Mature
Audio only
When the Heavens Went on Sale
The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within ReachBy Ashlee VanceNarrated by Ashlee Vance, Robert PetkoffLength18h 20m
About this audiobook
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.
Audiobook details
GenreScience and Nature, Business and Economics, Technology
Length18 hrs 20 mins
Narrated byAshlee Vance, Robert Petkoff
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateMay 9, 2023
LanguageEnglish
More from Ashlee Vance
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m$29 · $0.00
The Collected Works of John MuirJohn Muir96h 8m$2 · $0.00
LiftoffEric Berger9h 4m$29 · $0.00
Distant SkiesMelissa A. Priblo Chapman12h 39m$23
ApolloCharles Murray, Catherine Bly Cox18h 15m$30
The Story of BirdsSteve Brusatte11h 49m$29 · $0.00
Black Earth WisdomLeah Penniman11h 54m$8 · $0.00
Crystals for BeginnersKaren Frazier3h 49m$20
What If? 10th Anniversary EditionRandall Munroe7h 29m$23
Nikola Tesla - Ultimate Collection: 70+ Scientific Works, Lectures & EssaysNikola Tesla48h 43m$2 · $0.00
Total Cat MojoJackson Galaxy10h 13m$23 · $0.00
Earth at NightNational Aeronautics and Space Administration2h 31m$1 · $0.00
My Life Among the UnderdogsTia Torres5h 51m$24 · $0.00
What It Takes to Save a LifeKwane Stewart6h$24 · $0.00
Pastoral SongJames Rebanks8h 35m$26 · $0.00
How Stella Learned to TalkChristina Hunger7h$24 · $0.00
Craig & FredCraig Grossi8h 6m$26 · $0.00
Celebrating BirdsNatalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez6h 47m$24 · $0.00
WildingIsabella Tree12h 22m$23
Saving JemimaJulie Zickefoose4h 59m$20 · $0.00
A Bridge Not Too FarDeepak Ohri4h 55m$15
Level UpRob Dial7h 42m$26 · $0.00
Hal Moore on LeadershipHarold G. Moore, Mike Guardia5h 6m$17
Basic Economics, Fifth EditionThomas Sowell28h 6m$40
The Goals ProgramZig Ziglar4h 34m$20
Eat It!Jordan Syatt, Michael Vacanti4h 40m$20 · $0.00
Not Everything Counts but Everything Matters: The powerful and inspirational new book about leadership and achieving success from the visionary multi-premiership winning Panthers coachIvan Cleary6h 1m$24 · $0.00
BuildTony Fadell11h 5m$8 · $0.00
The Entrepreneur Roller CoasterDarren Hardy7h 8m$17
The Ambuja StoryNarotam Sekhsaria13h 59m$33 · $0.00
Military Culture ShiftCorie Weathers13h 13m$25 · $0.00
Big TrustShadé Zahrai, Fayçal Sekkouah8h 36m$26 · $0.00
SocialismLudwig von Mises24h 8m$30
Being EssentialDain Dunston4h 13m$15 · $0.00
Purposeful PerformanceJonathan Stanley10h 14m$25
The Law of Success in Sixteen LessonsNapoleon Hill1h 41m$3 · $0.00
Bottle of LiesKatherine Eban14h 25m$33 · $0.00
CAPITAL (Complete 3 Volume Edition)Karl Marx111h 14m$1 · $0.00
The Antiracist Business BookTrudi Lebrón6h 10m$17 · $0.00
The FormulaJoshua Robinson, Jonathan Clegg10h 41m$29 · $0.00
Improvised Weapons and Munitions - The Official U.S. Army ManualU.S. Department of the Army4h 38m$2 · $0.00
Frosty: The incredible true story of the boy from Doonside who became a Bathurst kingMark Winterbottom8h 9m$26 · $0.00
Cadillac Desert, Revised and Updated EditionMarc Reisner27h 56m$30
The Honey BusMeredith May9h 31m$25 · $0.00
Operation PedestalMax Hastings12h 29m$29 · $0.00
The Collected Works of Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla48h 43m$2 · $0.00
Everybody Has a Podcast (Except You)Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Griffin McElroy5h 9m$24 · $0.00
Hands of TimeRebecca Struthers8h 8m$26 · $0.00
Never Lost AgainBill Kilday10h 1m$29 · $0.00
How the Internet HappenedBrian McCullough13h 28m$23 · $0.00
Just AspireAjai Chowdhry9h 13m$29 · $0.00
Addiction by DesignNatasha Dow Schüll14h 32m$25 · $0.00
The Little Book of AliensAdam Frank8h 20m$26 · $0.00
KargilV.P. Malik15h 18m$24 · $0.00
Fire on the HorizonTom Shroder, John Konrad8h 23m$26 · $0.00
The Boy Who Harnessed the WindWilliam Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer10h 5m$29 · $0.00
Mars Rover CuriosityRob Manning, William L. Simon7h 43m$20
Across the Airless WildsEarl Swift10h 8m$29 · $0.00
Console WarsBlake J. Harris20h 41m$46 · $0.00
Improvised Munitions HandbookU.S. Department of Defense4h 38m$2 · $0.00
You may also like
Mission to MarsBuzz Aldrin4h 47m$17
The MissionDavid W. Brown15h 17m$33 · $0.00
Mars: Our New Home?National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Congress5h 38m$2 · $0.00
Escaping GravityLori Garver10h 54m$20 · $0.00
Mars LifeBen Bova12h$23
LiftoffEric Berger9h 4m$29 · $0.00
National Aeronautics and Space ActТhe United States Congress56m$2 · $0.00
ApolloCharles Murray, Catherine Bly Cox18h 15m$30
OmniaS. H. Jucha13h 18m$23
Spaceport EarthJoe Pappalardo7h 38m$20 · $0.00
For All HumankindTanya Harrison, Danny Bednar3h 45m$15
Death WaveBen Bova10h 25m$23
Apollo 11 Goodwill MessagesNASA1h 4m$1 · $0.00
The Integral TreesLarry Niven7h 40m$20
Across the Airless WildsEarl Swift10h 8m$29 · $0.00
Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future Young Readers' EditionAshlee Vance6h 30m$24 · $0.00
Planet ExplorerMurray Leinster7h 22m$2.30
ExtraterrestrialAvi Loeb7h 7m$24 · $0.00
SpacefarersChristopher Wanjek12h 1m$23
MarsBen Bova18h 52m$32