
Liftoff
Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX
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Narrated by:
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Rob Shapiro
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By:
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Eric Berger
About this listen
The dramatic inside story of the first four historic flights that launched SpaceX - and Elon Musk - from a shaky startup into the world's leading-edge rocket company.
In 2006, SpaceX - a brand-new venture with fewer than 200 employees - rolled its first, single-engine rocket onto a launch pad at Kwajalein Atoll. After a groundbreaking launch from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Falcon 1 rocket designed by Elon Musk’s engineers rose in the air for approximately 30 seconds. Then, its engine flamed out, and the rocket crashed back into the ocean.
In 2007, SpaceX undertook a second launch. This time, the rocket rose far into space, but just before reaching orbit it spun out of control. Confident of success in 2008, Musk and his team launched their third rocket with several paying customers. The first stage executed perfectly, but instead of falling away, it thudded into the second stage. Another failure. Elon Musk had only budgeted for three attempts when he founded SpaceX.
Out of money and with a single Falcon 1 rocket left in its factory, SpaceX decided to try one last, dramatic launch. Over eight weeks, engineers worked furiously to prepare this final rocket. The fate of Musk’s venture mirrored the trajectory of this slender, single-engine rocket aimed toward the skies. If it crashed and burned, so would SpaceX. In September 2008, SpaceX’s last chance for success lifted off...and accelerated like a dream, soaring into orbit flawlessly.
That success would launch a miraculous decade for the company, in which SpaceX grew from building a single-engine rocket to one with a staggering 27 engines; created two different spacecraft, and mastered reusable-rocket descents using mobile drone ships on the open seas. It marked a level of production and achievement that has not been seen since the space race of the 1960s.
But these achievements would not have been possible without SpaceX’s first four flight tests. Drawing on unparalleled access and exclusive interviews with dozens of former and current employees - engineers, designers, mechanics, and executives, including Elon Musk - Eric Berger tells the complete story of this foundational generation that transformed SpaceX into the world’s leading space company.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 Eric Berger (P)2021 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall
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The private space industry’s consensus leader, SpaceX, headed by controversial billionaire Elon Musk, was worth an estimated $187 billion in 2023 while taking on more roles—flying cargo, supplies, and astronauts to outer space, and even playing a central role as rocket supplier to NASA’s Artemis moon mission. In SpaceX: Elon Musk and the Final Frontier, science journalist and editor Brad Bergan tells the story of SpaceX. Bergan examines every detail surrounding SpaceX’s efforts to accelerate humankind’s exploration and understanding of outer space.
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Nothing new
- By mooreaa on 02-11-25
By: Brad Bergan
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Elon Musk
- Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
- By: Ashlee Vance
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley's most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs - a real-life Tony Stark - and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new makers.
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The best of competence porn
- By Tristan on 08-20-16
By: Ashlee Vance
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The Space Economy
- Capitalize on the Greatest Business Opportunity of Our Lifetime
- By: Chad Anderson
- Narrated by: Dan Strutzel
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Accomplished venture capitalist and Space Capital founder Chad Anderson offers investors, entrepreneurs, and aspiring professionals powerful tools and information for understanding how space-based technologies have, and will continue to, transform enterprise, government, and consumer markets for decades to come.
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Great book
- By Luis on 08-05-23
By: Chad Anderson
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Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future: Young Readers' Edition
- By: Ashlee Vance
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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With exclusive access to Elon, his family, and his friends, this book traces Elon's journey from a kid in South Africa to a young man in the United States, his dramatic technical inventions, and his world-changing companies. Elon has sparked new levels of innovation in the world, and this book gives young listeners a detailed but fast-paced look at his story.
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Awesome book!
- By Anonymous User on 07-25-18
By: Ashlee Vance
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The Wrong Stuff
- How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned
- By: John Strausbaugh
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In the wake of World War II, with America ascendant and the Soviet Union devastated by the conflict, the Space Race should have been over before it started. But the underdog Soviets scored a series of victories—starting with the 1957 launch of Sputnik and continuing in the years following--that seemed to achieve the impossible. It was proof, it seemed, that the USSR had manpower and collective will that went beyond America's material advantages. They had asserted themselves as a world power. But in The Wrong Stuff, John Strausbaugh tells a different story.
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Excellent and entertaining
- By thomas r dickson dds on 04-04-25
By: John Strausbaugh
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The Space Barons
- By: Christian Davenport
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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The Space Barons is the story of a group of billionaire entrepreneurs who are pouring their fortunes into the epic resurrection of the American space program. Nearly a half century after Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, these Space Barons—most notably Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, along with Richard Branson and Paul Allen—are using Silicon Valley-style innovation to dramatically lower the cost of space travel and send humans even further than NASA has gone.
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An Incredible Modern Story Well Told
- By Greg Autry on 04-06-18
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Escaping Gravity
- My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age
- By: Lori Garver
- Narrated by: Lori Garver
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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The inside look at how the battle of the space billionaires began and why it matters, Escaping Gravity is former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver’s firsthand account of how a handful of revolutionaries outmaneuvered the system of political patronage and bureaucracy that threatened the space agency. The success of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, and countless other commercial space efforts were preceded by decades of work by a group of people Garver calls “space pirates.”
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Political Agenda!
