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Here Be Dragons is
the story of SpaceX.
In the pre-dawn hours of May 22, 2012, a conventional looking rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on what was only its third flight. Yet it was carrying a spacecraft to conduct
history’s first commercial mission to the International Space Station, and along with it,
America’s best chance to restore its space-faring capability.
The total taxpayer cost for developing the rocket and the spacecraft, including its previous
flights, was $396 million, a fraction of the amount NASA had spent on any comparable
project.
For Elon Musk and SpaceX Exploration Technologies Corp, a company
founded only a decade earlier, it was a stunning accomplishment,
yet it was only one stop on a journey which leads all the way to
Mars.
From its earliest trials and near disaster on the remote Pacific
atoll of Kwajalein to four successful missions to the International
Space Station, Here Be Dragons vividly details the first era of
SpaceX.
Set against a national space program in complete disarray at
the end of the Shuttle era, it is also the story of a unique public/
private partnership with NASA, one that holds the promise of a
new era of space exploration.
For anyone who has ever looked to the small, ruddy
planet in the night sky and felt its inexorable pull,
it may also be the story of something much greater,
the opening act in one of the most significant
developments in human history, the founding of a second
branch of human civilization…on Mars.
"SpaceX is an exciting work in progress and this book offers a treasure trove of insight regarding its past, where it stands today and the firm's future plans. This is a unique and fact-filled volume that's expertly written about the people, hardware and hopes of an entrepreneurial company making a difference. Right on the Money!" Leonard David - Space.com's Space Insider Columnist
"Massively impressed - an unforgettable read and a book I will refer to again and again. An intelligent analysis - impossible to put down - sets new standards in space literature" David Baker - Spaceflight Magazine
"What SpaceX is doing to make spaceflight affordable and reliable is an amazing story. Stewart Money's thoroughly researched and well written look inside the SpaceX revolution is a must-read for anyone who cares about our future in space." Andrew Chaikin - author of A Man on the Moon
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AVAILABLE NOW!Place your order now. $31.95 plus
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ISBN
9781926837338
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