Platinum Moon, a novel by Bill White

Power abhors a vacuum

"But I just have to say pretty bluntly here: We’ve been there before. Buzz has been there."

Words spoken by President Barack Obama on April 15, 2010.

"If the leadership we have acquired through our investment [in NASA] is simply allowed to fade away, other nations will surely step in where we have faltered . . . "

A May 12, 2010 response from astronaut Neil Armstrong.

"Our vision is that we will explore asteroids and the surface of Mars — as America and the rest of humanity journey toward our ultimate destiny in the stars."

Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and Bill Nelson writing on August 4, 2010.

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Introducing Platinum Moon, a novel:

After NASA abandons plans to return to the Moon, New Hampshire native and global entrepreneur Harold Hewitt steps in to fill the void. Rejecting the notion that the exploration of space must be reserved to government, Hewitt establishes Lunar Materials LLC to prospect for lunar platinum – platinum needed for fuel cells that will help mitigate global warming. Hewitt sees himself as an old fashioned Yankee trader, touting his lunar ambitions as an altruistic endeavor undertaken in harmonious collaboration with global partners. His opponents view Hewitt as a Yankee traitor selling out his country in pursuit of profit.

A well orchestrated media and marketing campaign culminates in unprecedented worldwide television ratings as Lt. Commander David Anders, an expatriate naval aviator, leads an international crew to the lunar surface on-board PGM-1, the world's first fully reusable lunar lander. Hewitt’s ambitious plans, however, threaten powerful interests and when unexpected trouble strikes PGM-1, the entire world watches and wonders whether they will soon witness another first – the first humans to die stranded on the barren lunar surface.


Platinum Moon is filled with scientific and engineering detail as well as insights into the nuances of international relations, the power of the global media and America’s uncertain role in the 21st century. Implications arising from the ownership of extraterrestrial resources and extensions of national sovereignty beyond Earth are also addressed, as are the internal struggles of vivid characters wrestling with conflicts between personal goals, obligations to family and duty to country. The novel also breaks new ground by portraying a privately owned EML-1 Gateway Station and a thriving sub-orbital rocket racing league centered at Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Platinum Moon will appeal to those interested in space exploration and realistic science fiction as well as anyone who enjoys international intrigue and adventure.

Download the first one-third of Platinum Moon in a variety of ebook formats (including mobi) without cost or obligation via Smashwords - - or go to the extended text for purchase options

EML Gateways & Reusable Lunar Landers

EML-1 is a crucial location in Platinum Moon.

(Click here for a quick tutorial on where the "L" is EML-1)

EML-1 is where Harold Hewitt and Lunar Materials LLC deploy Gateway Station, a human tended fuel depot and transfer station. This EML-1 Gateway Station also is where Hewitt "parks" his PGM-1 reusable lunar lander in between sorties to the lunar surface.

EML-1 is a useful cross-roads in space as it offers convenient access to every point on the lunar surface without the complications that arise from orbital inclinations or launch windows. Unlike a facility in low lunar orbit, an EML-1 facility would remain at a relatively stationary point in the sky, from the perspective of an observer on the Nearside lunar surface while an EML-2 facility would remain at a relatively stationary point in the sky, from the perspective of an observer on the Farside lunar surface.

In a world without heavy lift, a sustainable lunar presence necessarily requires depots and depots at EML-1 and/or EML-2 provide versatile robust access to the entire surface of the Moon. If the EML depot is supported with lunar ISRU fuel, or terrestrial fuel delivered by slow boat fuel efficient trajectories, then fully reusable (single stage) lunar landers become economically viable, further lowering the cost of lunar surface access.

Another key premise of Platinum Moon is the author's belief that a robust and sustainable lunar presence cannot be established or maintained using disposable lunar landers. Therefore, by deploying and operating a transfer station and depot at EML-1, together with a single stage fully reusable lunar lander, Harold Hewitt would acquire a significant competitive advantage in selling logistical support for operations anywhere on the lunar surface.

Considerable work has been done by NASA and others on the strategic usefulness of EML-1 and EML-2 for lunar exploration and these efforts are part of the back story for Harold Hewitt's schemes in Platinum Moon.

Click here for a partial list of resources and for further reading concerning the benefits of EML architectures for lunar exploration.

Lunar Materials, LLC

Lunar Materials LLC is a private sector entity established by Harold Hewitt within the Republic of Singapore to execute Plan B for the Moon. The essential elements of Plan B are:

       1. Commercial synergy

       2. Global partnerships

       3. EML Gateways

Hewitt is well aware of the 19th century California gold rush precedent which saw far greater profits going to those who sold goods and services to the gold miners, than went to the miners themselves; therefore Hewitt's long term plan is to establish a commercial cross-roads at EML-1 to offer logistical support (for a fee) to anyone and everyone who desires to conduct lunar surface operations.

Hewitt's EML-1 Gateway will also prove useful for sending lunar materials back to Earth and for supporting space exploration beyond cis-lunar space.

Dark Skies Flying Circus

In addition to a moon landing, Platinum Moon  also portrays a robust and thriving suborbital spaceflight industry at Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico where sub-orbital rocket jockeys compete in one design and open class competitions, with paying passengers riding along to experience the thrill of a lifetime. Packaged with a ride into space is an entire week spent at a swanky new Las Cruces micro-hotel where space tourists and their spouses are pampered in anticipation of their initiation as genuine astronauts.

Dark Skies Excerpt #1 includes three scenes set in Las Cruces where two sub-orbital tourists and their wives look forward to their upcoming flight into space while Dark Skies Excerpt #2 features a variety of scenes that depict a hypothetical day of adventure at Spaceport America.

Select characters

Platinum Moon features a large cast of characters from all around the planet. Continue to the extended text for brief descriptions of several main characters.