Rocketeers : How a Visionary Band of Business Leaders, Engineers, and Pilots is Boldly Privatizing Space

RocketeersAuthor(s): Michael Belfiore“That this story is still unfolding makes it especially exciting to read. These men are still in their workshops, tinkering their way into orbit.” —David Gelles, FORBESOn June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne, built by aircraft designer Burt Rutan, entered space and ushered in the commercial space age. Investment capital began to pour into the new commercial spaceflight industry. Richard Branson’s VirginGalactic plans to ferry space tourists out of the atmosphere. Las Vegas hotelier Robert Bigelow is developing the world’s first commercial space station (i.e., space hotel). These space entrepreneurs, including Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, now see space as the next big thing.In Rocketeers, Michael Belfiore goes behind the scenes of this nascent industry, capturing its wild-west, anything-goes flavor. Likening his research to “hanging out in the Wright brothers’ barn,” Belfiore offers an inspiring and entertaining look at th