Liftoff

‘Just read it.’ Elon Musk The dramatic inside story of SpaceX ― the world's leading edge rocket company, whose charismatic and controversial founder now advises the White House SpaceX has enjoyed a miraculous decade. Less than 20 years after its founding, it boasts the largest constellation of commercial satellites in orbit, has pioneered reusable rockets, and in 2020 became the first private company to launch human beings into orbit. Half a century after the space race SpaceX is pushing forward into the cosmos, laying the foundation for our exploration of other worlds. But before it became one of the most powerful players in the aerospace industry, SpaceX was a fledgling startup, scrambling to develop a single workable rocket before the money ran dry. The engineering challenge was immense; numerous other private companies had failed similar attempts. And even if SpaceX succeeded, they would then have to compete for government contracts with titans such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing, who had tens of thousands of employees and tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. SpaceX had fewer than 200 employees and the relative pittance of $100 million in the bank. In Liftoff, Eric Berger takes readers inside the wild early days that made SpaceX. Focusing on the company’s first four launches of the Falcon 1 rocket, he charts the bumpy journey from scrappy underdog to aerospace pioneer. drawing upon exclusive interviews with dozens of former and current engineers, designers, mechanics, and executives, including Elon Musk. The enigmatic Musk, who founded the company with the dream of one day settling Mars, is the fuel that propels the book with a daring vision for the future of space – this same bravado has now landed him a role in the second Trump administration.

‘Just read it.’ Elon Musk The dramatic inside story of SpaceX ― the world's leading edge rocket company, whose charismatic and controversial founder now advises the White House SpaceX has enjoyed a miraculous decade. Less than 20 years after its founding, it boasts the largest constellation of commercial satellites in orbit, has pioneered reusable rockets, and in 2020 became the first private company to launch human beings into orbit. Half a century after the space race SpaceX is pushing forward into the cosmos, laying the foundation for our exploration of other worlds. But before it became one of the most powerful players in the aerospace industry, SpaceX was a fledgling startup, scrambling to develop a single workable rocket before the money ran dry. The engineering challenge was immense; numerous other private companies had failed similar attempts. And even if SpaceX succeeded, they would then have to compete for government contracts with titans such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing, who had tens of thousands of employees and tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. SpaceX had fewer than 200 employees and the relative pittance of $100 million in the bank. In Liftoff, Eric Berger takes readers inside the wild early days that made SpaceX. Focusing on the company’s first four launches of the Falcon 1 rocket, he charts the bumpy journey from scrappy underdog to aerospace pioneer. drawing upon exclusive interviews with dozens of former and current engineers, designers, mechanics, and executives, including Elon Musk. The enigmatic Musk, who founded the company with the dream of one day settling Mars, is the fuel that propels the book with a daring vision for the future of space – this same bravado has now landed him a role in the second Trump administration.

"A colorful page-turner." --Walter Isaacson, New York Times Book Review "As important a book on space as has ever been written." --Homer Hickam, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rocket Boys The dramatic inside story of the historic flights that launched SpaceX--and Elon Musk--from a shaky start-up into the world's leading-edge rocket company. SpaceX has enjoyed a miraculous decade. Less than 20 years after its founding, it boasts the largest constellation of commercial satellites in orbit, has pioneered reusable rockets, and in 2020 became the first private company to launch human beings into orbit. Half a century after the space race it is private companies, led by SpaceX, standing alongside NASA, pushing forward into the cosmos, and laying the foundation for our exploration of other worlds. But before it became one of the most powerful players in the aerospace industry, SpaceX was a fledgling start-up, scrambling to develop a single workable rocket before the money ran dry. The engineering challenge was immense; numerous other private companies had failed similar attempts. And even if SpaceX succeeded, they would then have to compete for government contracts with titans such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing, who had tens of thousands of employees and tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. SpaceX had fewer than 200 employees and the relative pittance of $100 million in the bank. In Liftoff , Eric Berger, senior space editor at Ars Technica , takes readers inside the wild early days that made SpaceX. Focusing on the company's first four launches of the Falcon 1 rocket, he charts the bumpy journey from scrappy underdog to aerospace pioneer. We travel from company headquarters in El Segundo, to the isolated Texas ranchland where they performed engine tests, to Kwajalein, the tiny atoll in the Pacific where SpaceX launched the Falcon 1. Berger has reported on SpaceX for more than a decade, enjoying unparalleled journalistic access to the company's inner workings. Liftoff is the culmination of these efforts, drawing upon exclusive interviews with dozens of former and current engineers, designers, mechanics, and executives, including Elon Musk. The enigmatic Musk, who founded the company with the dream of one day settling Mars, is the fuel that propels the book, with his daring vision for the future of space. Filled with never-before-told stories of SpaceX's turbulent beginning, Liftoff is a saga of cosmic proportions.

