When the Heavens Went on Sale

An instant New York Times Bestseller '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. 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. 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.