Our First Steps into the Infinite
Review of Ashlee Vance's 'When the Heavens Went on Sale,' out now in The Dispatch
“Despite the expression, rocket science is the relatively easy part of the business, whereas rocket engineering—actually getting the things to fly as intended—is the slow, tough, costly bit. By Vance’s telling, it’s an endless drudgery of tiny inexactitudes causing enormous spiraling problems, with each fix pushing another crucial piece out of joint. Imagine playing Jenga with 100,000 Jell-O pieces, and if the tower falls over, the whole thing explodes, and you have to spend tens of millions making all the pieces again.”
Out now in The Dispatch: my review of Ashlee Vance’s When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach. (Amazon UK and Bookshop.org) Give it a read!