This very first eight-episode series is about the history of human space flight, the birth of the US commercial space industry, and the rise of SpaceX.

In this episode, we'll explore the origins of commercial spaceflight and the politics and innovations that have shaped the industry, ultimately leading to a new era of space exploration.

(This episode is based on a condensed summary of Escaping Gravity - My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch A New Space Age by Lori Garver, Matthew C Weinzierl. 2018. “Space, the Final Economic Frontier.”, and “Origins of the Commercial Space Industry” (faa.gov). For any feedback, please contact: [email protected])

00:10 Episode intro 

00:58 Shuttle Program & NASA’s Centralized Approach 

07:11 Challenger Accident & Self-feeding System 

12:00 High Cost of Getting to Orbit: Cost-plus Contract 

14:27 SEI Program 

18:06 Dan Goldin’s Reform & Partnership Program 

25:23 Columbia Accident & End of Shuttle Program 

28:14 COTS 

31:24 Constellation Program & SLS 

40:21 Pioneering Companies in Commercial Space Sector 

Welcome to Curiosity Curated, my experimental podcast project, where I share intriguing stories from my reading. I’m an avid reader and enjoy reading. I started this personal project to explore a new aspect of this hobby by sharing it. The project itself and the content I aim to share are curiosity-driven and, in some sense, open-ended.

So bear with me as I embark on this journey. Please feel free to reach out with any feedback on how I can improve. Thanks for your patience and listening.

This very first eight-episode series is about the history of human space flight, the birth of the US commercial space industry, and the rise of SpaceX.

In this episode, we will take a look at very early days of SpaceX, from first few hires to the challenges and failures they faced in building the company’s first rocket, Falcon 1.

(This episode is a condensed summary of Chapters 1-5 from Liftoff - Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX by Eric Berger. For any feedback, please contact: [email protected])

00:10 Episode Intro 

00:54 Founding, Early Hires, and Distinctive Approach 

15:03 Merlin Engine & Test Site 

18:55 Vandenberg Launch Site & Kwajalein Atoll 

26:14 Setting up Omelek Launch Site 

32:33 Flight 1 Preparation & Capacitor Odyssey 

37:03 Flight 1 

40:10 Selling Rockets: Gwynne Shotwell 

Welcome to Curiosity Curated, my experimental podcast project, where I share intriguing stories from my reading. I’m an avid reader and enjoy reading. I started this personal project to explore a new aspect of this hobby by sharing it. The project itself and the content I aim to share are curiosity-driven and, in some sense, open-ended.

So bear with me as I embark on this journey. Please feel free to reach out with any feedback on how I can improve. Thanks for your patience and listening.

This very first eight-episode series is about the history of human space flight, the birth of the US commercial space industry, and the rise of SpaceX.

In this episode, we continue the stories in the SpaceX’s early days, leading to the successful flight of Falcon 1 in its flight four that paved the way for successes the company is enjoying now.

(This episode is a condensed summary of Chapters 6-10 from Liftoff - Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX by Eric Berger. For any feedback, please contact: [email protected])

00:10 Episode Intro

00:51 Post-flight 1 Changes and Top 10 Risks

03:27 Flight 2 & Slosh Problem

08:39 Engine Cooling Approach: Regen vs Ablative

11:45 Zach Dunn & Living on Kwajalein Atoll

15:10 Flight 3

18:26 The 4th Rocket & the Most Crucial Period in the Company History

21:27 Midflight Rocket Implosion

27:55 Disassembling & Fixing the Rocket on Omelek

33:20 Flight 4

36:04 Financial Distress & Saved by NASA Contracts

41:49 Falcon 9, Reusability, Starship and Beyond

Welcome to Curiosity Curated, my experimental podcast project, where I share intriguing stories from my reading. I’m an avid reader and enjoy reading. I started this personal project to explore a new aspect of this hobby by sharing it. The project itself and the content I aim to share are curiosity-driven and, in some sense, open-ended.

So bear with me as I embark on this journey. Please feel free to reach out with any feedback on how I can improve. Thanks for your patience and listening.