Author Topic: Erik Seedhouse book "SpaceX: Making Commercial Spaceflight a Reality" (Read 9452 times)

FutureSpaceTourist · « **on:** 04/28/2013 01:57 pm »

I just spotted that Erik Seedhouse has a Springer Praxis book due out in July on the first 'ten' years of SpaceX:

SpaceX: Making Commercial Spaceflight a Reality

http://www.springer.com/engineering/mechanical+engineering/book/978-1-4614-5513-4

It's available for pre-order in all the usual places. RRP for the paperback is about £20 or $30.

Quote from: Contents

Elon Musk
Space Exers
The Engines – Merlin
The Rockets: from the Falcon 1 to the Falcon 9
The Rockets: from the Falcon 9 to the Falcon Heavy
The Spacecraft – Dragon
Contracts and Flight Operations
I’ll Put a Man on Mars in 10 Years
Red Dragon

Edit: forgot to attach the cover!

ArbitraryConstant · « **Reply #1 on:** 04/28/2013 02:20 pm »

Is this worth reading for anyone that follows this forum with regularity?

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #2 on:** 04/28/2013 02:24 pm »

Quote from: ArbitraryConstant on 04/28/2013 02:20 pm

Is this worth reading for anyone that follows this forum with regularity?

I think that'll depend on what, if any, priviledged access Erik has had to people and/or material. There can be all sorts of intertesting behind the scenes info (including why certains things were or were not done) that make a book worth reading even if the main events/milestones are known.

I'm hoping that once the book is out, or advance copies circulated, someone can post here what they think!

Lar · « **Reply #3 on:** 04/28/2013 03:56 pm »

I'd venture that unless this author HAD access to Musk[1], Shotwell, et. al. (and they were forthcoming) the astute reader knows everything this book is likely to contain, and more (in fact, if one wanted to write a book on any of a variety of topics, this would be a great place to do research and identify people to interview... ESPECIALLY if you have an L2 subscription)

1- Elon supposedly was interviewed by Chris a fair bit, back in the day... was he a user here? did he ever post anything?

Jim · « **Reply #4 on:** 04/28/2013 04:17 pm »

The title is misleading. It already existed through the efforts of many other companies.

Lar · « **Reply #5 on:** 04/28/2013 05:19 pm »

Quote from: Jim on 04/28/2013 04:17 pm

The title is misleading. It already existed through the efforts of many other companies.

What would you title it, if you wanted to
a) not be misleading
b) sell lots of copies.

If you have a better title I'm sure we all want to hear it. If not, how many books have you written so far? (you always call out others lack of expertise so... )

Jim · « **Reply #6 on:** 04/28/2013 05:24 pm »

Quote from: Lar on 04/28/2013 05:19 pm

Quote from: Jim on 04/28/2013 04:17 pm
The title is misleading. It already existed through the efforts of many other companies.

What would you title it, if you wanted to
a) not be misleading
b) sell lots of copies.

If you have a better title I'm sure we all want to hear it. If not, how many books have you written so far? (you always call out others lack of expertise so... )

"Spacex, an early history"
2
Also, the author is a astronaut trainer and physiologist. There are others better suited for this book. But considering the publisher, I wouldn't expect quality, just quantity when it comes to their books.

Lar · « **Reply #7 on:** 04/28/2013 05:27 pm »

Quote from: Jim on 04/28/2013 05:24 pm

Quote from: Lar on 04/28/2013 05:19 pm
Quote from: Jim on 04/28/2013 04:17 pm
The title is misleading. It already existed through the efforts of many other companies.

What would you title it, if you wanted to
a) not be misleading
b) sell lots of copies.

If you have a better title I'm sure we all want to hear it. If not, how many books have you written so far? (you always call out others lack of expertise so... )

"Spacex, an early history"
2

Not misleading but I doubt it would sell as well.

What were they? How well did they sell and can you still get them on Amazon (even used?) I love to read.

Jim · « **Reply #8 on:** 04/28/2013 05:33 pm »

Quote from: Lar on 04/28/2013 05:27 pm

What were they? How well did they sell and can you still get them on Amazon (even used?) I love to read.

Maybe not books but documents.

Spacehab Payload Processing Facility Handbook
And I have to go to work to find the actual title of the other. Not allowed to have a copy at home due to ITAR and propriety info.

