Liftoff

Outline

Liftoff (2021) tells the story of SpaceX’s early years, when a small team of engineers worked on a remote Pacific island to build and launch the Falcon 1 rocket. After three failed launches that nearly ended the company, the fourth attempt in 2008 reached orbit and changed the future of spaceflight. Eric Berger’s fast-paced account shows how bold goals, fast learning, and persistence can turn failure into success.

• Liftoff follows SpaceX's early years, when a small team of engineers built and launched the Falcon 1 rocket from a remote Pacific island.
• The first three Falcon 1 launches failed, and those failures nearly ended the company.
• The fourth launch, in 2008, reached orbit and changed the future of spaceflight.
• Bold goals, fast learning, and persistence can turn repeated failure into success.

Eric Berger is an American journalist and the senior space editor at Ars Technica, where he covers spaceflight, NASA, and private space companies. He holds a degree in astronomy and worked as a meteorologist and science reporter before focusing on space. His books include Liftoff and Reentry, which continues the story of SpaceX.