November 19, 2017 | David F. Coppedge

New Guidebook for Earthlings Published

A new book by two CEH authors can help readers understand their spacecraft and its mission.

Dr Henry Richter, distinguished NASA scientist, former Caltech professor and inventor, the last surviving manager of Explorer 1 (January 31, 1958), has a new book worth sharing. Its title appeals to all readers on the planet: Spacecraft Earth: A Guide for Passengers. Published by Creation Ministries International (CMI), this highly accessible and fact-filled book will interest everyone who has a human body and is interested in where life, our planet, and the universe came from. The publisher’s summary states,

We hear so much today about how the universe, the earth and life all supposedly came about by chance events and processes. In this book, a bona fide rocket scientist, Dr Henry Richter—a pioneer in aerospace—challenges these views by exploring what is required for us to exist in the universe. He shows that our planet can be thought of as a sophisticated spacecraft designed for our benefit. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand this fascinating book, so dive in and discover for yourself the truth about our amazing universe and how it came to be.

Attractively printed on glossy paper with dozens of color illustrations and specially-commissioned cover art, this new book makes a great impression and invites page turning. Just the right length to look inviting (164 pages), it makes a great gift to share the gospel with teens and adults in our scientifically-minded society. Cost is only $12 for one, but you can buy 5 for just $8 each – a 34% savings. (The book is not yet available from Amazon, but should be in due time.)

Since Dr Richter was instrumental in the design and success of the first US satellite, the book is organized around the theme of Earth as a well-designed spacecraft. Although the term “Spacecraft Earth” is not original, this may be the first book-length treatment from an intelligent design and Biblical creationist viewpoint. Here are the chapter titles:

  • Foreword by David Coppedge
  • Introduction by Henry Richter
  • 1. The Spacecraft: Planet Earth
  • 2. The Spacesuit: The Amazing Human Body
  • 3. The Other Passengers: Plants and Animals
  • 4. Explaining the Observations
  • 5. Populating the Spacecraft
  • 6. The Final Frontier
  • 7. A Matter of Time
  • 8. From One Passenger to Another
  • Epilogue

CEH regulars will recognize Dr Richter’s name from his occasional contributed articles to this website. The new book began as an upgrade project for a small book he had self-published years ago, called The Universe: A Surprising Cosmological Accident. Richter had written about some of the scientific discoveries that led him from nominal church attender (but practical atheist) to vibrant Christian. With no marketing or distribution channel, he would hand out copies to friends and acquaintances. CEH editor David Coppedge felt that the book had potential for a much wider audience, but needed updating and polishing. Three years ago, they began the long task of revision.

Many of the latest design evidences, often drawn from news items here at CEH, were added. Chapters were rearranged and a new title was chosen. CMI agreed to publish the book in 2016, but many months of review and revision continued into 2017. CMI staff and co-author David Coppedge spent months fact-checking and referencing each claim, choosing illustrations, and formatting pages, all with Dr Richter’s approval. By summer of 2017, Spacecraft Earth was ready for launch… but printing required several months more. Finally, this November, it is in stock and ready for shipment.

Each page of Spacecraft Earth is packed with amazing evidence for intelligent design: from the cosmological level on down: stars, planets, life, human life, animal life, plant life, the cell, and genetics. The book makes crystal clear why Darwinian evolution cannot account for any of it. Most importantly, it leads the reader to the implications: there is a Designer, and we need to get right with him. That story is told gently through Richter’s own story. We hope CEH readers will find this resource “just right” as a message well aimed for modern readers.

No one needs to see themselves adrift on a planet in a vast universe, wondering what it all means. Here’s “A Guide for Passengers” to open their eyes to the wonders around them – the greatest of which is God’s love.

Richter and Coppedge at JPL in 2008.

Dr Richter and I pray that this book will reach many people for the Lord. Would you like to help? Please buy it, read it, share it, and promote it. Once it comes out on Amazon, you can help by writing a good review and rating it.

View Henry Richter’s Author Profile to see his previous articles on Creation-Evolution Headlines.

At Richter’s personal web page, you can order his previous book, America’s Leap Into Space: My Time at JPL and the First Explorer Satellites. This engaging book describes the early days of rocketry and space travel from the viewpoint of the Russians, the Germans, and the Americans, capped by his insider’s view of the development of America’s answer to Sputnik. A valuable history from a key person on the team that brought America to pre-eminence in space flight.

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