Orbital

Orbital is a critically acclaimed 2023 novel by English author Samantha Harvey that won the 2024 Booker Prize. Described as a slim, poetic novella (ranging from 136 to 160 pages depending on the edition), it takes place entirely over a single 24-hour period aboard the International Space Station. The book follows six fictional astronauts and cosmonauts as they complete 16 orbits, experiencing 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets while reflecting on the profound beauty, vulnerability, and ecological fragility of Earth below.