Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX
- Downloads：7252
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-10 09:51:15
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Eric Berger
- ISBN：0062979973
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
"This is as important a book on space as has ever been written and it's a riveting page-turner， too。" —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 startup 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 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， 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。
The dramatic inside story of the historic flights that launched SpaceX—and Elon Musk—from a shaky startup 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 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， 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。
Reviews
Kim A
，
God bok om spacex's begynnelse。 God bok om spacex's begynnelse。 。。。more
Viktor Madarász
，
A nice， very readable and detailed book about the early days of SpaceX。 Recommended for all people interested in space tech。
Elan
，
A memoir that reads like an action film！ Explains how Elon tackled the problem “make space flight reusable and affordable” and used that to drive development of an industry disruptor。
James Giammona
，
Great first-hand accounts of the early days of SpaceX and the work that went into getting the Falcon 1 into orbit。 Loved reading it！Some well-meaning constructive criticism。 The reason I didn't give this five stars is that it felt rushed and narrow。 I feel like there's this whole larger context of what the launch market looked like， why Elon and other engineers thought this was possible financially and engineering-wise with their small team， and what some of the hardest or most elegant design ch Great first-hand accounts of the early days of SpaceX and the work that went into getting the Falcon 1 into orbit。 Loved reading it！Some well-meaning constructive criticism。 The reason I didn't give this five stars is that it felt rushed and narrow。 I feel like there's this whole larger context of what the launch market looked like， why Elon and other engineers thought this was possible financially and engineering-wise with their small team， and what some of the hardest or most elegant design challenges and decisions were。How did these team members contextualize， learn， test， and make these decisions？The series of events were certainly portrayed in detail but I felt that the first-person decision making and rationale was under-described。 How does one learn to become a great engineer especially in their mid-twenties？ Is it just a lot of hands-on experience under more senior mentors？ How did Elon learn？ How has SpaceX continued to innovate as it has pushed into uncharted engineering territory？ I feel like these answers deserve much more elaboration and investigation than I've seen before。 That's what I really want to know。 。。。more
Tim
，
I’m no huge Elon musk fan， but， this was interesting。。。
enrique
，
historia bien completa y detallada de los primeros 4 lanzamientos del Falcon 1！ Es bien completo y cuenta la perspectiva de varios de los primeros empleados， de todos los problemas que tuvieron y la cultura del trabajo en SpaceX！ Super fácil y rápido de leer y me rei varias veces
Justin
，
A story that despite the at times problematic figure at its head deserves to be told and to be known by more people。
Andrey Frolov
，
The book covers the first few years of SpaceX。 To be more precise， it looks mostly at people and the sacrifices they made。 How they worked 18 hours days。 How they sacrificed their families。 How they sleep on the concrete block at the airport entrance。 How they had had to dive inside the rocket to open the valve manually in the descending plane to prevent its collapse from the pressure difference。 Book has several cool war stores and photos we haven't seen before。 I didn't know that they got kick The book covers the first few years of SpaceX。 To be more precise， it looks mostly at people and the sacrifices they made。 How they worked 18 hours days。 How they sacrificed their families。 How they sleep on the concrete block at the airport entrance。 How they had had to dive inside the rocket to open the valve manually in the descending plane to prevent its collapse from the pressure difference。 Book has several cool war stores and photos we haven't seen before。 I didn't know that they got kicked out of Vandenberg Air Force base to keep some secret payload safe。 Didn't know about the huge issue with ablative vs regenerative cooling and Musk vs Muller conflict。But。。 I didn't enjoy the book that much。 I wanted to know more about the company， technical challenges， hard decisions。 How the hell did they convince NASA to invest 1。2B in SpaceX？ Where did the money come from for the 4th Falcon 1 launch？ What the hell happen in Russia？ What about The Mars Society？ How did Musk end up building his own rocket？ Was it really Zubrin who convinced him？ So many questions not answered。。。In some way， this book is similar to "The Right Stuff"。 Good story， but not exactly the story I was looking for。 。。。more
