U.S. Hardcover Edition

Final Orbit

A Novel

  • Language:
    Publisher:
  • English (United States)
    Mulholland Books/Little, Brown (Hachette Book Group USA)
  • English (Canada)
    Random House Canada
  • English (UK, Australia, New Zealand)
    Quercus Books (Hachette UK)
  • French (Canada)
    Librex
  • German
    DTV
About Final Orbit:

From the #1 bestselling author and astronaut Chris Hadfield, an edge-of-your-seat thriller set about China’s secret role in the 1970s Space Race between the US and the USSR.

Houston, 1975. A new Apollo mission launches into orbit, on course to dock with a Russian Soyuz craft: three NASA astronauts and three cosmonauts, joining to celebrate a new dawn of Soviet-American cooperation. But as NASA Flight Controller Kaz Zemeckis listens in from Earth, a deadly accident changes everything.

Meanwhile, from a remote location in East Asia, the first Chinese spacecraft secretly launches. On board is China’s first astronaut, Fang Guojun, whose mission puts him on a collision course with the Apollo crew. As Kaz races against an enemy on the ground and for answers beyond the sky, the safety of the remaining crew hangs in the balance…

Full of intrigue and real history—including the fascinating story of Professor Tsien Hsue-shen, the “Father of Chinese Rocketry” and founder of China’s space program—Final Orbit accelerates to a thrilling conclusion that captures the beauty and terror of survival 270 miles above Earth, as could only be written by one of the most experienced astronauts alive.

Critical Praise:

"In his third “Apollo Murders” book (following The Defector), former astronaut Hadfield, who once served as NASA’s director of operations in Russia, phenomenally combines thriller and historical fiction. This novel is about the actual 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission, to which it brilliantly adds thrilling fictional events while keeping intact many of the characters and the historical timeline. Three American astronauts aboard an Apollo craft and three Soviet cosmonauts on Soyuz 19 dock their ships and prepare for a joint space mission. Then a deadly accident occurs, which endangers the fragile détente between the United States and the Soviet Union. On the ground, NASA Flight Controller Kaz Zemeckis must bring his crew back to Earth safely while also contending with a secretly launched Chinese spaceship that’s on a collision course with the Apollo. Hadfield tells the story in such a way that the technical aspects of spaceflight are approachable and fun to read."

"VERDICT Action-filled, believable drama that flows. Readers of sci-fi thrillers by Isaac Asimov, Andy Weir, and James Michener will enjoy the realism of Hadfield’s latest."

Library Journal (Starred Review)


“Another high-flying adventure...Hadfield is a terrific storyteller, and his blending of the real and the made-up is seamless. Another terrific thriller from a writer who is uniquely qualified to write it.”

Booklist


"Rugged leading man Kazimieras “Kaz” Zemeckis is working at Mission Control in Houston when a depressurization “accident” takes out half the crew of the American-Soviet mission...This incident kicks off a wham-bang plot involving next-level geopolitics when it turns out that a new player, China, has secretly joined the space race...Hadfield has developed a signature style that fluidly blends real historical personages and events with explosive action, while also squeezing in quick timeouts for backgrounders on things like the development of Chinese rocketry in the 13th century. This all works surprisingly well, and shows that Hadfield has established himself as a reliable brand in grounded, retro-flavoured SF."

The Toronto Star

About the Author(s):

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 and The Apollo Murders have sold over a million copies worldwide.

As well as his time as a Cold War pilot, Chris is 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 operations.

Other Editions:

  • Random House Canada (Hardcover)

  • Quercus Books (Hardcover)

Other Books by Chris Hadfield:

  • An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth

  • The Apollo Murders

  • The Darkest Dark

  • The Defector

  • You Are Here