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The frenzied race by stargazing entrepreneurs to build a new economy in space is one of the most exciting tales of our time. Ashlee Vance, with his immersive reporting and exuberant writing, has captured the ambition and idealism of the colorful characters who are not only transforming our world but our heavens. It's the next tech frontier, and Vance turns it into a thriller." —Walter Isaacson, bestselling author of Steve Jobs and The Code Breaker Vance has had a front-row seat and singular access to this peculiar and unprecedented moment in history. When the Heavens Went on Sale travels through private company headquarters, labs, and top-secret launch locations around the world, including California, Texas, Alaska, New Zealand, Ukraine, India, and French Guiana. He chronicles it all in full color: the private jets, communes, gun-toting bodyguards, drugs, espionage investigations, and multimillionaires guzzling booze to dull the pain as their fortunes disappear. Firefly Aerospace philosophy - Focus on the very next thing and don't plan too far ahead. One of the founders of Firefly was ex-SpaceX and he learned from Elon Musk to focus on finishing the very next thing and not to plan to far in the future. Cause then you spend your time just making plans and nothing else and also you don't focus on the here and now. Focusing on the very next thing is what will get you to your end goal. destination. Space.com: Do you have a favorite story in the book highlighting international space outside of the United States?
In the end, the Doves didn't just fly around aimlessly. Planet used differential drag to control the satellites’ movements. Imagine solar panels acting like sails, pushing against the faint trace of atmosphere in space. This was mostly a theoretical concept until the company proved it could work. And work it did. Before we look at these companies’ pursuits, let’s first see what they have in common and how these traits have changed the space industry forever.I suppose I should have spent more time thinking about what “The Misfits, etc” meant on the cover. Looking at it now I realize this book was to be just a pep rally for the big names involved in the project. Vance also explores the broader implications of this new space era, both for humanity and for the planet. He examines the potential benefits and risks of opening up space to more players, such as democratizing access to information, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, creating new industries and jobs, but also increasing orbital debris, disrupting astronomy, and sparking geopolitical conflicts. He also raises some ethical and philosophical questions about our relationship with space, such as what it means to be a spacefaring civilization, who owns and governs space, and what are our responsibilities towards other life forms. A momentous look at the private companies driving a revolutionary new economy in space, from the New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk Vance spent years researching this book including months spent interviewing key players at these four companies (and others), and traveling around the globe to witness launches, successes, and failures. His writing is engaging and accessible, though I thought he relied on direct quotations from some of his more colorful subjects a bit too much.
A] fantastic new book ... I can highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in space, especially if you want to know how space startups work behind the public promises and marketing ... [ When the Heavens Went on Sale] provides real insight into these companies and the people who toil in them." — Ars Technica Vance: I want people to know that, yes, this is a space book and a business book, but it's really meant to be a story of larger-than-life characters in stranger-than-fiction situations. I worked very hard — and spent five years getting myself in all these rooms — to give people what I think is the first time ever sitting inside these companies and seeing what commercial space looks like at this level. I wanted to open this world up to the readers.I remember enjoying Ashlee Vance's biography of Elon Musk (although it's hard to like his subject nowadays), so I was eager to read the next volume of his space non-fiction saga. And I was not disappointed. Vance is a gifted storyteller, and once again he focuses not on science or technology but on the people behind it, while simultaneously painting a broad panorama of the current state of play in the field. This is one of the best books ever written about NewSpace. Ashlee Vance’s new book, When the Heavens Went on Sale, is an incredibly entertaining account of today’s space industry. Vance previously wrote an autobiography about Elon Musk. This time, Vance writes about launching satellites into orbit. Lots and lots of satellites. The frenzied race by stargazing entrepreneurs to build a new economy in space is one of the most exciting tales of our time. Ashlee Vance, with his immersive reporting and exuberant writing, has captured the ambition and idealism of the colourful characters who are not only transforming our world but our heavens. It's the next tech frontier, and Vance turns it into a thriller Walter Isaacson, bestselling author of STEVE JOBS
One big revelation about this book and the big takeaway from this book is the space infrastructure that surrounds our planet and the coming space infrastructure that will increase in this decade and beyond. There is currently about 5000 satellites surrounding the Earth. By the end of the decade, it is predicated the amount of satellites surrounding Earth will increase to 50,000 - 100,000. That's a lot! There are couple type of satellites around surrouding Earth: Weather Satellites, Imaging satellites that take photos of the Earth, Internet satellites that shoot internet down to the ground allowing anyone to connect to the internet no matter how remote they are (like Starlink), ones that anyone to do phone call by satellites, GPS, and even more. All these type of satellites already improve our lives and we don't think about it that much. And there are even more satellites going up within the next decade. Similar to how electronics improved every few years, the electronics in satellites also improve and we will have improved satellites In short, Planet was able to make giant strides in space because they started out small – literally. By pioneering new satellite control methods and demonstrating the power of miniaturization, they’ve greatly impacted our understanding of our home planet – and all of that from a bunch of space-loving hippies! Cofounded by a trio of self-proclaimed space-nerds-slash-hippies – Robbie Schingler, Will Marshall, and Chris Boshuizen – Planet began with a unique vision. The founders believed in the power of these miniature satellites, lovingly named Doves, to be a force for good. These weren't stealthy spy satellites for snooping; they were the all-seeing eyes that could help us better understand and optimize our world.
Tales of rocket startups
A very interesting and comprehensive (read: very long) journalistic profile of four lower profile (read: not founded by Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk) consumer space companies that have arisen in the last ~10-20 years and have had varying fortunes:
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