Space Race 2.0: SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, NASA, and the Privatization of the Final Frontier [Hardcover]

Space Race 2.0is the only authoritative photographic history of the efforts of private companies—often alongside NASA—to accelerate humankind’s exploration and understanding of the final frontier.

The private space sector is growing tremendously. The industry’s consensus leader,SpaceX, headed by outspoken billionaireElon Musk, is today worth an estimated $74 billion. And SpaceX and its chief competitors, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, are taking on more roles—flying cargo, supplies, and astronauts to outer space.Space Race 2.0tells their story withexpertly written text by science journalist Brad Berganandstunning photography of the spacecraft,key players,and facilitiesin California, Texas, and Florida.

In the 1950s and ’60s, the first Space Race pitted two political ideologies against one another: either Communism or Capitalism would prove superior. Ultimately, the US landed on the moon, the race’s crowning achievement. Now, more than a half-century later,the Space Race has pivotedfrom a contest between ideological rivals to private aerospace firms competing for contracts.

Today,rather than symbolic goals motivated by patriotism, the defining success of a launch system extends beyond engineering and science toimage and ROI. Founded in 2002, SpaceX’s trajectory was determined by Musk’s realization that he could achieve higher profits by vertically integrating—manufacturing his own rockets and spacecraft—rather than relying on third parties. The decision was prescient, resulting in a state-of-the-art headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and a series ofstunning achievements.

Space Race 2.0followsthe development of commercial space exploration to the present. While tentative first steps in private ventures are covered, such as those by Space Services Inc.lÓ(