Bezos’s patent for rocket recovery, 199–200
booster rocket trial, 2
concerns over asteroid collisions, 37–38
Dragon spacecraft
early entrepreneurialism, 35–36
Explorers Club, 198
explosion, 240
Falcon 1’s flawless test, 143–144
Falcon 9, 164–166, 227–230
family and background, 122–123
financial investment, 254
Grasshopper’s successful launch and landing, 224
International Astronautical Congress address, 237–239, 242, 245–246
launch technology, 270–271
lunar base plans, 272–273
management style, 151–156
Mars Oasis, 39–40
NASA contracts, 47–50
NASA’s data gathering on, 45–47
on Bezos’s successful launch of a reusable rocket, 223–224
on ‘space’ versus ‘orbit,’ 224–225
passion for aviation and space, 123–124
Personal Spaceflight Federation, 115–118
rivalry with Bezos, 229–230, 233–235
shuttles to the space station, 270–271
SpaceX explosion, 270
United Launch Alliance merger, 53–54
See also SpaceX
NASA
abandoning Launch Pad 39A, 173–174
Ares rockets, 156–157
ARPA involvement in, 129
asteroid collisions, 36–37
Beal advocating for private space programs, 32–33
Bezos on, 21
birth of the space program, 171–172
commercial crew program, 209–211
competition over Launch Pad 39A, 181–184
Constellation program, 139–140, 156–161, 244, 246
COTS award, 137–141
data gathering on SpaceX, 45–47
decline of the human space program, 85–86, 116–117, 246–247
drawdown following Apollo programs, 116–117, 160–162
hazards of space flight, 120–121
hiatus in human spaceflight, 208–209
immortal youth, 121
increasing reliance on the commercial sector, 157–159
ISS shuttles, 38–39
Mars exploration, 38
Obama on deep space exploration, 161–162
private company contract bids, 47–50
Saturn V rocket recovery, 189
SEDS members, 70
shuttle retirement, 172–173
SLS/Orion program, 244–245
SpaceX Dragon, 144–145, 175–178, 270–271
SpaceX Falcon 1 development, 132–134, 155–156
SpaceX partnership for Mars flights, 238, 244–245
squeezing out the private sector, 33–34
success of SpaceShipOne, 96
young Jeff Bezos’s essay for, 65–66
National Air and Space Museum, 42, 73, 116
National Medal of Science, 47
national security concerns, 241, 268
National Transportation Safety Board, 214, 231
Never Mind the Bollocks (album), 105
New Armstrong rocket (Blue Origin), 263
New Glenn rocket (Blue Origin), 261–263
New Shepard rocket (Blue Origin), 6–7
apogee, 224
awards, 258
competition over Launch Pad 39A, 183–184
creation of, 75
designing manned ships, 255, 257
engine test, 180
New Glenn and New Armstrong, 262–263
self-guiding system, 190
test to the Kármán line, 221–223
Very Big Brother, 261
Niagara Falls, 120
Nixon, Richard, 47
Northrop Grumman, 51–53
Obama, Barack, 6, 156–158, 160–164, 244, 274
Oberstar, James, 124
Ocean Stalwart (research ship), 191
O’Keefe, Sean, 45, 47
O’Neill, Gerard, 67–71, 74–75
OneWeb, 249
Orbital Sciences, 210
Orion spacecraft (Lockheed Martin), 139–140, 159–160, 162, 244–245
Orszag, Peter, 159
Orteig Prize, 80
pad escape test, 179–180
Page, Larry, 249
Pan Am Airlines, 109–110
passengers in space, 255–261, 265–266, 268, 270–271
Patrick, Nicholas, 256–257
PayPal, 36
Personal Spaceflight Federation, 117–119, 125–126
Pettit, Don, 175
Pike, John, 137
Pioneer missions, 223
Pitt, Brad, 112
planetary colonization. See Mars colonization and missions; moon colonization and missions
Planetary Defense Coordination Office, 37
Planetary Resources, 249
poker, 27–30
Polk, Kevin, 70–71
Poore, Steve, 192
Princeton University, 67–71
prison break (New Mexico), 11, 16–17
private space programs, 32–33. See also Beal Aerospace; Blue Origin; SpaceX; United Launch Alliance; Virgin Galactic
Propulsion Module 2, 168–169
Purdue University, 249–250
railgun technology, 23
rapid unscheduled disassembly (RUD), 203
Rather, Dan, 68
real estate market: Andy Beal’s fortune, 30–31
regulating the private space industry, 118, 124–126, 153
remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), 193, 197–198
Ressi, Adeo, 38
reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), 199–200
reusable rockets
Blue Origin’s successful launch and landing, 222–224
