Author(s): Ashlee Vance

Science

Acid-dropping NASA renegades and the new the space race no one knows is coming. When the Heavens Went on Sale is a fast-paced, exclusive, behind-the-scenes narrative about the race for space that's happening under our noses and over our heads. While the billionaire battles of Bezos vs Branson vs Musk dominate the headlines, there is another battle taking place, a race to build a computing shell around the earth and inventors and startups fighting for their slice of Low Earth Orbit - the new wild west above the clouds. It's a battle featuring mad inventors, acid-dropping tech founders, out of work engineers. But the heavens are on sale, and this is a fascinating journey into the world of people building our future -- a world of dreams, aspiration and pushing beyond the limits of what seems possible. A momentous look at the private companies driving the revolutionary new space race, from the 3-million copy, New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk 'One of the most exciting tales of our time... It's the next tech frontier, and Vance turns it into a thriller' Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs 'Eloquent, expertly reported' Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store     In 2008, Elon Musk's SpaceX became the first private company to build a low-cost rocket that could reach orbit. Suddenly Silicon Valley, not NASA, was the epicentre of the new Space Age. Ashlee Vance follows four pioneering companies - Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs and Rocket Lab - as they race to control access to outer space. While the space tourism ambitions of billionaires such as Bezos and Branson make headlines, these under-the-radar companies are striving to monetise Earth's lower orbit; to connect, analyse and monitor everything on Earth. With unprecedented access to private company headquarters, labs and top-secret launch locations - from the US to New Zealand, Ukraine to India - Vance presents a gripping account of private jets, communes, gun-toting bodyguards, drugs, espionage investigations and multimillionaires guzzling booze as their fortunes disappear. This is the most pressing and controversial technology story of our time. Welcome to the new Wild West above the clouds.