Antunes: DIY Instruments for Amateur Space

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

DIY INSTRUMENTS FOR AMATEUR SPACE:
INVENTING UTILITY FOR YOUR SPACECRAFT
ONCE IT ACHIEVES ORBIT
Sandy Antunes
O'Reilly Media, March 2013, $4.99 print/$2.99 ebook
ISBNs: Print, 978-1-4493-1064-6, Ebook 978-1-4493-1063-9

Contact info:

Author: Sandy Antunes, antunes@nasw.org
Agent: David Fugate, 760-944-9909, david@launchbooks.com
Book website: http://projectCalliope.com
Publisher's website: http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920021629.do?sortby=publicationDate
Blog website: http://science20.com/satellite_diaries/

Antunes writes:

INSTRUMENTS is my 3rd book in a four-book series on "Do It Yourself DIY Space," based originally on my Science20.com DIY blog.

The series arose in 2009 when a lone freelance scientist (me) decided to see if one person of average competence (also me) could build a satellite in their basement, leading to the Project Calliope satellite. After blogging on the build for two years, I completed the satellite.

Shopping the idea of publishing the 'lessons learned' and how-to (minus all the mistakes) as a book or series made sense. O'Reilly Media/Maker Press was the first place my agent recommended.

This "Instrumentation" book is about hobby-level sensors, but also is covertly a guide to remote sensing and sensors of all types. It tackles sensor roles in earth, solar, planetary and astronomy use.

The work is drawn from my operations work in high energy astrophysics on the science side as well as general principles arising from basic physics and observation. Filling in the earth-observing details took a bit of research, but fortunately that part of the material was also needed for a course I was teaching. In a circular fashion, that teaching occurred because Capitol College in Laurel, Maryland, had hired me in 2011 in part due to my build experiences with Calliope.

So a freelancer writes a book that teaches others how to do what I now teach students so they can do it better.

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Deadline for June 2013 book blog: May 23, 2013

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

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