developing spaceplanes and shuttles, 268–269
fueling private funding for SpaceX, 249
history of, 25
importance of, 24
landings, 3
launch technology, 270–271
Saturn V rocket recovery, 190–191
Reynolds, Alastair, 76
risk as part of the American way, 122–124
rocket technology
Beal advocating for private space programs, 32–33
Beal Aerospace, 30–32
Bezos-Musk discussions over rocket architecture, 55–57
Bezos’s fascination with, 21–24
Blue Origin’s development stages, 261–263
Musk’s Falcon 1 rocket unveiling, 42–44
Musk’s goal of improving launch capability and reliability, 40–41
Musk’s projected Mars travel, 242–245
Musk’s rivalry with Bezos over orbital launch, 229–230, 233–235
New Shepard’s self-guiding system, 222–223
origins and growth of SpaceX, 41–43
See also specific rockets and programs
Rocketplane Kistler, 137, 140–141
Rohrabacher, Dana, 245
Rolling Stones, 106
Rose, Charlie, 26, 75
Russia
Atlas V rocket, 206
costs of the space program, 160
decline of NASA programs, 157–158
Musk’s search for rockets, 40
shuttle service, 173
Rutan, Burt, 79–90, 92–94, 96, 108, 112, 116, 212–213
sabotage accusations: SpaceX explosion, 242
safety concerns
Branson’s trans-Atlantic balloon flight, 101–102
informed consent standards, 118–119
Mars travel, 243–244
people’s lack of concern over space travel safety, 113
regulating the emerging commercial industry, 118
space shuttle disasters, 117
SpaceShipOne, 93
Tuckerman Ravine, 119
See also death
Sarsfield, Liam
, 45–48
satellite technology
Beal Aerospace, 31–32
Defense satellite launch contracts, 52–54
launching infrastructure and technology, 268–269
national security responsibilities, 52–53
shrinking size and increasing affordability of satellites, 249
SpaceX explosion destroying satellite cargo, 239–241
Sputnik launch, 59–60
surveillance, 267–268
tracking asteroid collisions, 36–37
Saturn V rocket, 66, 129, 172, 188–192
Scaled Composites, 231
creation of, 80
kinks in the SpaceShipOne design, 93
Melvill’s SpaceShipOne test flight, 87–91
pilot rivalries, 82–83, 86–87
second flight of SpaceShipOne, 87
skepticism of, 86
SpaceShipOne crash, 82–84
SpaceShipTwo crash, 212–214
Virgin GlobalFlyer, 107
See also SpaceShipOne
Schatz, Tom, 49
Schirra, Martin M., Jr., 173
Schmidt, Eric, 249
science fiction literature, Jeff Bezos’s love of, 64–65
Scott, Robert Falcon, 103
Seabed Worker (salvage ship), 187–188, 192–195
Seattle Museum of Flight, 254
self-guided rocket systems, 222–223
September 11, 2001, 52, 127
Seveneves (Stephenson), 24
Sex Pistols, 105
Shackleton, Ernest, 119
Shelby, Richard, 160
Shepard, Alan, 274
Shotwell, Gwynne, 48, 132–134, 137, 141–142, 154–155, 229, 240, 248
shuttle programs, 268–269
Columbia explosion, 41, 43, 96, 117
decline of NASA’s program, 85–86, 96, 172–173
increasing reliance on the private sector, 160–161
Musk’s interest in creating, 38–39
NASA’s Space Launch Initiative, 33
Siebold, Peter, 80–81, 86–89, 92–93, 95, 212–214
Simpson, Larry, 20, 24–25
60 Minutes (television program), 68, 106, 204
smoking, 63–64
social media
Musk’s rivalry with Bezos over orbital launch, 229–230
rocket landings, 3
SpaceX explosion destroying satellite cargo, 239–241
SpaceX site, 204
See also Twitter
sonar search of the ocean floor, 191–192
sonic boom, 22–23
Soviet Union
Bezos’s acquisition of artifacts from, 72
Branson’s offer to go into space, 107
Sputnik launch, 59–60
space exploration and colonization
as human survival, 32
asteroid habitation, 71
Blue Origin startup, 74
O’Neill’s proposal for, 67–71
See also asteroids; Mars colonization and missions; moon colonization and missions
Space Launch Initiative, 33
Space Launch System (SLS), 244–245
space memorabilia, 251–252
space race, early, 235
‘space’ versus ‘orbit,’ 224–225
spaceplane development, 79–80, 269. See also SpaceShipOne; SpaceShipTwo
Spaceport America, 211–212, 232
SpaceShipOne (Virgin Galactic), 5, 265
Branson’s purchase of, 92
crash on landing, 82–83
creation of, 107–108
design and flight trajectory, 80–81
fourth test flight, 95–97
kinks in the design, 93
