Rocket Billionaires
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race
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Narrated by:
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Erin Moon
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By:
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Tim Fernholz
About this listen
The inside story of the new race to conquer space, as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos spend billions of their own money to explore the final frontier
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. We also meet a supporting cast of equally fascinating entrepreneurs, from the irrepressible British mogul Richard Branson to satellite Internet visionary Greg Wyler. All are united in the profound conviction that commercial space transportation will transform our world for the better.
Tim Fernholz's fly-on-the-wall reporting captures an industry in the midst of disruption, as NASA seeks to preserve its ambitious space exploration program, traditional aerospace firms like Boeing and Lockheed Martin scramble to adapt to new competitors, lobbyists tussle over public funds, and lawmakers try to prevent this new space race from sparking global conflict. With privileged access to top executives at SpaceX, including Musk himself, as well as at Blue Origin, NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK, and Virgin Galactic, Fernholz spins this high-stakes marathon into a riveting tale of rivalry and survival.
Cover design by Brian Moore.
©2018 Tim Fernholz (P)2018 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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For decades there have been two iconic Japanese auto companies. One has been endlessly studied and written about. The other has been generally underappreciated and misunderstood. Until now. Since its birth as a motorcycle company in 1949, Honda has steadily grown into the world’s fifth largest automaker and top engine manufacturer, as well as one of the most beloved, most profitable, and most consistently innovative multinational corporations.
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it was ok.
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Mars Direct
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- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
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The human race is at a crossroads. In the coming years, we will make decisions regarding our human spaceflight program that will lead to one of two familiar futures: the open universe of Star Trek, where we allow ourselves the opportunity to spread our wings and attempt to flourish as an interplanetary species - or the closed, dystopian, and ultimately self-destructive world of Soylent Green. If we ever hope to live in the future that is the former scenario, our first stepping stone must be a manned mission to Mars.
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Not what i thought it was going to be..
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In the Shadow of the Moon
- A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965-1969
- By: Francis French, Colin Burgess
- Narrated by: Gary L. Willprecht
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- Unabridged
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In the Shadow of the Moon tells the story of the most exciting and challenging years in spaceflight, with two superpowers engaged in a titanic struggle to land one of their own people on the moon. Drawing on interviews with astronauts, cosmonauts, their families, technicians, and scientists, as well as rarely seen Soviet and American government documents, the authors craft a remarkable story of the golden age of spaceflight as both an intimate human experience and a rollicking global adventure.
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Interesting book for space afficionados
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The Imagineers of War
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The definitive history of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon agency that has quietly shaped war and technology for nearly 60 years. Founded in 1958 in response to the launch of Sputnik, the agency's original mission was to create "the unimagined weapons of the future". Over the decades, DARPA has been responsible for countless inventions and technologies that extend well beyond military technology.
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Blandly written story about DARPA politics
- By Syed on 04-18-17
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Skunk Works
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From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, the never-before-told story behind America's high-stakes quest to dominate the skies. Skunk Works is the true story of America's most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation's brilliant boss for nearly two decades, the chronicle of Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works is a drama of Cold War confrontations and Gulf War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against fantastic odds.
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Ben Rich's life story...but not in that order
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Car Guys vs. Bean Counters
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In 2001, General Motors hired Bob Lutz out of retirement with a mandate to save the company by making great cars again. He launched a war against penny pinching, office politics, turf wars, and risk avoidance. After declaring bankruptcy during the recession of 2008, GM is back on track thanks to its embrace of Lutz's philosophy. When Lutz got into the auto business in the early sixties, CEOs knew that if you captured the public's imagination with great cars, the money would follow.
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Opinionated and one-sided
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The Network
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This is the origin story of the airwaves - the foundational technology of the communications age - as told through the 40-year friendship of an entrepreneurial industrialist and a brilliant inventor. David Sarnoff, the head of RCA and equal parts Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, and William Randolph Hearst, was the greatest supporter of his friend, Edwin Armstrong, developer of the first amplifier, the modern radio transmitter, and FM radio.
