When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach

by Ashlee Vance Narrated by Ashlee Vance, Robert Petkoff

Overview

A momentous look at the private companies building a revolutionary new economy in space, from the*New York Times*bestselling author of*Elon Musk

In When the Heavens Went on Sale, Ashlee Vance illuminates our future and unveils the next big technology story of our time: welcome to the Wild West of aerospace engineering and its unprecedented impact on our lives.

With the launch of SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket in 2008, Silicon Valley began to realize that the universe itself was open for business. Now, Vance tells the remarkable, unfolding story of this frenzied intergalactic land grab by following four pioneering companies-Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs, and Rocket Lab-as they build new space systems and attempt to launch rockets and satellites into orbit by the thousands.

With the public fixated on the space tourism being driven by the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson, these new, scrappy companies arrived with a different set of goals: to make rocket and satellite launches fast and cheap, thereby opening Earth's lower orbit for business. Vance has had a front-row seat and singular access to this peculiar and unprecedented moment in history, and he chronicles it all in full color: the top-secret launch locations, communes, gun-toting bodyguards, drugs, espionage investigations, and multimillionaires guzzling booze to dull the pain as their fortunes disappear.

Through immersive and intimate reporting,*When the Heavens Went on Sale*reveals the spectacular chaos of the new business of space, and what happens when the idealistic, ambitious minds of Silicon Valley turn their unbridled vision toward the limitless expanse of the stars. This is the tale of technology's most pressing and controversial revolution, as told through fascinating characters chasing unimaginable stakes in the race to space.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Editorial Reviews

July 2023 - AudioFile

With exacting care, author Ashlee Vance introduces his immersive journalistic study of the commercial space race from the early 2000s to the present. Throughout the remainder of this spellbinding discussion of entrepreneurs and the business of space, Robert Petkoff recounts the successes and failures of contemporary commercial endeavors by the dreamers and multimillionaires of SpaceX, Falcon 1, Rocket Lab, Astra, Firefly, and Planet Labs to make rocket launches quotidian events. Petkoff is passionate as he describes attempts to seed low orbit with communication and geolocating satellites. A must-listen for fans of space-exploration science and the race for the stars. An accompanying pdf includes illustrations from the text. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 03/27/2023

In this exciting account, Vance (Elon Musk), a journalist at Bloomberg Businessweek, shines light on some of the lesser known private sector efforts to capitalize on outer space, telling how aerospace companies Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs, and Rocket Lab have used scrappiness and innovation in their quest to turn a profit from rockets and satellites. Vance details engineers’ sometimes harebrained schemes and recounts how Planet Labs cofounders Will Marshall and Chris Boshuizen got their start in 2009 at NASA by tucking a smartphone into a rocket to see if it could take pictures from space (it could), giving them the idea to photograph the Earth with a battery of cheap satellites. The author provides finely observed portraits of the figures behind the aerospace companies, describing how Chris Kemp’s disregard for the rules helped get the rocket company Astra off the ground, as well as relating how Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck, “a self-taught rocket scientist who never went to college... managed to build a rocket company in New Zealand, which had no aerospace industry on which to lean.” The focus on figures outside the limelight offers a fresh look at the new space race, and Vance’s feels-like-you’re-there storytelling captures the “spectacular madness” of the moonshots. It’s The Right Stuff for the silicon age. (May)

From the Publisher

"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 (“19 Works of Nonfiction to Read This Spring”)

"The book is an illuminating romp through an industry marinated in the signature mix of starry idealism and ruthless capitalism brewed in Silicon Valley in the second half of the 20th century." — The Economist

“Ashlee Vance writes about a new kind of space race marked by private companies launching rockets and putting a massive number of satellites into orbit. The characters behind this new fight to dominate the skies are just as interesting as the ones [Tom] Wolfe wrote about decades ago. . . .Vance’s behind-the-scenes access to the companies helps explain the challenges the private space industry faces and propels the book along as he describes failed rocket launches and globe-trotting investors.” — Associated Press

“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 colorful 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 and The Code Breaker

“A new testament for New Space, and an eloquent, expertly-reported ode to the swaggering geniuses who are opening the final frontier.” — Brad Stone, bestselling author of The Everything Store and Amazon Unbound

“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, New York Times bestselling author of The Martian and Project 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, New Yorker staff writer and bestselling author of Black Edge

“[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 . . . [When the Heavens Went on Sale] provides real insight into these companies and the people who toil in them.” — Ars Technica