Melvill’s escape from death, 120
Melvill’s test flight, 87–91
Paul Allen’s anxiety over manned flight, 91–92
pilots, 81–83, 86–87
retirement, 116
Rutan-Allen collaboration, 85
third test flight, 94–95
SpaceShipTwo (Virgin Galactic), 6–7, 97, 108–109, 212–216, 230–233, 269
SpaceX
booster recovery and reusability, 198–199
booster rocket trial, 22
conflict over DoD contract, 51–52
corporate culture, 45–47, 149–156
COTS award, 137–141
DARPA’s Falcon program, 129–130
Dragon spacecraft, 144–145, 174–178
explosion, 239–241, 270
Falcon 1 rocket, 42–44, 130–136, 142–144, 154–155
Falcon 9 rocket, 126, 217, 225–230
frugality in building Falcon 1, 154–155
goals in founding, 123
Grasshopper’s successful launch and landing, 224
land acquisition, 34–36
liquid nitrogen tank, 149–150
Mars travel, 242–248
Musk’s rivalry with Bezos over orbital launch, 229–230
NASA’s commercial crew program, 209–210
NASA’s data gathering on, 45–47
national security launch contract bid, 241
Obama visit, 163–164
origins and growth, 41–42, 54–55
passenger plane development, 265–266
post-explosion test launch, 225–226
private funding, 248–249
rapid growth and fame, 237–239
rocket technology research, 40–41
spacesuit
threatening United Launch Alliance merger, 53–54
See also Falcon rockets; Musk, Elon
Sputnik satellite, 59–60
Stapelfeldt, Karl, 70
Star Trek (television series), 20, 65, 251
Star Trek Beyond (film), 254
Star Wars (film franchise), 42
Stasny, Ronald, 10, 18–20
Stephenson, Neal, 21–22, 24–25
Stone, Brad, 21
Stratolaunch, 6, 268
Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), 70–71
Suffredini, Michael, 177
Sumwalt, Robert, 231
Super Bowl ad, 109
surveillance satellite capabilities, 267–268
Tai, Alex, 116
Teets, Peter, 53
Tesla, 235
Thatcher, Margaret, 105–106
Thiel, Peter, 141
Timm, Marc, 138
Titanic quest, 188–189
Titusville, Florida, 171–174
Today show, 215
Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, 68
tourism: Bezos’s plan for space tourism, 261–262
trans-Atlantic balloon flight, Branson’s, 101–104
transformational capability, 127
tsunamis, 36–37
Tuckerman Ravine, 119
Twitter
Bezos’s rocket recovery, 223
commercial space movement competition, 4
Musk as cult figure, 237–238
Musk on ‘space versus ‘orbit,’ 224
Musk supporters defending, 229–230
Musk-Bezos conflict, 233–234
SpaceX explosion, 240
Tyson, Neil deGrasse, 39
United Launch Alliance, 234
Blue Origin partnership, 182, 208
competition over Launch Pad 39A, 181–184
creation of, 53–54
monopoly on federal contracts, 205–208, 235
Mosdell and, 150
national security launches, 247–248
Obama’s visit, 163
poaching SpaceX customers, 241
SpaceX competition for launch contracts, 204–206
United States Patent Office, 199
Valentine’s Day conference, 115–119
Van Horn Advocate, 20–21, 25
Vandenberg Air Force Base, 48, 130–131
vertical landings, 224
Virgin Atlantic, 104–106
Virgin Cola, 106
&nbs
p; Virgin Galactic
competition from Blue Origin, 256
creation of, 106–108
creation of SpaceShipOne, 107–108
customer support for space travel, 111–113
Personal Spaceflight Federation’s Valentine’s Day meeting, 115–116
planned Spaceport America launch, 211–212
purchase of SpaceShipOne, 92
SpaceShipTwo, 231–233, 269
SpaceShipTwo accident, 212–216
See also Branson, Richard; SpaceShipOne; SpaceShipTwo
Virgin GlobalFlyer, 107
Virgin Records, 106
Vision for Space Exploration, 156, 159
vomit comet, 113
von Braun, Wernher, 47, 66, 84, 255–256
Voyager missions, 121
Walker, Steven, 128–130, 134, 136
war, space technology and, 127–129
Washington Post, 253–254
weaponization of space programs, 127–129, 131–132
Weaver, David, 168
Weeks, Dave, 132, 136
Weinstein, Joshua, 66–67, 73
Werner, Rudolph, 67
“whales,” 27–29
Whitehorn, Will, 126
WhiteKnightOne, 80–81, 94–96
WhiteKnightTwo, 213, 269
Whitesides, George, 212, 232
Whittinghill, George, 116
Whole Foods, 254
Williams, Lawrence, 42, 48–49, 54
Wilson, Heather, 268
Witt, Stu, 116
Wonderbra, 112
World War II, 103
X-37B spaceplane, 163
X.com, 36
Yeager, Chuck, 81
Zefram LLC, 20
Zip2, 36
Zuckerberg, Mark, 239