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Reentry: SpaceX, Elon Musk, and the Reusable Rockets that Launched a Second Space Age

2024

Synopsis

In the 21st century, space travel has become a commercial venture. And one company dominates the modern space industry: SpaceX, founded by controversial entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2002, and now sending more payloads into Earth orbit than the rest of the world combined.

But Musk didn’t do it alone. The saga of SpaceX is the story of a diverse cadre of true believers in the limitless potential of space travel. For the first time, Reentry relates the definitive chronicle of how this daring team of risk-takers was able to redefine what it takes to reach the stars.

With Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist Eric Berger, author of Liftoff, as your guide, you’ll accompany SpaceX’s innovative thinkers during their toughest trials and most audacious moments, including:

Creating the first orbital rockets that can land by themselves and fly again

Transporting a 120-ft rocket from Texas to Florida by truck via back roads

Fixing a cracked engine nozzle using hand tools, just days before liftoff

Sending a wheel of cheese into orbit

Searching the ocean for the first rocket that splashed down intact

Being in the room where it happened—when SpaceX nearly lost big to Boeing

Identifying the $4 part that led to a rocket exploding in flight

Modifying a Tesla to prevent implosion in space

From launchpad explosions to a pernicious cricket infestation to the harsh management style of Musk himself, the rise of SpaceX was beset with challenges and far from inevitable. Find out how a start-up that no one thought could get off the ground flew high enough to outpace their rivals . . . and where they’re going next.

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Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX

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