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

by Eric Berger

Overview

How did a shaky startup defy expectations and become the world’s leading spaceflight company? Get the untold story of the team of game-changers, led by a well-known billionaire, who are sending NASA astronauts to space—and just might carry the human race to Mars.

One company dominates the modern space industry: SpaceX, founded by controversial entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2002, now sending more payloads into 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 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 land by themselves and fly again
• Transporting a 120-foot rocket from Texas to Florida
• Recovering from a “Hell’s Bells” accident before the first Falcon Heavy launch
• Frantically searching the ocean for the first rocket that splashed down intact
• Identifying the $20 part that led to a rocket exploding in flight
• Slicing up an engine days before it launched into space

From launchpad explosions to a pernicious cricket infestation to the demanding management style of Musk himself, the rise of SpaceX was beset with challenges and far from inevitable. Find out how the startup beat the odds and flew high enough to outpace their rivals . . . and where they’re going next.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637745274
Publisher:	BenBella Books, Inc.
Publication date:	09/24/2024
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	67,147
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.32(d)

About the Author

Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of the book Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX. Eric has an astronomy degree from the University of Texas and a master’s in journalism from the University of Missouri. He previously worked at the Houston Chronicle for 17 years, where the paper was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2009 for his coverage of Hurricane Ike. A certified meteorologist, Eric founded Space City Weather and lives in Houston.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“I have followed the rise of SpaceX for almost two decades, and flown on the company’s rockets and spacecraft. But only after reading Reentry can I appreciate the challenges SpaceX overcame to launch a new space age.”
—Michael López-Alegría, six-time astronaut
 
“Ever wonder how Elon Musk and SpaceX have managed to single-handedly disrupt the entrenched and all-powerful aerospace industry in record time? Eric Berger takes us inside the meeting rooms, factories, and test stands where it all happened. Colored with personalities, technical details, and context, Reentry tells the as-yet-untold story of the drive and determination it took to reuse rockets and launch a new space age.”
—Lori Garver, former NASA deputy administrator and author of Escaping Gravity
 
“In Reentry, Eric Berger goes behind the scenes to tell the stories of the heroes behind SpaceX’s success. He lays bare what it takes to succeed in an unforgiving business, while also leaving the reader questioning if there might be another way. The result is a brilliant narrative of individual and collective toil, strife, sacrifice, and ultimate triumph—a must-read, and nothing less than a critical addition to humanity’s historical record.”
—Andy Lapsa, cofounder and CEO of Stoke Space
 
“Eric’s books, Liftoff and now Reentry, capture the story of perhaps the world’s most remarkable and ambitious corporate endeavor, led by the exceptionally bold and accomplished visionary Elon Musk. These works take the reader on a behind-the-scenes journey through SpaceX’s highs and lows, the flaws, failures, and world-changing accomplishments.”
—Jared Isaacman, commander of the first all-civilian spaceflight