James F. Peters, Embry-Riddle adjunct faculty, authored Return to Flight, published in 2015, a true story about the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster that killed seven astronauts.

“It is the story of the most difficult period in the history of the Shuttle Program, a period of self-doubt, reflection, fear and anguish, during which astronauts, engineers and scientists had to work together to ensure a third shuttle disaster would not light up the sky,” says Peters, who served as the Shuttle Debris Integration Chair, and was responsible for correcting the debris problems that led to the Columbia accident.

Peters has worked as an adjunct faculty member for Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus since 1998. He has more than 25 years of manned spaceflight experience, and is currently working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center on the Commercial Crew Program.

J. Brian “Bear” Lihani (’96, WW) authored NORAD and Cheyenne Mountain AFS, a pictorial history of the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command and the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, published in 2015. It is the latest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s Images of Modern America series. Lihani is the deputy chief at NORAD headquarters’ Aerospace Warning Branch.

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Cedric “Ric” Hunter (’81, WW) authored Firehammer, a novel based on a true story. Published in 2014, Firehammer received the 2014 Military Writers Society of America Book Award Finalist for historical fiction. Hunter is a 27-year combat veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

Gabriel “Gabe” Bentz (’15, PC) co-authored The Space Economy, published in 2015. The book is a collection of essays outlining the ideas, politics, opportunities and pitfalls of the commercial space industry.

Jonathan Rupprecht (’09, WW) co-authored the American Bar Association book, Unmanned Aircraft in the National Airspace: Critical Issues, Technology and the Law, published in 2015. Rupprecht is an attorney, commercial pilot and flight instructor.

Joe Bassi, assistant professor of arts and sciences for Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus, authored A Scientific Peak: How Boulder Became a World Center for Space and Atmospheric Science. Published in 2015 by the American Meteorological Society Press, the book earned an honorable mention award in the Atmospheric Science Librarians International history category.

Richard S. “Sam” Baty, retired Embry-Riddle Worldwide Campus faculty, authored a historical novel series, published from 2008 to 2013. The series includes four titles: Footsteps to Forever, Darkness Into Light, Forever We Serve and Legends Live On. The novels follow several main characters through the World War II era, Post World War II Europe, the Korean War era, Vietnam, Desert Storm and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Baty retired from Embry-Riddle on Jan. 1, 2013.