In this episode, Ben sits down (again) with Eric Berger, Senior Space Editor at Ars Technica and author of the upcoming book 'Reentry: SpaceX, Elon Musk, and the Reusable Rockets that Launched a Second Space Age'

They discuss the Polaris Dawn mission, the state of the space industry, NASA's Crew-9 launch delay, and the latest breaking stories in the space industry. Eric shares his thoughts on Elon Musk's current focus and vision at SpaceX, as well as the critical role billionaires are playing in space exploration. 

OUTLINE:

Here’s approximate timestamps for the episode.

00:00 Intro to Episode 103

00:40 Eric back for more!

01:20 Interviewing NASA administrator

02:08 Starliner date pushed back

03:51 Polaris Dawn

05:22 Why is it significant?

07:20 Billionaires in Space

08:50 NEW BOOK: “Reentry: SpaceX, Elon Musk, and the Reusable Rockets that Launched a Second Space Age”

12:10 The Technical Challenges of SpaceX 2008-2020

15:10 Importance of Gwynne Shotwell

17:00 Significance of Falcon Heavy

19:00 The emotion of launches

21:10 Artemis

24:02 China

24:50 New Glenn

26:06 First mover advantage for reusable rocket companies?

28:15 Stoke Space

28:30 SpaceX

29:32 Vision of SpaceX

31:40 Elon and politics

33:55 Elon’s Musks Plans too ambitious?

36:20 Wrap Up and socials

Pre-order Eric’s new book Reentry: SpaceX, Elon Musk, and the Reusable Rockets that Launched a Second Space Age

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Reentry-SpaceX-Reusable-Rockets-Launched/dp/1637745273

Penguin: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/759707/reentry-by-eric-berger/

X: https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace

Stay connected with us!

Use #Astroben across various social media platforms to engage with us!

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@astrobenpodcast

Website: www.astroben.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astrobenpodcast/

X: https://x.com/Gambleonit

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@astrobenpodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/astrobenpodcast/