Business Wars

It's 2001 and a 30-year-old Elon Musk has just been fired from Pay-Pal, the company he co-founded. In need of a second act, he hits on the idea of bankrolling a bizarre Mars mission. But he's not the only tech tycoon who's stargazing. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has also got space fever. But Bezos’ first step in the interstellar arena will almost cost him his life. Pre-order our new book The Art of Business Wars now before it is released on April 13...

It's 2003 and in the Mojave Desert, renegade aviation genius Burt Rutan is building a spaceship funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. But while Rutan and Allen are preparing to launch the world's first privately funded astronaut, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are still struggling to get their space missions off the ground. Pre-order our new book The Art of Business Wars now before it is released on April 13. Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+...

It's 2005 and SpaceX is about to find itself exiled to a tropical island, but this is no vacation. It's in a race against time to get the Falcon 1 rocket into orbit before Musk's millions runs out. But as the failures mount, Musk stares ruin in the face. Pre-order our new book The Art of Business Wars now before it is released on April 13. Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening...

It's 2009 and a new president is looking to shake up the space world by opening up the stars to private industry.  But with NASA’s space shuttle about to retire, the United States soon won't be able to reach the International Space Station without Russian help. U.S. leadership in space hangs in the balance and everyone's looking to the new space companies to deliver the solution. Pre-order our new book The Art of Business Wars now before it is released on April 13...

It's 2013 and the long cold war between Blue Origin and SpaceX is about to go nuclear. The clash begins when NASA puts its most famous launchpad up for lease, and escalates fast. Soon SpaceX, Blue Origin, and the United Launch Alliance will be reaching for any weapon they can use to disrupt each other's plans. Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening...

It's 2016 and Virgin Galactic is about to re-enter the space race following its fatal test flight two years earlier. But the company's early lead in human spaceflight is eroding fast. Blue Origin, Boeing and SpaceX are closing in. The race to become the first private company to launch a person into space is almost over and there can only be one winner. Pre-order our new book The Art of Business Wars now before it is released on April 13...

As the Space Race moves into the present day, Elon Musk recoups SpaceX’s losses and edges ahead of Blue Origin. But now his competition is coming not just from Jeff Bezos, but from like-minded dreamers in Russia and China. For more on the coming battle for space supremacy, we speak with Tim Fernholz. He wrote Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the New Space Race, and writes about space and the economy for Quartz...