Wicked Edge

What this episode covers

Stephanie OsbornHost : Tiffani BethGuest: Stephanie OsbornGreetings! Have you ever heard the phrase, "It doesn't take a rocket scientist..." Well, sometimes it does! And that's where I come in. You see, I AM a rocket scientist. For over 20 years I worked in the> > civilian and military space programs, as a mission flight controller, astronaut trainer, crew procedures developer, schedule developer, you name it and I've probably done it. And I had a friend aboard Columbia's last voyage.After KC (Kalpana Chawla) died in the Columbia disaster, I didn't stay in the program a lot longer. See, I'd been working on a novel about a Shuttle disaster...that took place during re-entry, when (due to sabotage) the Shuttle broke> > apart over Texas. That's right, I managed to forecast what happened to Columbia, and my friend. (Sometimes it really DOES take a rocket scientist.) I had to be talked out of trashing the manuscript...but it went on to become my first book, Burnout: The mystery of Space Shuttle STS-281, published in 2009 and dedicated to KC and her crewmates. Burnout has gotten considerable Hollywood interest, and has even been optioned once, but so far has not> > made it into production.Since then, I've had nearly 25 books published -- yes, I've been called prolific -- including the critically-acclaimed Displaced Detective series, which has been described as, "Sherlock Holmes meets the X-Files."> > In fact, it's been so popular that the first four books were released as an Omnibus edition, and Book 5 of that series, A Case of Spontaneous Combustion, has just been released in ebook format, and will be released in print in June. It has been said that I have a very cinematic writing style, which is probably because I approach the material very visually.But in addition to writing, I had an idea, and I put together a small team of people to develop SPEARED -- the Single Person Emergency Atmospheric Re-Entry Device. SPEARED is, in essence, an astronaut ejection seat that can be used anywhere during the atmospheric entry phase of a space mission. We hold a preliminary patent, and are actively looking for funding to continue our materials research so that we can develop a final design. The concept was presented and very favorably received at the Second Tennessee Valley Interstellar> > Workshop in 2013, and an article has been submitted to and accepted for Analog magazine.I'm an experienced interviewee, having done any number of live and recorded such for talk radio, webradio and podcasts of all sorts. Here's my official bio, and here's my online media kit, which also includes a nice selection of my media experience and public speaking experience, as well as a bit about my career in the space program. I suspect you and your listeners would enjoy the chat.I look forward to hearing from you!> >> >Stephanie OsbornInterstellar Woman of Mystery> >See all my books at http://www.Stephanie-Osborn.com

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