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Waiting for Launch: A Decade of Suborbital Spaceflight Dreams Kindle Edition

by Jeff Foust (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 11 ratings

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On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne made history by becoming the first privately-developed human spacecraft to fly in space. That flight, and two that followed in the fall of 2004 that captured the $10-million Ansari X Prize, appeared to open a door to a new era of space tourism and commercial spaceflight.

Since those flights a decade ago, though, no other vehicle has performed the same feat. While Virgin Galactic is developing SpaceShipOne’s successor, SpaceShipTwo, that program has suffered years of delays. Other suborbital vehicle efforts have also encountered technical or financial problems. What happened to our suborbital spaceflight dreams?

Jeff Foust, editor of the online publication The Space Review, has covered the suborbital industry since Scaled Composites unveiled SpaceShipOne in the spring of 2003. Waiting for Launch collects more than a two dozen articles he has written about Scaled, Virgin, and other suborbital ventures from 2003 to the present. This book also features new material, including opening and closing essays that reflect on SpaceShipOne’s historic accomplishment a decade ago and the prospects for the future. Waiting for Launch is a detailed overview of the past accomplishments, present status, and future prospects of commercial suborbital spaceflight.

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217 pages
Language

English
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Publication date

June 19, 2014
File size

1818 KB
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00L5G2AOW
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 19, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1818 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 217 pages

Customer Reviews:
4.0 11 ratings

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Robin Snelson

Depressing with some rays of hope

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2014

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Thanks to Jeff Foust for collecting his essays about suborbital spaceflight enterprises over the past decade +. Yes, who would have thought in 2004 that this future would still be in the future in 2014? The future is closer than it may appear in your rearview mirror :-)

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MICHAEL D ELSO

A great eyewitness account of the past decade

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2014

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I've enjoyed Jeff's work on his Space Review web site (and appearances on The Space Show!), and made this purchase as a "Thanks" for his efforts and my enjoyment over the years. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was due to the number of spelling errors I found (the non spell check variety). However, the content was substantive, and the errors easily overlooked and forgiven! Thanks again!

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Judith M. Johnsen

Rutan and the other independents are doing what the government ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2014

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Rutan and the other independents are doing what the government refuses to do, more power to them!

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Dave Nordling

An objective look at NewSpace

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2015

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the author gives an episodal chronology of most Virgin Galactic's start and sputter. While clearly being a fan of the NewSpace movement, he gives an honest look at the promise and promises made over the largely uneventful decade that followed the X-prize. Given how sparse information is on the several companies, Foust manages a stirring and objective look over the years.

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J. Giacalone

A good intro to the field of private spaceflight

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2014

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A good intro to the field of private spaceflight. However, as a collection of previously published articles, it is not always chronological. There is also a lot of repetition.

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Ben

A timely and interesting collection showing the progress of the suborbital industry

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2014

Jeff has been covering the "New Space" industry with a measured tone and an expert eye for well over a decade. His written output, through The Space Review, Space Politics, Personal Spaceflight, and his live-tweeting of events, seems superhuman. Because he's been following the projects he writes about here since their inception he is able to put their work into context and call their claims into doubt when warranted, rather than simply rehashing company press releases.

This collection shows the progression of the industry, including its consistent underestimation of how long it will take to accomplish the huge goals it set for itself. There are times I wish he was a bit harder on companies making big claims, but it's a small industry and to be able to report on things year after year you have to get along.

Anyone interested in commercial spaceflight should read this, especially if they're thinking of buying a ticket.

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Waiting for Launch: A Decade of Suborbital Spaceflight Dreams Kindle Edition

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