- 285 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
"Tackles the ever-changing, twenty-first-century space industry and what privately funded projects like Elon Musk's SpaceX mean for the future of space travel." —
Foreign Policy
Creating a seismic shift in today's space industry, private sector companies including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin are building a dizzying array of new spacecraft and rockets, not just for government use, but for any paying customer. At the heart of this space revolution are spaceports, the center and literal launching pads of spaceflight. Spaceports cost hundreds of millions of dollars, face extreme competition, and host operations that do not tolerate failures—which can often be fatal.
Aerospace journalist Joe Pappalardo has witnessed space rocket launches around the world, from the jungle of French Guiana to the coastline of California. In his comprehensive work Spaceport Earth, Pappalardo describes the rise of private companies and how they are reshaping the way the world is using space for industry and science. Spaceport Earth is a travelogue through modern space history as it is being made, offering space enthusiasts, futurists, and technology buffs a close perspective of rockets and launch sites, and chronicling the stories of industrial titans, engineers, government officials, billionaires, schemers, and politicians who are redefining what it means for humans to be a spacefaring species.
"Private companies and rich people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have taken over the exploration of space. Pappalardo explores this new sort of spacefaring at the outer reaches of business and technology." — The New York Times
"For anyone obsessed with how spaceflight grew into what it is today, this book is a must-have." — Popular Mechanics
Creating a seismic shift in today's space industry, private sector companies including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin are building a dizzying array of new spacecraft and rockets, not just for government use, but for any paying customer. At the heart of this space revolution are spaceports, the center and literal launching pads of spaceflight. Spaceports cost hundreds of millions of dollars, face extreme competition, and host operations that do not tolerate failures—which can often be fatal.
Aerospace journalist Joe Pappalardo has witnessed space rocket launches around the world, from the jungle of French Guiana to the coastline of California. In his comprehensive work Spaceport Earth, Pappalardo describes the rise of private companies and how they are reshaping the way the world is using space for industry and science. Spaceport Earth is a travelogue through modern space history as it is being made, offering space enthusiasts, futurists, and technology buffs a close perspective of rockets and launch sites, and chronicling the stories of industrial titans, engineers, government officials, billionaires, schemers, and politicians who are redefining what it means for humans to be a spacefaring species.
"Private companies and rich people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have taken over the exploration of space. Pappalardo explores this new sort of spacefaring at the outer reaches of business and technology." — The New York Times
"For anyone obsessed with how spaceflight grew into what it is today, this book is a must-have." — Popular Mechanics
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Spaceport Earth by Joe Pappalardo in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Physical Sciences & 21st Century History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Copyright
- Contents
- Map
- CHAPTER 1: Endings and Beginnings
- CHAPTER 2: Welcome to the Jungle
- CHAPTER 3: Moments in Mojave
- CHAPTER 4: Desert Hubris
- CHAPTER 5: Wild Horses at the Pilotless Research Station
- CHAPTER 6: Armageddon Spaceports
- CHAPTER 7: The ULA/SpaceX Feud
- CHAPTER 8: Texas
- CHAPTER 9: Waco and Tucson: New Arrivals
- CHAPTER 10: Cape Redux: 2016
- Epilogue: Full Circle
- Space Lingo
- Selected Sources
- Acknowledgments
- Index
- About the Author