- By Really, True and Sometimes Right on 10-20-22
By: Lori Garver
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Elon Musk
- The Life, Lessons & Rules for Success
- By: Influential Individuals
- Narrated by: J Eric Barton
- Length: 1 hr and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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This audiobook covers how Elon Musk went from getting bullied in school to small-time entrepreneur to CEO of two major companies that seem like they're straight out of science fiction - and how he almost went broke along the way. The aim of this audiobook is to be educational and inspirational with actionable principles you can incorporate into your own life straight from the great man himself.
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Inspirational
- By Stephanie on 12-20-18
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Apollo
- By: Charles Murray, Catherine Bly Cox
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 18 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Apollo is the behind-the-scenes story of an epic achievement. Based on exhaustive research that included many exclusive interviews, Apollo tells how America went from a standing start to a landing on the moon at a speed that now seems impossible. It describes the unprecedented engineering challenges that had to be overcome to create the mammoth Saturn V and the facilities to launch it. It takes you into the tragedy of the fire on Apollo 1, the first descent to the lunar surface, and the rescue of Apollo 13.
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Best book ever for space, ops, and engineering fans
- By JDM on 10-29-19
By: Charles Murray, and others
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Rocket Billionaires
- Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race
- By: Tim Fernholz
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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For the larger-than-life personalities now staking their fortunes on the development of rocket ships, the new race to explore space could be a dead end, a lucrative opportunity - or the key to humanity's salvation. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos take center stage in this fast-paced narrative as they attempt to disrupt the space economy, feed their own egos, and maybe even save the world.
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Interesting book; hard to listen to
- By K. Thai on 04-12-18
By: Tim Fernholz
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Play Nice but Win
- A CEO's Journey from Founder to Leader
- By: Michael Dell, James Kaplan
- Narrated by: Michael Dell
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1984, soon-to-be college dropout Michael Dell hid signs of his fledgling PC business in the bathroom of his University of Texas dorm room. Almost 30 years later, at the pinnacle of his success as founder and leader of Dell Technologies, he found himself embroiled in a battle for his company’s survival. What he’d do next could ensure its legacy — or destroy it completely.
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Not perfect, but worth a listen
- By James S. on 11-09-21
By: Michael Dell, and others
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Elon Musk
- Risking It All
- By: Michael Vlismas
- Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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As an awkward Pretoria schoolboy who loved comics and science fiction, Elon Musk's early years and singular family background were crucial in forming his stellar ambitions. Journalist and author Michael Vlismas, who attended the same high school as Musk, knows well the environment that shaped him and offers new insights into Musk's development, including his troubled relationship with his father. Tracing his remarkable life—this is the revealing new story of a man driven to preserve the optimism he sees in humanity and find a future for humans "out there among the stars".
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Enjoyed story telling style
- By Karen Mattor on 07-17-23
By: Michael Vlismas
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The Founders
- The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley
- By: Jimmy Soni
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Today, PayPal’s founders and earliest employees are considered the technology industry’s most powerful network. Since leaving PayPal, they have formed, funded, and advised the leading companies of our era, including Tesla, Facebook, YouTube, SpaceX, Yelp, Palantir, and LinkedIn, among many others. As a group, they have driven 21st-century innovation and entrepreneurship. Their names stir passions; they’re as controversial as they are admired.
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Wonderful, Engaging & Insightful
- By Ismael Becerra on 02-26-22
By: Jimmy Soni
What listeners say about Liftoff
Highly rated for:
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- Gary H
- 03-06-21
Great Story, Go SpaceX!
Well researched and written story of the founding and initial launches of SpaceX. Having followed SpaceX for 15 years, I was pleased to hear things that were new and truly "inside" scoops. Thanks Eric for the time and effort to document the beginning.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 03-18-21
An incredible story!
I really, really enjoyed this book. Unlike many other books that center around Elon Musk, this book centers around the key employees and the demands placed on them. It really shines a light on why SpaceX was successful and will continue to be so. The relentless pursuit of more, undeniably, leads to more.
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1 person found this helpful
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- D. Hausch
- 04-24-21
Inspiring
An amazing true story that will inspire you. The storytelling is thoughtful and clear. An absolute joy to listen to, follow along, and cheer for the SpaceX team.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Steve Borges
- 04-16-21
An Amazing Tale
An amazing tale told eloquently. loved every minute of it. Can't wait to watch Starship go orbital after hearing about the struggles this team faced just getting Falcon 1 orbital.
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- Anonymous User
- 05-05-21
LIFTOFF is the BEST BOOK since DUNE
Eric Berger’s new book reads like a science fiction novel with one difference... it’s REAL.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ezzy
- 07-23-21
Worthy book of the story of a innovative company
Eric Berger has written a book that does justice to the personal sacrifices and awe-inspiring engineering achievements of early SpaceXers.
The lessons drawn from this book should be studied by aspiring entrepreneurs, establish companies, business schools and government agencies.
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- Robert ONeill
- 09-11-21
If you liked Apollo 13…
A lot of these books can tend to be PR puff pieces. This is good objective journalism / storytelling / rocket-surgery. What they are doing is impossible by all expert accounts, yet it is happening. If Ron Howard got ahold of this story, he might have put Apollo 13 on the back burner.
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- David M. Hollingshead
- 08-30-21
Elon Musk and team
I can't imagine any person could focus like Elon does Liftoff and power play, awesome insight.
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- Tamer
- 03-22-21
Invigorating and Enlightening
We are lucky to have people like Musk and his team of talented doers. Thanks
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- Anonymous User
- 04-09-21
Love it!
Already listened through twice. Lots of stories from several of the employees makes you get close to the struggle to get to orbit.
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