“Thrilling . . . an important tale of how American ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit is creating a new type of space age.”—Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk
Musk vs. Bezos. China vs. the United States. The government vs. the private sector.
Welcome to the rivalries and alliances defining the New Space Age. At stake? Trillions of dollars, national prestige, and a place in the history books.
“A fine piece of reporting; historians will be able to use this first draft of rocket history to craft deeper analyses of our first real steps as a space-faring society.”—The New York Times
Moon landings and space walks once captivated the public’s attention. But, in recent decades, the U.S. space enterprise has felt moribund. Now, that’s finally about to change.
A fleet of powerful new rockets is poised to take humans into the cosmos more than ever before. A lunar land rush has sparked a geopolitical competition among nations. And the world’s two richest men have engaged in escalating brinkmanship, as NASA and the U.S. government embraces Silicon Valley innovation to jump-start the nation’s ambitions.
Space has entered a golden age, and this is just the beginning. In this gripping work, award-winning Washington Post writer Christian Davenport chronicles the mad scramble to shape humanity’s off-planet future. He takes readers behind the scenes at NASA and the Pentagon as China’s aggressive moon mining plans raise alarms, onto the sprawling Cape Canaveral factory where Blue Origin is working toward Amazon-style lunar deliveries, and onto SpaceX launch pads as Musk’s engineers log 100-hour weeks—leaving veteran astronauts marveling that they’re now operating “flying iPhones.”
What will happen as human ambition outpaces governmental regulat
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