Marek Vesely
，
Definitely THE BEST book written about SpaceX and Elon Musk's journey and one of the greatest books written about rocketry。 Anyone who wants to get a glimpse to the very early days of space revolution - this is a must read！ Definitely THE BEST book written about SpaceX and Elon Musk's journey and one of the greatest books written about rocketry。 Anyone who wants to get a glimpse to the very early days of space revolution - this is a must read！ 。。。more
Abhijeet Rathore
，
Being a space and a spaceX fan， you might enjoy it。 But if you have read the Musk biography already， this books add little to that。
Matt Lanza
，
As a friend and colleague of Eric’s， I hoped I could write an objective review of this book。 Thankfully， I can。 This is a fantastic read， and it’s honestly a book I struggled to put down at times。 I knew nothing about SpaceX beyond they launch rockets， Elon Musk， and they do some cool stuff。 This was highly informative and illuminating， and it gave my great respect for their accomplishments。 Eric’s writing style is breezy and engaging but thorough。 If you want you could finish this in a day or t As a friend and colleague of Eric’s， I hoped I could write an objective review of this book。 Thankfully， I can。 This is a fantastic read， and it’s honestly a book I struggled to put down at times。 I knew nothing about SpaceX beyond they launch rockets， Elon Musk， and they do some cool stuff。 This was highly informative and illuminating， and it gave my great respect for their accomplishments。 Eric’s writing style is breezy and engaging but thorough。 If you want you could finish this in a day or two easily。 He balances a good explanation of some of the technicalities of rocket science with the events they encountered along the way。 It’s just really well done。 。。。more
Pablo Lobo
，
As an engineer currently working at a startup that is trying to build a small launch vehicle， this book has definitely served in further fueling my passion and love for aerospace ventures in their early stages。What the author mentions at the end of the book regarding its protagonists being highly interested in sharing their part of this amazing story comes as no surprise。 It really was an epic tale， filled with risk and hard work。 It having evolved into what SpaceX is and represents today is onl As an engineer currently working at a startup that is trying to build a small launch vehicle， this book has definitely served in further fueling my passion and love for aerospace ventures in their early stages。What the author mentions at the end of the book regarding its protagonists being highly interested in sharing their part of this amazing story comes as no surprise。 It really was an epic tale， filled with risk and hard work。 It having evolved into what SpaceX is and represents today is only the icing on the cake; the story would have been worth telling regardless of its end results。 。。。more
ko chien wu
，
As obvious as the title， the book focus on how spacex， an unknown startup founded by。 Com billionaire， turn into the most proceeding private space company with state-of-the-art tech。 I enjoyed the way Eric Berger composed this book as it's very objective and delightful。 While people see SpaceX as an industry giant by natural， we discovered the reality we， including Elon， all have to face when building startup。 Inspiring and motivating！ As obvious as the title， the book focus on how spacex， an unknown startup founded by。 Com billionaire， turn into the most proceeding private space company with state-of-the-art tech。 I enjoyed the way Eric Berger composed this book as it's very objective and delightful。 While people see SpaceX as an industry giant by natural， we discovered the reality we， including Elon， all have to face when building startup。 Inspiring and motivating！ 。。。more
Dennis
，
Amazing what some determination， a good work ethic and leadership will accomplish。
Nakul
，
An engrossing look into the early days of SpaceX， from 2002-08。 The book charts the company's inception， its trials of launching the Falcon 1 3 times， and ends at the start of Falcon 9。 We spend a lot of time with the key players in Elon's team， and that was the most appealing part to me。 Many books on SpaceX/ modern space tend to be hagiographic around Elon Musk。 While this book has some of that too， its still very clear on how tough a boss he was， and his often unrealistic demands。 Regardless， An engrossing look into the early days of SpaceX， from 2002-08。 The book charts the company's inception， its trials of launching the Falcon 1 3 times， and ends at the start of Falcon 9。 We spend a lot of time with the key players in Elon's team， and that was the most appealing part to me。 Many books on SpaceX/ modern space tend to be hagiographic around Elon Musk。 While this book has some of that too， its still very clear on how tough a boss he was， and his often unrealistic demands。 Regardless， its brilliant to see the sheer will and grit that the early SpaceX team had in making the company the pioneer it is today。 Will definitely recommend everyone read this， even non-space fans。 The writing is simple and easy to understand and Eric Berger has enough access and interviews to actually put you next to the characters。 Read this！ 。。。more
