Travis S. Taylor


Travis Shane Taylor is an aerospace engineer, optical scientist, science fiction author, and star of National Geographic Channel's Rocket City Rednecks. Taylor has written more than 25 technical papers, 14 science fiction novels and two textbooks, and has appeared in multiple television documentaries, including NGC's When Aliens Attack.

Personal biography

Taylor grew up in rural North Alabama alongside his older brother Gregory, a chief master sergeant of the Air Force Reserves. As a boy, Taylor read science fiction and dismantled household electronics. In the eighth grade, he wrote a novella about a post-nuclear-war America featuring an aerospace engineer who carried a bullwhip and used a little flying wing that he had invented to spy on the Soviets. His father, Charles Taylor, worked as a machinist at Wyle Laboratories, which subcontracted for National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the 1960s, wherein he built America's first satellites directly with Wernher von Braun. While in high school, Taylors' family moved to Somerville, near Huntsville, next door to an Army scientist. At 17 years old, with the help of his neighbor, he built a radio telescope that won the state science fair and placed sixth in the nation. This led the Army to offer Taylor a job working at Redstone Arsenal on direct energy weapons systems directly out of high school as well as a scholarship. Taylor is a black belt martial artist, a private pilot, a scuba diver, races mountain bikes, competed in triathlons, and has been the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of several hard rock bands. Taylor lives near Huntsville with his wife Karen, daughter Kalista Jade, two dogs Stevie and Wesker, and his cat Kuro.

Professional biography

Taylor has worked on various programs for the United States Department of Defense and NASA for over sixteen years. He is currently working on several advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space-based beamed energy systems, high-energy lasers, and next generation space launch concepts. Taylor is also involved with multiple Human intelligence, Imagery intelligence, Signals intelligence and Measurement and signature intelligence concept studies.

Education

His scientific background includes:
To obtain his accredited online master's degree in astronomy from the University of Western Sydney in Australia, he built an extrasolar planet imaging instrument in his backyard using a plastic pipe, telescopic camera, and $200 computer.

Selected publications

Taylor's first novel examines ideas for using quantum mechanics and general relativity to create a method of warping space, first for use as a superluminal propulsion system and later as a weapon. The novel introduces Anson Clemons, a physicist who is the primary creator of the warp drive, and Taylor's first recurring character. Much of Dr. "Doc" Clemons's character appears to be inspired by Taylor's own life, from academic background and competitive karate training to sharing the same nickname. Clemons' middle name is shared with Robert Anson Heinlein, a clear homage to an influential science fiction writer.
Warp Speed belongs to the genre known as an Edisonade. Warp Speed was voted No. 3 best science fiction book of 2005 by The Preditors & Editors Readers Poll.

''The Quantum Connection''

Revisiting the world created by Warp Speed, Taylor shows the world from the point of view of another character named Steven Montana. Montana is a stereotypical slacker who works in the technology industry. His world was brought to a sudden halt by events from Warp Speed, and The Quantum Connection picks up the story several years after the original events. The book explores the ideas of quantum mechanics, nanotechnology, inter-planetary defense and realistic space-born warfare. It also introduces the "Grey Aliens" of UFOlogy. This book was voted No. 5 on the poll.

''Von Neumann's War''

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Released in July 2006, Von Neumann's War is about an invasion of the present day Sol System by alien robotic Von Neumann probes, and the battle by Earth's forces to stop them, combining of Taylor's hard science fiction and John Ringo's military perspective on the genre. It is supplemented by an e-book available from Baen called Neighborhood Watch Final Report which is a mock-up of the classified technical report to the National Reconnaissance Office describing the discovery of the invasion force on Mars at the beginning of the novel.