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #9 on:** 04/28/2013 06:25 pm »

Depending on which end of the spectrum people sit the following titles might strike a chord:

SpaceX: the triumph of ambition over delivery
SpaceX: saving humans from extinction

Probably more misleading than the actual title though. Ho hum.

SpaceX: catalyst of 1000 arguments

Hmm, this book title writing business is not as easy as it looks.

king1999 · « **Reply #10 on:** 04/28/2013 07:41 pm »

SpaceX: A New Hope in Human Spaceflight.

meekGee · « **Reply #11 on:** 04/28/2013 08:12 pm »

I'm guessing you're just playing on "SpaceX: A New Hope"

To be followed by, what, "ULA Strikes Back?", and "OSC, The Phantom Menace"?

EDIT: Or is it "Blue Origin, The Phantom Menace" and "Revenge of OSC"?

Lar · « **Reply #12 on:** 04/28/2013 08:15 pm »

Quote from: meekGee on 04/28/2013 08:12 pm

I'm guessing you're just playing on "SpaceX: A New Hope"

To be followed by, what, "ULA Strikes Back?", and "OSC, The Phantom Menace"?

EDIT: Or is it "Blue Origin, The Phantom Menace" and "Revenge of OSC"?

Just don't let George write any prequels, that never ends well.

docmordrid · « **Reply #13 on:** 04/28/2013 09:30 pm »

Quote from: Lar on 04/28/2013 08:15 pm

Quote from: meekGee on 04/28/2013 08:12 pm
I'm guessing you're just playing on "SpaceX: A New Hope"

To be followed by, what, "ULA Strikes Back?", and "OSC, The Phantom Menace"?

EDIT: Or is it "Blue Origin, The Phantom Menace" and "Revenge of OSC"?
Just don't let George write any prequels, that never ends well.

Michael Arndt (Brave, Hunger Games: Catching Fire) & JJ Abrams are doing that for Star Wars now. Let them do the SpaceX prequel?

king1999 · « **Reply #14 on:** 04/28/2013 10:52 pm »

Quote from: meekGee on 04/28/2013 08:12 pm

I'm guessing you're just playing on "SpaceX: A New Hope"

To be followed by, what, "ULA Strikes Back?", and "OSC, The Phantom Menace"?

EDIT: Or is it "Blue Origin, The Phantom Menace" and "Revenge of OSC"?

I wasn't thinking that far but thought a new hope is fitting because of the falcon...

deltaV · « **Reply #15 on:** 04/28/2013 11:29 pm »

Don't forget to see "Return of the Saturn V engines" available at a block 2 SLS near you.

QuantumG · « **Reply #16 on:** 04/28/2013 11:40 pm »

I wonder if they're doing a Kindle version.

llanitedave · « **Reply #17 on:** 04/29/2013 02:05 am »

Quote from: king1999 on 04/28/2013 10:52 pm

Quote from: meekGee on 04/28/2013 08:12 pm
I'm guessing you're just playing on "SpaceX: A New Hope"

To be followed by, what, "ULA Strikes Back?", and "OSC, The Phantom Menace"?

EDIT: Or is it "Blue Origin, The Phantom Menace" and "Revenge of OSC"?
I wasn't thinking that far but thought a new hope is fitting because of the falcon...

Just keep your Force peeled in case Darth Bezos shows up.

meekGee · « **Reply #18 on:** 04/29/2013 02:17 am »

... telling them that he's already patented a spherical space station having a concave depression on its surface used for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, so sorry, if they want a space station, they'll need to make it in the shape of a (Warning, cross-over joke) cube.

llanitedave · « **Reply #19 on:** 04/29/2013 03:15 am »

But it better not have rounded corners.

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #20 on:** 04/29/2013 03:37 am »

Quote from: QuantumG on 04/28/2013 11:40 pm

I wonder if they're doing a Kindle version.

Not clear from the website:

Quote from: Springer

Springer eBooks are sold as PDF files without copy protection (DRM free). Instead, all eBooks include personalized watermarks. This means you can read the Springer eBooks across numerous devices such as Laptops, eReaders, and tablets. You can pay for Springer eBooks with Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Paypal. After the purchase you can directly download the eBook file or read it online in our Springer eBook Reader. Furthermore your eBook will be stored in your MySpringer account. So you can always re-download your eBooks.

Looking at Amazon some (but not all!) other books by Eric from Springer have Kindle versions. I can't work out why the difference, but his two books published in 2012 don't currently have Kindle versions.

