Tom Corbett, Space Cadet

Why has Roger Manning suddenly gone dark? Can his pal Tom Corbett really be dead? What caused the strange trouble on Titan-and how is it connected to a rocket race in outer space? These are but a few of the mysteries confounding Captain Steve Strong and the big Venusian engineer, Astro, as the Solar Guard races against time to save the mining colony on Saturn's largest satellite. At stake are the lives of hundreds of men, women, and children; the future of the intrepid Polaris crew; and quite possibly the fate of the entire star system.

“On the Trail of the Space Pirates” is the third in a series first published in the 1950's and was the inspiration for many science fiction movies and television shows of the period. Filled with action, intrigue and good old fashioned values, “The Tom Corbett Space Cadet Adventures” still hold the power they did when they were originally published. In this adventure, pirates have cracked the security of the Solar Alliance and war has broken out in space. Tom, Roger and Astro are trapped tight in the center of all the action when Tom goes undercover on the pirate leader's spaceship. In their most dangerous and action-packed adventure, yet, the cadets must save the Solar Alliance and themselves. Remember when rockets were shaped like javelins with fins and being a "space cadet" was a good thing?

On term break from Space Academy, Tom Corbett and Roger Manning accompany their pal Astro to his native planet Venus for a well-deserved rest. There the cadets plan to hunt the biggest game in the star system, but their vacation is soon interrupted when the intrepid crew of the Polaris stumble across a secret plot to overthrow the Solar Alliance. Lost in the Venusian Jungle, unable to contact the Solar Guard, separated from their ship and each other, the hunters have now become the hunted: caught between the heavily armed forces of a would-be tyrant mad for power... and the tyrannosaurus Astro wounded years earlier-thirty tons of terror mad for revenge.

Tom Corbett, Roger Manning, and the big Venusian Astro have triumphed over the perils of interplanetary pirates, rogue reactors, and hostile environments. But when the Polaris is assigned to lead a "wagon train" of ships to colonize a distant world, the cadets find themselves in a dangerous situation that could finally signal the end of the "best unit" in the Academy. After Captain Strong abruptly departs under strange circumstances, Tom and his pals get entangled in a secret plot involving a belligerent scientist, a suspicious politician, and a planetary anomaly that crashes spaceships. And now the clock is ticking: the cadets can either solve this mystery fast... or face some truly unpleasant consequences.

Blast off!...for thrilling interplanetary adventures with courageous teen space explorer Tom Corbett and his pals, the brilliant but enigmatic Roger Manning & the affable Venusian engineer Astro. Here's Carey Rockwell's fabulous first foray into the future world of the Solar Alliance-featuring the origin story of Tom Corbett and the crew of the rocket ship Polaris, their early days at the Space Academy, and their death-defying encounter on Mars, an encounter that forged three young cadets into adults, lifelong friends, and a legendary team of spacemen.

At Space Academy, cadet Tom Corbett and his pals Roger and Astro are at the top of their class. So, whenever there's an important, and possibly dangerous, mission to be handed out, the crew of the Polaris "sticks out like a hot rocket." But this time the "Best Unit" in the Academy may be in over their heads. They've been placed under the command of Major "Blast-Off" Connel, a legendary spaceman who seems determined to cut the boys down to size. After their ship is refitted for hyperdrive, the crew of the Polaris heads into deep space for Alpha Centauri. Awaiting them are disciplinary demerits, planetary perils, a run-in with a pair of pirates, and enough trouble to last Roger Manning a lifetime!