Space Race 2.0: SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, NASA, and the Privatization of the Final Frontier

Space Race 2.0: SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, NASA, and the Privatization of the Final Frontier

Space Race 2.0 is the only authoritative photographic history of the efforts of private companies—often alongside NASA—to accelerate humankind’s exploration and understanding of the final frontier.

The private space sector is growing tremendously. The industry’s consensus leader, SpaceX, headed by outspoken billionaire Elon Musk, is today worth an estimated $74 billion. And SpaceX and its chief competitors, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, are taking on more roles—flying cargo, supplies, and astronauts to outer space. Space Race 2.0 tells their story with expertly written text by science journalist Brad Bergan and stunning photography of the spacecraft, key players, and facilities in California, Texas, and Florida.

In the 1950s and ’60s, the first Space Race pitted two political ideologies against one another: either Communism or Capitalism would prove superior. Ultimately, the US landed on the moon, the race’s crowning achievement. Now, more than a half-century later, the Space Race has pivoted from a contest between ideological rivals to private aerospace firms competing for contracts.

Today, rather than symbolic goals motivated by patriotism, the defining success of a launch system extends beyond engineering and science to image and ROI. Founded in 2002, SpaceX’s trajectory was determined by Musk’s realization that he could achieve higher profits by vertically integrating—manufacturing his own rockets and spacecraft—rather than relying on third parties. The decision was prescient, resulting in a state-of-the-art headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and a series of stunning achievements.

Space Race 2.0 follows the development of commercial space exploration to the present. While tentative first steps in private ventures are covered, such as those by Space Services Inc. and Orbital Science in the 1980s and ’90s, the focus is on today’s major players: SpaceX, Blue Origin (headed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos), and Virgin Galactic (founded by Richard Branson). While examining the hardware, Bergan also explores such considerations as the importance of design-forward equipment and the endgame: what ultimately is “in it” for firms at the forefront? Natural resources? NASA and ESA contracts? Commercial travel? Communications? And what legal boundaries, if any, restrain corporate interests in space?

Space Race 2.0 is the ultimate visual look at this relatively young industry, looking back at recent remarkable decades—and ahead to what the future might bring.

Shelby Mustang Fifty Years

Shelby Mustang Fifty Years

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Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of America’s premier performance car!

From the original Shelby Mustang GT350 to today’s 1,000 horsepower GT500, Carroll Shelby, Shelby American, and the Ford Motor Company have defined high-performance with their Shelby Mustangs. Shelby built his Mustangs from 1965 until 1970, at a time when it seemed that the muscle car was a dying breed. Then an odd thing happened: people began to realize the classic nature of the car almost as soon as Shelby stopped building them. After a much-too-long hiatus, in 2006 Carroll Shelby was back with Ford and production of new Shelby Mustangs began for the first time in 36 years. Today, Shelby Mustangs of all eras remain at the top of almost every gearhead’s list and with good reason-they are America’s premier do-it-all pony car.

Shelby Mustang Fifty Years is a celebration of these magnificent machines and covers every iteration from the raw 1965 GT350s to today’s Shelby 1000 monster and the men that made it all happen. Created in cooperation with the Carroll Hall Shelby Trust and officially licensed by Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc., Shelby Mustang Fifty Years is lavishly illustrated with rare, historic photography and modern color images to chronicle the story of these amazing cars, from the initial collaboration with Ford to today’s record-setting high-tech muscle cars.

The foreword and tribute to Carroll Shelby by the “Father of the Mustang” Lee Iacocca rounds out this love note to America’s premier performance car. No Mustang fan will want to miss it.