Lar · « **Reply #21 on:** 04/29/2013 05:06 am »

Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 04/29/2013 03:37 am

Quote from: QuantumG on 04/28/2013 11:40 pm
I wonder if they're doing a Kindle version.

Not clear from the website:

Quote from: Springer
Springer eBooks are sold as PDF files without copy protection (DRM free). Instead, all eBooks include personalized watermarks. This means you can read the Springer eBooks across numerous devices such as Laptops, eReaders, and tablets. You can pay for Springer eBooks with Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Paypal. After the purchase you can directly download the eBook file or read it online in our Springer eBook Reader. Furthermore your eBook will be stored in your MySpringer account. So you can always re-download your eBooks.

Looking at Amazon some (but not all!) other books by Eric from Springer have Kindle versions. I can't work out why the difference, but his two books published in 2012 don't currently have Kindle versions.

I thought you could read PDFs on a Kindle?

I have an HP TouchPad and it can read PDFs and it also has a Kindle reader, but that's not quite the same.

(2 pages of space epic references... that's ... well... epic)

QuantumG · « **Reply #22 on:** 04/29/2013 06:10 am »

Quote from: Lar on 04/29/2013 05:06 am

I thought you could read PDFs on a Kindle?

You can, but it's not as good as a proper Kindle version of the book.

mlindner · « **Reply #23 on:** 04/30/2013 06:52 pm »

Quote from: QuantumG on 04/29/2013 06:10 am

Quote from: Lar on 04/29/2013 05:06 am
I thought you could read PDFs on a Kindle?

You can, but it's not as good as a proper Kindle version of the book.

You can convert it to a Kindle version. There's programs for converting between ebook formats.

QuantumG · « **Reply #24 on:** 04/30/2013 09:53 pm »

Quote from: mlindner on 04/30/2013 06:52 pm

You can convert it to a Kindle version. There's programs for converting between ebook formats.

I could also do their editing, proof reading and publishing for them.. I'm not going to

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #25 on:** 05/27/2013 03:41 pm »

Springer website is now saying publication is June 30th. Amazon has updated accordingly (and I assume other booksellers but I haven't checked).

ClaytonBirchenough · « **Reply #26 on:** 05/28/2013 11:20 am »

So what's the consensus, is it worth buying?

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #27 on:** 05/28/2013 05:15 pm »

Quote from: ClaytonBirchenough on 05/28/2013 11:20 am

So what's the consensus, is it worth buying?

We don't know until someone reads it and posts a review!

If it becomes available to search on Amazon we might be able to tell if Erik's had inside access to SpaceX but even then doesn't guarantee the book is worth buying.

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #28 on:** 06/26/2013 10:42 pm »

Amazon still says June 30th release date, but the PDF ebook appeas to be immediately available for download from Springer:

http://www.springer.com/engineering/mechanical+engineering/book/978-1-4614-5513-4

Also from that page you can download excerpts of the book, namely all the front and back matter (including all the appendices). My impression, from a quick skim through, is that there's little inside info in the book. Certainly the only acknowledgment of content relates to permission to use pictures and details in appendices, eg of Falcon Heavy, are straight off SpaceX's website.

Jason1701 · « **Reply #29 on:** 06/30/2013 06:44 am »

Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 06/26/2013 10:42 pm

Amazon still says June 30th release date, but the PDF ebook appeas to be immediately available for download from Springer:

http://www.springer.com/engineering/mechanical+engineering/book/978-1-4614-5513-4

Also from that page you can download excerpts of the book, namely all the front and back matter (including all the appendices). My impression, from a quick skim through, is that there's little inside info in the book. Certainly the only acknowledgment of content relates to permission to use pictures and details in appendices, eg of Falcon Heavy, are straight off SpaceX's website.

Thanks for the link. An entire paragraph of the preface is plagiarized from the "About SpaceX" section on most of their press releases.

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #30 on:** 06/30/2013 06:57 am »

Amazon has an excerpt of the book, the first few pages of chapter 1. When it gets to the part about Elon starting SpaceX there's no mention of Mars or the Mars greenhouse idea and just a brief note about trying to buy a rocket from Russia.

So initial indications of book content are not very encouraging.

QuantumG · « **Reply #31 on:** 06/30/2013 07:09 am »

Well, you can get that background sound bite story from any Elon interview.. I would think the added value of this book would be stories from the inside.

