight adventurers drawn from all walks of life — cavers, ex-soldiers, former astronauts, BASE jumpers, and mountain climbers — who undertake an epic journey that’s more science than fiction. It’s a story featuring heroes who already walk among us and whose tools are even now being forged by startups around the globe.

In the course of researching Delta-v, I met with real-world space entrepreneurs, billionaire rocket pioneers, NASA scientists, and economists. I visited rocket ship garages in the Mojave Desert and walked the corridors of NASA Headquarters.

My goal was to bring readers on a realistic, perilous voyage as humanity takes its first, tentative steps into the cosmos — realizing that the biggest risk of all is for humanity to remain here on Earth.

I hope you find that journey as thrilling and inspiring as I do.

Sincerely,

Daniel Suarez