Russell Newman

07/02/2025

Today is my official book launch day! July 1st! Well... technically, I soft-launched "Rocket Science for Kids" early, but now you can purchase the book from all major book sellers, such as Barnes & Noble, in addition to Amazon.
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The early feedback has been amazing! We've already received 19 reviews, all of which are 5 stars! This is an accomplishment! There are many books that never get more than 10 reviews. I hope to get to 50 reviews by the end of the year.

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I had grand plans for a coordinated massive marketing push that would coincide with my book launch. But alas! I didn't have the time for that. I'm happy to have just finished and published the book!

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I'm working full-time as a professional engineer and have a wonderful family that keeps me very busy (three toddlers, aged 3, 3, and 1). My book launch will be more like a slow burn with slowly increasing momentum. I'm not worried, I'm planning to do this for years!

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You may start seeing more of me in public. I'm working on advertisements that have started to go live on Facebook and Instagram. I have some podcasts that will be on in the coming months. I have also planned to revamp my book and personal website completely.

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Thanks, everybody, for following me on my journey.

If you'd like to help me out, please check out my book, "Rocket Science for Kids," on Amazon and other retailers. This book offers a genuine and authentic approach to teaching your kids a complex subject like rocket science. No shortcuts were taken. You will learn all the fundamentals of rocket science in only 1000 words.

If you enjoy the book, please leave a review on Amazon so that other parents can also learn about this wonderful book.

06/20/2025

Don't tell anybody. But I got impatient. I enabled by "Rocket Science for Kids" book for distribution by Amazon 2 weeks early.

You can now get the Amazon's #1 new release for "Children's How Things Work" without waiting.

I'm not surprised I reached the #1 spot. There is a lot of AI-generated slop out there.

This book is a real and authentic way to teach your kids a complex subject like rocket science. No shortcuts were taken. I believe that this book will be the best book for kids on rocket science for the next decade or more!

Spark a lifelong passion for science in your toddler.

06/10/2025

How young is too young for kids to start with Advertisements? 14 months?

My daughter has recently expressed a keen interest in advertisements. This has made me a bit scared, as she is only 14 months old. How young is too young?

I'm learning advertising and marketing because I want to promote my upcoming children's picture book about rocket science. But I have no idea what her purpose for advertising is!

Is she going to attempt to sell toys to her older brothers to make some extra milk money?

I'm learning about hooks and headlines so that I can communicate to parents that, with my book, it's possible to teach your toddler real rocket science without screen time.

Is Diana going to start A/B split testing her requests for a later bedtime?

I'm learning "call to actions" so that people know that my book is available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

Will Diana be too powerful? Who could say no to that cute face AND strong marketing copy at the same time?

Do you think I should be worried?

04/13/2025

My twin two-year-olds have their own panini press...

Maybe I'm just asking for my house to burn down...

But my kids love it! They use it to make pancakes and quesadillas.

Kids want to be like adults, understand, and fit into the world.

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When friends visit our home and see Lucas and Marcus confidently flipping quesadillas on their own skillet, the reactions range from shock to genuine curiosity.

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"Aren't they too young for that?" is usually the first question.

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My answer is always the same: kids are capable of so much more than we give them credit for.

For example, take building model rockets. The kit box states, "Ages 10+," but my two-year-old boys are engaged and surprisingly focused on building rockets, "just like daddy!"

Should I really make them wait another eight years before they can explore rocket science? Absolutely not!

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This exact philosophy is what inspired me to write "Rocket Science For Kids."

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Why should we keep complex, fascinating subjects away from young minds simply because we think it is "too difficult" for them?

My boys talk all the time about how "Mommy goes to work to build satellites that go on top of rockets to go to space."

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Kids are natural scientists, natural explorers, and natural engineers. They just need the right guidance and the freedom to try.

My new children's picture book, "Rocket Science For Kids," is now available for pre-order on Amazon! The official launch is this summer on July 1st, but you can reserve your copy today.

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Like my approach to parenting, this book doesn't underestimate what children can understand and accomplish way above their age range when given the chance. Teach your kids about turbopumps!

After all, if my toddlers can safely make their breakfast with a panini press, imagine what your kids could do with a bit of rocket science in their lives!

Reserve your copy here: amazon.com/dp/B0DNTWTSGY​

If you want to follow along with my book launch progress, sign up for my email newsletter at rocketscienceforkids.com. You'll receive more content and funny stories like this.