''An Introduction to Planetary Defense''

Subtitled A Study of Modern Warfare Applied to Extra-Terrestrial Invasion, this book examines defending Earth in the event of an extraterrestrial invasion. Rather than outlining extreme possibilities for the sake of entertainment, the authors keep most of their speculation within the known possible world.
Some have commented that it is written as if Taylor is "preaching to the choir," those who are already familiar with the global covert intelligence community. The book makes several assumptions that are common among its intended readership but not necessarily shared by the general public. In particular, the authors insist that any alien contact should be kept secret if at all possible, despite the hindrance this would present to a coordinated global defense effort, not to mention the difficulties of maintaining such secrecy in the first place. They also list perceived problems within the United States, such as shortsightedness and inadequate knowledge of the subject matter on the part of politicians, and a tendency on the part of NASA to focus on superficial observations that are more beneficial to public relations.
The book goes on to suggest that an organization be given funding and authority to investigate and prepare for extraterrestrial contact. Its conclusion is a variant on the Precautionary Principle: the authors advise that it would be better for humanity to prepare for an incursion which never happens than to suffer from an invasion for which we have not prepared.

''One Day on Mars''

The story takes place on Mars, where a group of separatists have launched an attack against the federal military personnel from Earth who have been instructed to guard them and the surrounding area. A senator, who is there to help with the peace negotiations, and his family get caught up in the subsequent battle and butchery. This book and its sequel The Tau Ceti Agenda both feature the heavy use of Mech-like warriors, very similar to those seen in the Robotech series.

''Looking Glass War'' (books 2-4)

Ringo and Taylor wrote three books set in Ringo's Looking Glass series.
Vorpal Blade features the USS Nebraska as it takes to the stars in an attempt to find the alien enemy race known as the Dreen. Manxome Foe and Claws That Catch continue the sequence.

''Human By Choice''

From publisher Twilight Times Books, the 2009 book features Kyle Leverson, an Army veteran. Leverson, who is retired due to injuries sustained in combat, awakens one morning to discover some sort of alien pods had crashed onto his property in the remote mountains of Arkansas.

''The Tau Ceti Agenda''

Humanity's Separatist movement prepares the biggest sucker punch ever against Earth governments. The plan: Kill the U.S. president at Disney World and drive a quantum-teleported kamikaze starship into a heavily populated city. One thing the fanatical Separatists haven't figured on: an America military unleashed by a fighting president: an ex-Marine determined that terrorists won't have the final word on humanity's future! Sequel to One Day on Mars. Published 5/1/2008.

''One Good Soldier''

One Good Soldier is the third book in the military SF series beginning with One Day on Mars, taking place in a single critical day in the history of the United States of the Sol System, the extra-solar colonies, the Separatist Revolutionaries of the Tau Ceti system, and all of mankind.

''Back to the Moon''

A novel about a NASA moon mission which ends up having to rescue stranded Chinese astronauts already on the moon. The book is entirely built around Constellation Program technology, and was, unfortunately, already obsolete before it came out in print owing to the cancellation of the program just months earlier.

Works featuring stories by Taylor

Taylor first appeared in episodes of The Universe and Life After People for the History Channel in 2010, after his name came up in a search regarding space warfare. Taylor was then on National Geographic Channel's When Aliens Attack in 2011.
In the summer of 2011, the National Geographic Channel announced a new series called Rocket City Rednecks which features Taylor. The first episode showed in September 2011. A self-proclaimed 'redneck rocket scientist', Taylor focuses on 'hillbilly ingenuity' for the show's backyard science experiments, aided by his family and best friend, who are all machinists and inventors. The show ran for two seasons, from September 2011 to January 2013.
In 2015, he hosted the series 3 Scientist Walk into a Bar. Then, he appeared on the History Channel show Ancient Aliens episode "The Alien Protocols" and the show The Tesla Files in 2018. Next, he was on an episode of The Curse of Oak Island on the History Channel in January 2019. He was able to showoff his knowledge of searching for underground items using different gasses. Later in 2019, he appeared in an episode of In Search of Monsters and the show NASA's Unexplained Files. In 2020, he is on History Channel's The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.