Spaceport Earth: The Reinvention of Spaceflight
Mar 2019 · Abrams
Ebook
285
Pages
About this ebook
"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
"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 Bez...
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About the author
Joe Pappalardo is a contributing editor at Popular Mechanics. His work has also appeared in Smithsonian Air & Space, Esquire.com, Time magazine, American Way, and Mental Floss, and he has appeared on the History Channel, the Science Channel, C-SPAN, CNN, Fox News Channel, and The John Batchelor Show.
Joe Pappalardo is a contributing editor at Popular Mechanics. His work has also appeared in Smithsonian Air & Space, Esquire.com, Time magazine, American Way, and Mental Floss, and he has appeared on the History Channel, the Science Channel, C-SPAN, CNN, Fox News Channel, and The John Batchelor S...
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