George Brownfield
，
Excellent documentary of the creation of SpaceX， how close they came to failure， and the intense work put in to come out as a success。 Well written by the space writer for Ars Technica
Richard New
，
Liftoff， by author Eric Berger， chronicles the desperate early years of the up and coming company called Space Exploration Technologies。 The reader will recognize it better by its sexier moniker: SpaceX。Founded in 2002 by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk， Berger explores the companies bouncing， rough path to orbit with its first rocket， the Falcon 1， version 3。 Berger chronicles the extreme， even reckless， early years of SpaceX as it barely lived and breathed to build each iteration of Fa Liftoff， by author Eric Berger， chronicles the desperate early years of the up and coming company called Space Exploration Technologies。 The reader will recognize it better by its sexier moniker: SpaceX。Founded in 2002 by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk， Berger explores the companies bouncing， rough path to orbit with its first rocket， the Falcon 1， version 3。 Berger chronicles the extreme， even reckless， early years of SpaceX as it barely lived and breathed to build each iteration of Falcon and then fight its way to reach each frenzied launch。This is the SpaceX I didn’t know。 Antsy and ambitious， Musk clawed and scraped his newborn company forward。 Storming against the tide， he was on his way to upset and eventually serve notice to the established aerospace community that change was coming—and coming fast。 Long before the almost routine reusable Falcon 9 flights of today， this driven， fire-in-its-belly infant of a company sought life and existence simply to prove its worth。And prove its worth， it has。 NASA took notice and fanned its life-flame。Read about SpaceX’s early years and its electrifying rise to world attention！ 。。。more
Remo
，
Excellent audio book for anyone interested in space， Elon Musk or entrepreneurship。 I absolutely loved the narration， actually sought out opportunities to do chores or hike so I could listen to it。 I'm sure it would be an excellent read。 Very personal， looking at key people in the formation of SpaceX and getting the Falcon 1 launched。 Not much time spent on the follow on rockets， it's mostly about the early days of the company and the tribulations they had to overcome。 The only flaw is the hagio Excellent audio book for anyone interested in space， Elon Musk or entrepreneurship。 I absolutely loved the narration， actually sought out opportunities to do chores or hike so I could listen to it。 I'm sure it would be an excellent read。 Very personal， looking at key people in the formation of SpaceX and getting the Falcon 1 launched。 Not much time spent on the follow on rockets， it's mostly about the early days of the company and the tribulations they had to overcome。 The only flaw is the hagiography， there is obvious hero-worship of Musk and SpaceX by the author。 His enthusiasm is infectious， though。 。。。more
Steve Sarrica
，
Eric Berger's Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX is a brisk， well-written read that ends far too soon。 I wanted more details， more anecdotes， and more launches！ I hope that Mr。 Berger is hard at work on further volumes documenting the SpaceX story。 In the meantime， if you want to get more of his work covering SpaceX， you can follow his articles at arstechnica。com — and no I don't work there。 Eric Berger's Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX is a brisk， well-written read that ends far too soon。 I wanted more details， more anecdotes， and more launches！ I hope that Mr。 Berger is hard at work on further volumes documenting the SpaceX story。 In the meantime， if you want to get more of his work covering SpaceX， you can follow his articles at arstechnica。com — and no I don't work there。 。。。more
Kristjan
，
Well captured and using the words from Martian: "You do the math。 You solve one problem and you solve the next one and then the next。 And if you solve enough problems， you get to 。。。 （achieve your goal）。 Well captured and using the words from Martian: "You do the math。 You solve one problem and you solve the next one and then the next。 And if you solve enough problems， you get to 。。。 （achieve your goal）。 。。。more
Robin J
，
Reading chapter one It was so familiar that I thought I must have read this book and must have been so unimpressed with it I had forgotten。 Ytube has been my main source of info on Spacex so I believe I have a pretty good grasp of their history。 Getting into the book it went in to the launches of Falcon1 from Omelek Island。 I was somewhat familiar but this really went into the personal trials of what happened and it was a very good narrative。 Learned a lot。
Hank
，
