Description

This book was originally published in 2014. It's been a remarkable seven years in the world of "rocket science."

At the end of 2014, SpaceX had made four attempts toward the vision of a reusable orbital rocket. None of these attempts to land and recover a first stage booster had succeeded.

As of September 2021, they have achieved it 92 times! Their Falcon 9 rocket has created a new paradigm (and a transformational business case) for access to space.

We've seen Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin both reach space with their billionaire founders (literally and figuratively). Space tourism is now a dedicated sector within the space industry.

Besides the International Space Station (ISS), we also now have a fully operational Chinese space station orbiting Earth. Three taikonauts spent 90 days onboard there in 2021.

We are in a global space renaissance, and we are just getting started. According to space.com, there are at least nine companies working on lunar landers or rovers (or both). This time, it will be to stay. There are at least ten companies pursuing asteroid mining.