10/02/2024

Today is the 12th anniversary of my first day at SpaceX! My choice to go to SpaceX as my first job out of college transformed the rest of my life!

I was captivated by Elon Musk's rhetoric of making the planet multi-planetary. I was just a college student who loved building robots and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I loved sci-fi, and helping create a mult-planetary society sounded super sweet!

Boy, was I in for a rude awakening! SpaceX was very challenging! I was given impossible deadlines and pushed to go faster than I ever thought possible!

I was required to innovate and solve problems at a blistering rate! The cadence and schedule pressure might not have been fun at the moment, but that stress caused me to grow as an engineer in ways that I don't think any other company could have replicated. I learned so much, so fast, from the senior engineers I worked with.

In hindsight, the problems and challenges I overcame at SpaceX were Type II fun. I'm very grateful for my three years in the crucible of early SpaceX!

The picture below is one of the earliest pictures I could find of me at SpaceX (December 2012). At the time, I was working on Cargo Dragon.

As an homage to my first "real-job" engineering project, I've added an easter egg to my upcoming book. There is a Cargo Dragon on page 66 of my children's picture book "Rocket Science for Kids" (rocketscienceforkids.com).

One of the perks of writing your own book is that you can add as many Easter Eggs as you like. The Cargo Dragon in the picture book is sitting on the "triangle" dragon Ground Support Equipment (GSE) cart I designed in 2014, which was compact, universal, and ambidextrous. It replaced the older "square" version you can see in my picture. I am very proud of that tool design!

It is crazy to think of how different my life would be if I hadn't started my career at SpaceX!

P.S. My children's picture book "Rocket Science for Kids" will be out soon; if you are interested in an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC), then shoot me a quick email ([email protected])

09/27/2024

Is it possible to honestly explain the Gas Generator Rocket Engine Cycle 🚀🔥 to a 5-year-old? Find out in this 82-second video...

Watch this ultra-short video and let me know if you could have explained it simpler ⬇️
https://www.loom.com/share/1419aaea1afa4a42ba377af85739670e

This is a preview of Chapter 3 of my upcoming children's picture book, Rocket Science for Kids. I explain the basics of rocket engines in only 226 words in a language that your kids can actually understand, accompanied by new, 100% original illustrations.

This book will be going live on Amazon shortly. Sign up for my pre-launch newsletter (pun intended) at rocketscienceforkids.com to learn exactly when it will be available for ordering (as an Xmas present).

If you would like to be an early reviewer and get an Advance Reader Copy (ARC), then email me at [email protected]

Looking forward to your feedback 🚀

Author reading of Chapter 3 - How Rocket Engines Work - Rocket Science for Kids If you would like to follow for more and learn when it goes live on Amazon, sign up for my newsletter at rocketscienceforkids.com Would you like an Advanced Reader Copy of the entire book to show to your kids? Email me a...

09/07/2024

📚Today is National Read a Book Day! 🌞

I'm a voracious reader. It's one of the best habits I have developed in my lifetime.

I'm very grateful to my Mom for helping instill my love of reading.

When you think about it, books have insanely high ROI. A good book condenses a lifetime of specialty knowledge into a few hundred pages for 1400 books at last inventory. I'm sure the next decade will see it grow even more.

Can't stop, won't stop. Join me in celebrating this holiday! Keep learning!

08/16/2024

How does Starship survive the extreme forces of ascent? Very carefully :)

Typically, rockets are only designed to survive loads from 5-10 degrees of Angle of Attack (AoA). They also need to be pressure stabilized to prevent buckling. I wonder what SpaceX's max design AoA is?

Here is a preview of two pages from my upcoming children's picture book, Rocket Science for Kids. If you are a fan of SpaceX, then you will love this book. By my accounting, the book pages contain ~30% SpaceX references or SpaceX Easter eggs.

In this part of my book, I explain rocket tanks, loads, and pressure stabilization. The entire book teaches your kids (and you) the basics of rocket science at a true kindergarten level.

If you are:
🔴 Interested in learning about rocket science yourself
🔴 Have young kids that are interested in rocket science
🔴 Want to challenge yourself to learn things that you never thought you could learn (such as how helium pressure stabilized structures work)
🔴 Want want to challenge your kids to also learn hard concepts with the best book on rocket science

Then, follow me on LinkedIn and sign up for my pre-launch newsletter at rocketscienceforkids.com to learn when the book goes live on Amazon 🛒 and to receive more stories, pre-release pictures, and illustrations.

Looking forward to Starship Flight 5!