Cinematic modern history。 Seriously。 I can't wait to see the movie。 Other reviewers point out that the book is more about the SpaceX engineers and earliest key employees than it is about Elon Musk。 This is true。 Musk is written less like a protagonist， and more like one of the aspects of the challenges that face the team。 He's the boss with a lot at stake and some high expectations。 Berger does a great job conveying the tension and humanizing those who narrowly prevented this world-changing rock Cinematic modern history。 Seriously。 I can't wait to see the movie。 Other reviewers point out that the book is more about the SpaceX engineers and earliest key employees than it is about Elon Musk。 This is true。 Musk is written less like a protagonist， and more like one of the aspects of the challenges that face the team。 He's the boss with a lot at stake and some high expectations。 Berger does a great job conveying the tension and humanizing those who narrowly prevented this world-changing rocket company from falling apart and becoming a forgettable footnote in aerospace history。 What a great book。 。。。more
Paresh
，
Great book by Mr。 Berger who I follow as he covers space for Ars Technica。 Only complaint I have is that it's short。 Blame the publisher for that。 Wonderful history of SpaceX of its beginning。 Hopefully he writes another on Starship。 Great book by Mr。 Berger who I follow as he covers space for Ars Technica。 Only complaint I have is that it's short。 Blame the publisher for that。 Wonderful history of SpaceX of its beginning。 Hopefully he writes another on Starship。 。。。more
Gloria
，
fascinating story。 I knew the rudimentary details of this story， but there are so many riveting and dramatic moments。Someone PLEASE make a movie of this story！
Brahm
，
As a SpaceX fan I couldn't put down this book。 It focuses on the early years and key players in the company who struggled to design， build and launch a rocket for absurdly cheap， in an even more absurdly short timeframe。 I would not have the stamina to work at the pace of these early employees， wow。 But in the epilogue， no one seems to regret the experience。 Kudos to that team。 The book mostly focuses on events from 2002 through 2008， which is perfect - the right amount of time seems to have pas As a SpaceX fan I couldn't put down this book。 It focuses on the early years and key players in the company who struggled to design， build and launch a rocket for absurdly cheap， in an even more absurdly short timeframe。 I would not have the stamina to work at the pace of these early employees， wow。 But in the epilogue， no one seems to regret the experience。 Kudos to that team。 The book mostly focuses on events from 2002 through 2008， which is perfect - the right amount of time seems to have passed to tell this story， and it doesn't too too deep into recent events （so it won't be immediately irrelevant）。 Essential， fun， exciting， easy， and short （<260pgs） reading for space geeks。 。。。more
Jak Krumholtz
，
It’s been wild watching SpaceX’s achievements。 The fact that landing rockets has become pedestrian is incredible。 Launches are so frequent I no longer walk down the street to watch them。 It’s not unusual to pass fairings heading south on my morning commute。 I knew the fourth launch was crucial but hadn’t realized just how risky it had been， that section was really great。 Berger must have had some great access to track down these stories。 Also I need a Gwynne Shotwell bio now。 She’s amazing。
Leo
，
Gripping stuff
Kipp C
，
This book contains great lessons on human ingenuity by revealing behind-the-scence glimpses at one of the greatest engineering accomplishments of the 21st century。 The narrative could benefit by being a bit more linear。 There's a lot of jumping around。 It always took me a moment at the beginning of each chapter to know where I was at in the timeline。 "Is this before the first flight， or in between the first and second？ Maybe it's right after the second？"The science is laid out in layman terms， w This book contains great lessons on human ingenuity by revealing behind-the-scence glimpses at one of the greatest engineering accomplishments of the 21st century。 The narrative could benefit by being a bit more linear。 There's a lot of jumping around。 It always took me a moment at the beginning of each chapter to know where I was at in the timeline。 "Is this before the first flight， or in between the first and second？ Maybe it's right after the second？"The science is laid out in layman terms， which makes it a fun and fast read。 The last quarter of the book is exceptiinally good。 It actually had me on the edge of my seat。 。。。more
Augustinas
，
Well written 5/5。 I read a few years back "Elon Musk: Tesla， SpaceX， and the Quest for a Fantastic Future"， and it had almost no overlap with this one。 Very fresh data， to catch-up on how the space industry is progressing。 Interesting quote: "Talent and entrepreneurship will always win over experience and established/safe organizations" Well written 5/5。 I read a few years back "Elon Musk: Tesla， SpaceX， and the Quest for a Fantastic Future"， and it had almost no overlap with this one。 Very fresh data， to catch-up on how the space industry is progressing。 Interesting quote: "Talent and entrepreneurship will always win over experience and established/safe organizations" 。。。more
Jedidiah Boggs
，