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The Classic Struggle
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Glory Lost and Found
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Glory Lost and Found: How Delta Climbed from Despair to Dominance in the Post-9/11 Era tells the story of Delta's dramatic tumble into bankruptcy and how it climbed its way back to pre-eminence despite hurricane-force headwinds: high fuel prices, a hostile takeover bid, relentless competition, economic meltdowns, and geopolitical shocks.
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For Aviation Enthusiasts & the Business Industry
- By Striker on 03-24-17
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Losing the Signal
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Losing the Signal is a riveting story of a company that toppled global giants before succumbing to the ruthlessly competitive forces of Silicon Valley. This is not a conventional tale of modern business failure by fraud and greed. The rise and fall of BlackBerry reveals the dangerous speed at which innovators race along the information superhighway.
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Fascinating
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The Dream Machine
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When the Marines decided to buy a helicopter-airplane hybrid "tiltrotor" called the V-22 Osprey, they saw it as their dream machine. The tiltrotor was the aviation equivalent of finding the Northwest Passage: an aircraft able to take off, land, and hover with the agility of a helicopter yet fly as fast and as far as an airplane. Many predicted it would reshape civilian aviation. The Marines saw it as key to their very survival. Opponents called it one of the worst boondoggles in Pentagon history.
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Innovation runs into government
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Kelly
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Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson led the design of such crucial aircraft as the P-38 and Constellation, but he will be more remembered for the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes. His extraordinary leadership of the Lockheed "Skunk Works" cemented his reputation as a legendary figure in American aerospace management.
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Memoir of a Legend
- By Jean on 08-26-19
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What listeners say about Rocket Billionaires
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- jerome m.
- 05-27-19
An Excellent Read
US government should be busting up US defense contractors and giving the pieces to Elon.
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- John
- 07-08-18
Actually had some top-level engineering details..
.. seems to be rare amongst these type of books. This made up for the fact that the reader couldn't pronounce words like Lagos, Soyuz, or NASA.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Dennis Hay
- 11-26-18
very entertaining
this was an interesting account of events, tracking multiple events over last 30 years or so. Funny error at 26:35 into chapter 2 ... “faster than the sound of speed” 😂
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- Woojae Kim
- 04-10-18
Excellent summary of the new space era
I always wanted to hear the origin story of Spacex and Blue Origin. I throughly enjoyed reading this book. I have a renewed respect for all the men and women involved in this new industry.
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- OnEaglesWings
- 11-30-18
informative and exciting
great story telling. a little slow during the politics explanation, but necessary to understand the background.
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- Timothy Voliva
- 04-07-21
The race to the Moon and Mars is happening now!
This book is very captivating and accurately details how human beings will become a spacefaring species with a little help from entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
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- luxaeternae
- 09-13-19
Pronounced NASA wrong the whole book...
it hurt every single time. it's a book about space buisness how come no one noticed this. embarrassing.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 04-13-18
very good book, not favoring anyone.
I would say it was a great book in . Driving home the volitile business of space during this time. It makes you feel like the buainess is strapped with incrdible people playing the game of poker with the highest stakes. The comment that the rocket industrie has made more bankrupcies than rockets, was a serious consideration. not to mention Elon Musk and 6 years of development with no customers. vry good book
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- dr.rocket
- 02-07-22
A great overview of the American space effort
While the title implies just tycoons, the story actually integrates the entire U.S. space effort!
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- Zachary Reeder
- 04-08-18
Great Topic. Poor Performance?
This book is a great overview of the current state of commercial space in America. The author draws on a huge pool of supporting sources and paints a multifaceted landscape of the industry. Unfortunately, this particular performance is plagued with mispronunciation, word inversions and word omission. These performance issues are largely associated with basic technical terms and are fairly distracting.
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8 people found this helpful