Listen to a sample
When The Heavens Went On Sale
- Author
- Ashlee Vance
- Narrator
- Ashlee Vance, Robert Petkoff
- Publisher
- Ebury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 11 May 2023
- Run Time
- 18 hours 19 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
*An instant New York Times Bestseller*
A momentous look at the private companies driving the revolutionary new space race, from the 3-million copy, New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk
In 2008, Elon Musk's SpaceX became the first private company to build a low-cost rocket that could reach orbit. Suddenly Silicon Valley, not NASA, was the epicentre of the new Space Age. Start-ups and investors began to realise that the heavens - ungoverned and unregulated - were open for business.
When the Heavens Went on Sale tells the remarkable, unfolding story of this frenzied race to control access to outer space. Ashlee Vance follows four pioneering companies - Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs and Rocket Lab - as they attempt to launch thousands of low-cost rockets and satellites into orbit. While the space tourism ambitions of billionaires such as Bezos and Branson make headlines, these under-the-radar companies are striving to monetise Earth's lower orbit; to connect, analyse and monitor everything on Earth.
With unprecedented access to private company headquarters, labs and top-secret launch locations - from the US to New Zealand, Ukraine to India - Vance presents a gripping account of private jets, communes, gun-toting bodyguards, drugs, espionage investigations and multimillionaires guzzling booze as their fortunes disappear.
This is the most pressing and controversial technology story of our time, a tale of fascinating characters chasing unimaginable stakes. Welcome to the new Wild West above the clouds.
©2023 Ashlee Vance (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Critics Review
-
An exuberant ride, happily hopping around the Pacific Rim from Kwajalein Atoll to California, from New Zealand to Kodiak Island, reveling in the do-it-yourself ethos of the new space business
New York Times Book Review
-
The frenzied race by stargazing entrepreneurs to build a new economy in space is one of the most exciting tales of our time. Ashlee Vance, with his immersive reporting and exuberant writing, has captured the ambition and idealism of the colourful characters who are not only transforming our world but our heavens. It's the next tech frontier, and Vance turns it into a thriller
Walter Isaacson, bestselling author of STEVE JOBS
-
A new testament for New Space, and an eloquent, expertly-reported ode to the swaggering geniuses who are opening the final frontier
Brad Stone, author of THE EVERYTHING STORE and AMAZON UNBOUND
-
Illuminating... For an insight into the people and culture driving the new space age, Mr Vance's book is the place to start. After the wonder of the Moon landings, space somehow contrived to become boring. These days it is exciting again
Economist
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
Exuberant
Washington Post
-
[A] fantastic new book . . . I can highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in space, especially if you want to know how space startups work behind the public promises and marketing
Ars Technica
-
Vance has delivered that rare book that educates and entertains while opening the reader up to a brand-new universe of wonderful characters and ideas. It's non-fiction that reads like a novel
Andy Weir, author of THE MARTIAN and HAIL MARY
-
Through incisive reporting and colorful prose, Ashlee Vance takes us on a thrilling ride to the outer limits of human achievement
Sheelah Kolhatkar, bestselling author of BLACK EDGE
-
The book chronicles an enthralling Wild West of ego, idealism, and regulation-skirting greed, where soaring dreams are weighed down by economics and physics. CEOs, investors, engineers, and welders alike are smitten, but their efforts yield mostly pedestrian tools that track cargo ships, measure crop growth, or make phone calls. Still, the projects keep multiplying. "Something about space," Vance writes, "allows humans to perceive themselves as being part of a timeless story and casting their lot in with the infinite
Harvard Business Review
-
The spectacle of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and other technology scions shooting themselves into space may give you the idea that the whole experience is an ego trip, but Vance, the author of a best-selling biography of Musk, encourages readers to think bigger. He follows four companies - Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs and Rocket Lab - in this interplanetary land grab, all with the hope of making Earth's lower orbit the next site of technological innovation
New York Times
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Ashlee Vance
- Narrator
- Ashlee Vance, Robert Petkoff
- Duration
- 18 hours 19 minutes
- Release Date
- 11 May 2023
- ISBN
- 9780753558645
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Ebury Publishing
- Genre
- Biography: science, technology and medicine, Biography: business and industry, Entrepreneurship / Start-ups, Astronautics
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.*An instant New York Times Bestseller*A momentous look at the private companies driving the revolutionary new space race, from the 3-million copy, New York Times bestselling author of Elon MuskIn 2008, Elon Musk's SpaceX became the first private company to build a low-cost rocket that could reach orbit. Suddenly Silicon Valley, not NASA, was the epicentre of the new Space Age. Start-ups and investors began to realise that the heavens - ungoverned and unregulated - were open for business.When the Heavens Went on Sale tells the remarkable, unfolding story of this frenzied race to control access to outer space. Ashlee Vance follows four pioneering companies - Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs and Rocket Lab - as they attempt to launch thousands of low-cost rockets and satellites into orbit. While the space tourism ambitions of billionaires such as Bezos and Branson make headlines, these under-the-radar companies are striving to monetise Earth's lower orbit; to connect, analyse and monitor everything on Earth.With unprecedented access to private company headquarters, labs and top-secret launch locations - from the US to New Zealand, Ukraine to India - Vance presents a gripping account of private jets, communes, gun-toting bodyguards, drugs, espionage investigations and multimillionaires guzzling booze as their fortunes disappear.This is the most pressing and controversial technology story of our time, a tale of fascinating characters chasing unimaginable stakes. Welcome to the new Wild West above the clouds.©2023 Ashlee Vance (P)2023 Penguin Audio
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.