Perigee — Patrick Chiles

Stranded in orbit, with no way home before the air runs out… A veteran pilot flying a revolutionary spaceplane, A media mogul on an urgent mission halfway around the world, And an aerospace legend fighting to save his legacy, in the face of a government that would stand aside to let it be destroyed. At hypersonic speed, Arthur Hammond's fleet of Clipper spaceplanes has become the premium choice for high-flying travel, placing every corner of the globe within a few hours' reach. But when the line's flagship is marooned in space with a load of VIP clients, its crew must fight to stay alive knowing that help may never arrive. As they struggle with failing life support and increasingly desperate passengers, their colleagues back on Earth scramble to mount an audacious rescue. A contentious mix of old airline hands and NASA veterans, they will face shocking betrayals in a battle to save their friends. In this race against time, Hammond must confront an onslaught of horrendous press, nitpicking bureaucrats, and dubious financiers â€" all of them pawns in a larger game, with his business empire as the prize. Amid a spreading web of industrial espionage, he may find the truth to be worse than imagined. And in space, one man will discover that escape may demand a terrible sacrifice. Reviewers have called it "a real barn-burner" and "the best darned 'sci-fi' novel I've read in years." PERIGEE opens the next chapter in air and space travel, where ordinary people will accomplish extraordinary things.