UID:
kobvindex_ZLB34796904
Edition:
Unabridged
ISBN:
9780063067981
Content:
" The dramatic inside story of the first four historic flights that launched SpaceX8212 and Elon Musk8212 from a shaky startup into the world's leading edge rocket company. In 2006, SpaceX8212 a brand-new venture with fewer than 200 employees8212 rolled its first, single-engine rocket onto a launch pad at Kwajalein Atoll. After a groundbreaking launch from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Falcon 1 rocket designed by Elon Musk's engineers rose in the air for approximately thirty seconds. Then, its engine flamed out, and the rocket crashed back into the ocean. In 2007, SpaceX undertook a second launch. This time, the rocket rose far into space, but just before reaching orbit it spun out of control. Confident of success in 2008, Musk and his team launched their third rocket with several paying customers. The first stage executed perfectly, but instead of falling away, it thudded into the second stage. Another failure. Elon Musk had only budgeted for three attempts when he founded SpaceX. Out of money and with a single Falcon 1 rocket left in its factory, SpaceX decided to try one last, dramatic launch. Over eight weeks, engineers worked furiously to prepare this final rocket. The fate of Musk's venture mirrored the trajectory of this slender, single-engine rocket aimed toward the skies. If it crashed and burned, so would SpaceX. In September 2008, SpaceX's last chance for success lifted off . and accelerated like a dream, soaring into orbit flawlessly. That success would launch a miraculous decade for the company, in which SpaceX grew from building a single-engine rocket to one with a staggering 27 engines,created two different spacecraft, and mastered reusable-rocket descents using mobile drone ships on the open seas. It marked a level of production and achievement that has not been seen since the space race of the 1960s. But these achievements would not have been possible without SpaceX's first four flight tests. Drawing on unparalleled access and exclusive interviews with dozens of former and current employees8212 engineers, designers, mechanics, and executives, including Elon Musk8212 Eric Berger tells the complete story of this foundational generation that transformed SpaceX into the world's leading space company. "
Content:
Biographisches: "Eric Berger is a reporter and editor based in Houston. After a long career in the Houston Chronicle , he joined Ars Technica in 2015 as the site's senior space editor, covering SpaceX, NASA, and everything beyond. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his coverage of Hurricane Ike in the Houston Chronicle in 2008." Rezension(2): "〈a href=http://lj.libraryjournal.com/ target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/libraryjournal_logo.png alt=Library Journal border=0 /〉〈/a〉: January 1, 2021 In this page-turner, award-winning journalist Berger explores the critical early days of SpaceX, the rocket manufacturing company founded by Elon Musk. The story begins in late 2000 when Musk, inspired by a conversation about space travel, researched NASA's website to see how far the agency had progressed regarding a human mission to Mars. When he discovered that NASA had no plans to do so, Musk decided to start his own company, SpaceX, with the bold idea of building spaceships to send people to Mars. Musk began to assemble a team of brilliant minds and creative engineers, including Tom Mueller, Anne Chinnery, Hans Koenigsmann, and Gwynne Shotwell. Berger examines the background of each of the team members and the circumstances that led them to join SpaceX. They would face numerous challenges: launch failures and liquid oxygen issues,excessive travel and long days and nights,and relentless pressure from Musk. Despite these challenges, they accomplished remarkable things, which culminated in the launch of the Falcon 1 rocket on its fourth attempt on September 28, 2008--the first ever privately funded rocket to go into orbit. VERDICT An extraordinary story of compelling narrative nonfiction that is recommended for those interested in space travel or for anyone looking for an exciting read. --Dave Pugl, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, ILCopyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission. " Rezension(3): "〈a href=http://www.kirkusreviews.com target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/kirkus_logo.png alt=Kirkus border=0 /〉〈/a〉: Starred review from February 1, 2021 An up-close account of the otherworldly trajectory of tech magnate Elon Musk. Ars Technica editor Berger opens with a telling scene set in South Texas in late September 2019, when Musk visited a factory building a rocket that one day will be bound for Mars. Sending that ship--and people--to the red planet is of a parcel with Musk's pioneering work in remaking the global aerospace industry, which includes privatizing efforts that had long belonged to government agencies such as NASA--which, though funded to the tune of some $25 billion per year, still remains several giant leaps away from sending a few astronauts to Mars. Getting the SpaceX rocket safely to distant Mars may not work, Musk confessed before adding, But it probably will. By Berger's swiftly moving account, it will, not just because Musk is an endlessly driven, intensely focused sort who could use a little more fun in life--at one point, Musk ruefully allows that it wouldn't have hurt to have just one cocktail on the damn beach of a distant Pacific atoll used in test flights--but also because Musk is surrounded by brilliant scientists recruited from academia and industry who are thoroughly invested in the project's success. They want that golden ticket for the world's greatest thrill ride, Berger writes, evoking another obsessed genius, Willie Wonka. Musk now leads not just SpaceX, but also the Tesla electric automobile company as well as a neural technology company and a firm devoted to digging new transportation tunnels below overcrowded cities. Even so, he remains closely attentive to matters that aviation engineers have often overlooked, such as recycling rocket stages: If an airline discarded a 747 jet after every transcontinental flight, writes the author, passengers would have to pay $1 million for a ticket. Readers interested in business and entrepreneurship, as well as outer space, will find Berger's book irresistible. COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. " Rezension(4): "〈a href=https://www.booklistonline.com target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/booklist_logo.png alt=Booklist border=0 /〉〈/a〉: February 15, 2021 Tech billionaire Elon Musk set out to revolutionize the space industry, and founded aerospace company SpaceX in the hope of one day landing humans on Mars. Berger, senior space editor at Ars Technica, was granted unprecedented access to interview Musk, as well as current and former employees of SpaceX, and here shares first-hand accounts of their experiences. The main focus isn't Musk himself, but the engineers, technicians, vice presidents, and lieutenants: passionate and driven people bold enough to take on Musk's ambitious vision. Berger shares how they came to work for Musk, their experiences of toil and sweat, uncertainty and victory. There's very little technical detail in this book,instead, it's a story about people and their faith in one man's compelling mission. What stands out most is the author's command of pacing. He depicts race-against-the-clock crises as fast-paced as a thriller, with moments reminiscent of Apollo 13 or The Martian (albeit with slightly lower stakes). An exciting and insightful read for anyone interested in the story behind the early days of SpaceX. COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. "
Language:
English
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