"[An] energetic account...[Vance] ably captures 'the spectacular madness of it all.' With enthusiasm and solid research, this book is an entertaining, informative look at cutting-edge technology." — Kirkus

“[An] exciting account…[Vance] provides finely observed portraits of the figures behind the aerospace companies…The focus on figures outside the limelight offers a fresh look at the new space race, and Vance’s feels-like-you’re-there storytelling captures the 'spectacular madness' of the moonshots. It’s The Right Stuff for the silicon age.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) 

“Well-researched and insightful. . . . An excellent addition to science or biography collections.” — Library Journal

“One of the best books ever written about NewSpace. . . . An incredibly entertaining account of today’s space industry. . . . Well-written and thrilling . . . . When the Heavens Went on Sale is a timely read that introduces readers to the exciting business of launching small satellites. The space-based economy is just getting started.” — National Space Society

“Vance’s book is 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. . . . Vance makes a good case that the new generation of space entrepreneurs has managed to set up the launchpad. Most of the mission is still ahead — but listen closely and you can start to hear the countdown.” — New York Times Book Review

“A fascinating read about an emerging, rapidly changing industry . . . . If, for any reason, you thought the people in the space industry were boring, When the Heavens Went on Sale will make it clear they far from it.” — The Space Review

"Exhuberant." — Washington Post

“Full of colorful people, risky investments, and teachable explosions, Vance’s book is fascinating…” — Philadelphia Inquirer

"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

Library Journal

04/01/2023

In 2017, Bloomberg Businessweek features writer Vance wrote the biography Elon Musk. In his latest work, the author focuses once again on the controversial tech giant and his companies. This time, however, the book also examines Musk's past and current relationships with technology leaders such as Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg and how their respective companies have impacted the tech industry and the idea of consumer space travel. A big portion of this well-researched and insightful book looks at Musk's childhood, education, entrepreneurial journey, and vision for the future. Details include the history and mission of his company SpaceX, which aims to make space travel more accessible and to enable human life on other planets. The book also delves into Musk's mission with his Tesla company to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy and how that has impacted the automotive industry. Vance provides insight into Musk's personal life, including his marriages, controversial statements, obsession with colonizing Mars, and apparent tendency to be hyperbolic and to refuse to accept criticism or failure. VERDICT For readers interested in Musk or technology and innovation. This book will be an excellent addition to science or biography collections.—Jennifer Moore

AudioFile - JULY 2023

With exacting care, author Ashlee Vance introduces his immersive journalistic study of the commercial space race from the early 2000s to the present. Throughout the remainder of this spellbinding discussion of entrepreneurs and the business of space, Robert Petkoff recounts the successes and failures of contemporary commercial endeavors by the dreamers and multimillionaires of SpaceX, Falcon 1, Rocket Lab, Astra, Firefly, and Planet Labs to make rocket launches quotidian events. Petkoff is passionate as he describes attempts to seed low orbit with communication and geolocating satellites. A must-listen for fans of space-exploration science and the race for the stars. An accompanying pdf includes illustrations from the text. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2023-02-01
Outer space is open for business according to this energetic account.

There was a time when the space race was controlled by superpower states vying for advantage and prestige with massive rockets. These days, private companies are looking at the lucrative opportunities of space travel. Bloomberg Businessweek feature writer Vance, the author of Elon Musk, believes that the pivotal year was 2008, when Musk’s SpaceX became the first private company to build a low-cost rocket and launch it into low orbit. Other billionaires poured money into similar projects, and within a few years, venture capitalists had jumped onboard. The unifying theme was a belief that government space agencies had become mired in suffocating bureaucracy and were unaware of the advances made in consumer electronics and off-the-shelf equipment. “Trying out an idea in space no longer required congressional approval or some wild-eyed dreamer willing to risk his personal fortunes,” writes Vance. “It just required a couple of people in a room agreeing that they’re willing to spend someone else’s money on a huge risk.” The author follows several companies that made advances with small rockets launching minisatellites for purposes ranging from weather forecasting to advanced communications. Vance was able to visit several launch sites and interview most of the key players. Several of them are alarmingly eccentric, but they all have the sense of being part of something historic. One of the most interesting ideas is for a space-based internet to connect people without access to fiber-optic cables, which would require a network of thousands of satellites. That’s a difficult proposition, but the use of the SpaceX Starlink system during the Ukraine war shows the potential. Although some of Vance’s stories go on for longer than needed, he ably captures “the spectacular madness of it all.”

With enthusiasm and solid research, this book is an entertaining, informative look at cutting-edge technology.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940174996823
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/09/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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