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When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach Audiobook, by Ashlee Vance Play Audiobook Sample

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

When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach Audiobook, by Ashlee Vance Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Robert Petkoff, Ashlee Vance Publisher: HarperAudio Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 12.17 hours at 1.5x Speed 9.13 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: May 2023 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9780062998910

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

45

Longest Chapter Length:

72:33 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

04 seconds

Average Chapter Length:

24:26 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

2

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Publisher Description

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.

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About Ashlee Vance

Ashlee Vance is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, Elon Musk and When the Heavens Went on Sale. He is a feature writer at Bloomberg Businessweek and the host of Hello World, a travel show that centers on inventors and scientists worldwide. Previously, he worked as a reporter for the New York Times, The Economist, and The Register

About Robert Petkoff

Robert Petkoff is an actor and audiobook narrator who has won a prestigious Audie Award and multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice. He has appeared on Chappelle’s Show, Law & Order, and Quantum Leap. His Broadway credits include Sir Robin in Spamalot, Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof, and Tateh in Ragtime.