"A colorful page-turner." --Walter Isaacson, New York Times Book Review "As important a book on space as has ever been written." --Homer Hickam, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rocket Boys The dramatic inside story of the historic flights that launched SpaceX--and Elon Musk--from a shaky start-up into the world's leading-edge rocket company. SpaceX has enjoyed a miraculous decade. Less than 20 years after its founding, it boasts the largest constellation of commercial satellites in orbit, has pioneered reusable rockets, and in 2020 became the first private company to launch human beings into orbit. Half a century after the space race it is private companies, led by SpaceX, standing alongside NASA, pushing forward into the cosmos, and laying the foundation for our exploration of other worlds. But before it became one of the most powerful players in the aerospace industry, SpaceX was a fledgling start-up, scrambling to develop a single workable rocket before the money ran dry. The engineering challenge was immense; numerous other private companies had failed similar attempts. And even if SpaceX succeeded, they would then have to compete for government contracts with titans such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing, who had tens of thousands of employees and tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. SpaceX had fewer than 200 employees and the relative pittance of $100 million in the bank. In Liftoff , Eric Berger, senior space editor at Ars Technica , takes readers inside the wild early days that made SpaceX. Focusing on the company's first four launches of the Falcon 1 rocket, he charts the bumpy journey from scrappy underdog to aerospace pioneer. We travel from company headquarters in El Segundo, to the isolated Texas ranchland where they performed engine tests, to Kwajalein, the tiny atoll in the Pacific where SpaceX launched the Falcon 1. Berger has reported on SpaceX for more than a decade, enjoying unparalleled journalistic access to the company's inner workings. Liftoff is the culmination of these efforts, drawing upon exclusive interviews with dozens of former and current engineers, designers, mechanics, and executives, including Elon Musk. The enigmatic Musk, who founded the company with the dream of one day settling Mars, is the fuel that propels the book, with his daring vision for the future of space. Filled with never-before-told stories of SpaceX's turbulent beginning, Liftoff is a saga of cosmic proportions.

Looking for the ebook? Head to www.couchtobarbell.com ! Feeling strong is life-changing. But most of us never even get the chance to experience the difference it makes, because we think strength is only for linebackers and Olympic athletes. Wrong! Strength is for everyone, and no one has more to gain from it than people who have never tried it. LIFTOFF aims to make daily life never again feel as physically unmanageable as it does now (insert infomercial b-roll of me bobbling a suitcase as I try to put it in the overhead bin and it bursts open, intimate underthings flying everywhere). This program will help you learn how to think about strength training in new ways that are directly helpful to you. If squats hurt your knees, or doing any lifting strains your lower back, that's not because you are not meant to do these things; it probably means no one ever taught you the basics of how to do them properly. LIFTOFF is here to teach you how to do it properly. As a Swole Woman columnist, the top two questions I am asked are "How did you get started?" and "How did you keep going?" LIFTOFF: Couch to Barbell answers both of those questions. Whether you've never tried strength training before, or feel like you've tried and failed a million times, this 12-week couch-to-lifting-weights program will take you from zero experience with using weights or being in a weight room, to confidently claiming the squat rack.

Looking for the ebook? Head to www.couchtobarbell.com ! Feeling strong is life-changing. But most of us never even get the chance to experience the difference it makes, because we think strength is only for linebackers and Olympic athletes. Wrong! Strength is for everyone, and no one has more to gain from it than people who have never tried it. LIFTOFF aims to make daily life never again feel as physically unmanageable as it does now (insert infomercial b-roll of me bobbling a suitcase as I try to put it in the overhead bin and it bursts open, intimate underthings flying everywhere). This program will help you learn how to think about strength training in new ways that are directly helpful to you. If squats hurt your knees, or doing any lifting strains your lower back, that's not because you are not meant to do these things; it probably means no one ever taught you the basics of how to do them properly. LIFTOFF is here to teach you how to do it properly. As a Swole Woman columnist, the top two questions I am asked are "How did you get started?" and "How did you keep going?" LIFTOFF: Couch to Barbell answers both of those questions. Whether you've never tried strength training before, or feel like you've tried and failed a million times, this 12-week couch-to-lifting-weights program will take you from zero experience with using weights or being in a weight room, to confidently claiming the squat rack.