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Liftoff - The Desperate Early Days of SpaceX, and the Launching of a New Era (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R427
Discovery Miles 4 270
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Liftoff - The Desperate Early Days of SpaceX, and the Launching of a New Era (Hardcover)
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Loot Price R427
Discovery Miles 4 270
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The dramatic inside story of the first four historic flights that
launched SpaceX-and Elon Musk-from a shaky startup into the world's
leading edge rocket company. In 2006, SpaceX-a brand-new venture
with fewer than 200 employees-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 employees-engineers, designers,
mechanics, and executives, including Elon Musk-Eric Berger tells
the complete story of this foundational generation that transformed
SpaceX into the world's leading space company. Liftoff includes
more than a dozen photographs.
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