In His Third Book Travels of a Thermodynamicist Dr. Rick Fleeter Reveals the Key Ingredient to Success as a Rocket Scientist

Dr. Rick Fleeter, father of small-satellite technology, recently launched his third book, Travels of a Thermodynamicist. His book reveals the key ingredient to success as a rocket scientist and in life -- the ability and inclination to remain constantly in motion. Dr. Fleeter is founder and president of AeroAstro, a small spacecraft company that pioneered satellites the size of a laptop computer.

When not traveling the world in airlines and trains, Dr. Fleeter relaxes by traveling the world by bike, racking up over 15,000 miles per year. For variety, he swims open water and runs marathons in Ironman competition. Dr. Fleeter, admittedly motion obsessed, reached the epiphany that a full life can no more exclude travel than an ocean wave can not break on the beach or not flow back to the sea.

Travels of a Thermodynamicist is a collection of essays, humorous, often times thought-provoking, and filled with sincere, unexpected, sometimes poetic observations of a rocket scientist on a personal trajectory. The 154-page book, published by Outskirts Press, delights, stirs and captures the reader. Punctuated with color photos, the oversized paperback is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Outskirts Press.

"Thermodynamicists are born knowing that energy can not be created or destroyed," said Dr. Rick Fleeter. "We live life as a human neutrino, passing by, over and through places, without ever being stopped by any of them. We are all ripples propagating through space and time, and can no more avoid traveling than an ocean wave can avoid its eventual breaking on the beach and flowing back into the sea or percolating on the sand. The traveler is not the rare colleague willing to live out of suitcases...The traveler is all of us."

Dr. Fleeter speaks six languages, including Japanese. He has completed Ironman Triathlons in the United States, Europe and Asia. His regular rides are traversing the East coast between Virginia and Rhode Island and through the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains.

Dr. Fleeter, a Ph.D. in engineering with a focus on thermodynamics, has built over 20 successful small satellites, ranging from 2.5 to 250 pounds. He lives and works in Virginia, where his company is headquartered, plus teaches spacecraft and space systems design at Brown University in Rhode Island. During his weekly commute via Amtrak, he plans lectures and writes books.

His first book, Micro Space Craft, was widely acclaimed and sold out its first printing by word of mouth. His second book, The Logic of Microspace, provides the technical and managerial tools and perspectives to lead a microspace program, plus a science fiction depiction of how space could serve humanity. The 12-chapter paperback, published by Microcosm Press and Kluwer Academic Publishers, is still in print. The book, considered "humorous, fast-reading and informative," is used by engineering students and working aerospace professionals.

Dr. Fleeter is donating 10% of the royalties from his third book, Travels of a Thermodynamicist, to the East Coast Greenway Alliance (ECGA). The ECGA spearheads the development of an urban Greenway linking cities and towns along the seaboard from Maine to Florida.

About Rick Fleeter, Ph.D.

Dr. Rick Fleeter is a rocket scientist and father of small satellite technology. He has built more than 20 successful small satellites. He is founder and president of AeroAstro, a small spacecraft company in Ashburn, Virginia. He was formerly Senior Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Caltech, and Vice President of AMSAT, the world's most experienced small satellite organization. He holds a Ph.D. in engineering with a focus on thermodynamics from Brown University, where he currently teaches spacecraft and space systems design. He has authored three books and competed at the national level in United States Masters Swimming, plus in numerous Ironman triathlon events. He is an active radio amateur, though his favorite form of relaxation is long-distance solo cycling.

Contact:

Dr. Rick Fleeter

703-599-5885

http://outskirtspress.com/travelsofrickfleeter

Public Relations

Juliette Weiland & Co.

Juliette Weiland, President

704-243-7312

http://www.jweilandcompany.com

In His Third Book Travels of a Thermodynamicist Dr. Rick Fleeter Reveals the Key Ingredient to Success as a Rocket Scientist