Summary
Eric Berger tells the story of SpaceX’s early years through its first four Falcon 1 launches. Drawing on interviews with engineers, designers, mechanics, executives and Elon Musk, he follows the company from its California headquarters to testing in Texas and launches at Kwajalein. The account shows a young rocket company working through engineering problems while time and funding run short.
Why read it Our view
Read it to examine how a team works when a difficult product has limited time and money. The early launches offer founders questions about testing, the different skills a team needs and the pressure to make progress before funding runs out.