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #32 on:** 06/30/2013 07:24 am »

Quote from: QuantumG on 06/30/2013 07:09 am

Well, you can get that background sound bite story from any Elon interview.. I would think the added value of this book would be stories from the inside.

Agreed, if there are any ... I would expect at least an acknowledgement though in the book if people had provided such stories?

kiba · « **Reply #33 on:** 06/30/2013 04:24 pm »

Even if there is no insider information, all the information on spacex is scattered all over the place.

So there's great value for a book that compiles all available information into one book.

Jim · « **Reply #34 on:** 06/30/2013 05:21 pm »

Quote from: kiba on 06/30/2013 04:24 pm

Even if there is no insider information, all the information on spacex is scattered all over the place.

So there's great value for a book that compiles all available information into one book.

It is likely outdated

Rabidpanda · « **Reply #35 on:** 06/30/2013 06:45 pm »

I read the excerpt from amazon and the book looks terrible, poorly written and lacking any good information.

dcporter · « **Reply #36 on:** 07/04/2013 02:28 am »

I assume there are people for whom this book has value. I assume that none of them read this forum.

montyrmanley · « **Reply #37 on:** 07/08/2013 10:42 pm »

I just received this book in the mail from Amazon today. I will post a review in the next day or two (it won't take longer than that to read it; the book is only about 170 pages long).

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #38 on:** 07/23/2013 05:29 am »

From this week's The Space Show newsletter:

Quote

Sunday, July 28, 2013, 12-1:30 PM PDT (3-4:30 PM EDT, 2-3:30 PM CDT). We welcome back DR.. Erik Seedhouse to discuss his new book, "SpaceX: Making Commercial Spaceflight A Reality." To purchase this book through Amazon, please us The Space Show/OGLF portal on our website.

montyrmanley · « **Reply #39 on:** 07/23/2013 06:04 pm »

I finished the book a few days ago, and...it's about what we thought. It's basically an extended fan letter to Elon Musk, combined with some technical details you can glean off of this website and others. As far as I can tell there is no original reporting, nor did the author actually interview anyone at SpaceX as far as I can tell.

Is it a horrible book? No. But I'm left wondering who the audience is supposed to be. If it's space enthusiasts...they're going to be disappointed, because the book simply compiles information that has been posted publicly on websites for years now. Yet at the same time I can't imagine a general-interest reader would be very interested in a book like this: the subject matter is too specialized and too technical in nature.

Ultimately the book is not technical enough for technical readers, not in-depth enough for people looking for additional "insider" details on SpaceX itself, and too technical for other readers. Save your money.

yg1968 · « **Reply #40 on:** 07/23/2013 06:48 pm »

The book isn't targeting regulars of this forum. It targets people that have some interest in space but only follow big events (i.e., the vast majority of people).

I haven't bought the book on SpaceX yet. But I bought his book on space tourism a few years ago and I thought that he did a good job summarizing what was going on in the industry.

Nickolai · « **Reply #41 on:** 07/23/2013 07:12 pm »

Quote from: montyrmanley on 07/23/2013 06:04 pm

I finished the book a few days ago, and...it's about what we thought. It's basically an extended fan letter to Elon Musk, combined with some technical details you can glean off of this website and others. As far as I can tell there is no original reporting, nor did the author actually interview anyone at SpaceX as far as I can tell.

Is it a horrible book? No. But I'm left wondering who the audience is supposed to be. If it's space enthusiasts...they're going to be disappointed, because the book simply compiles information that has been posted publicly on websites for years now. Yet at the same time I can't imagine a general-interest reader would be very interested in a book like this: the subject matter is too specialized and too technical in nature.

Ultimately the book is not technical enough for technical readers, not in-depth enough for people looking for additional "insider" details on SpaceX itself, and too technical for other readers. Save your money.

Thanks for taking the time to read and review it for us. It's a shame it didn't turn out as we had hoped.

Nickolai · « **Reply #42 on:** 07/23/2013 07:16 pm »

Quote from: Lar on 04/28/2013 03:56 pm

Elon supposedly was interviewed by Chris a fair bit, back in the day... was he a user here? did he ever post anything?

Well, someone did register with the name elonmusk:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=profile;u=4917

I'll even save you the trouble of clicking the link:
Date created: 01/31/2007 03:28 AM
Last active: 01/01/1970 12:33 AM [clearly indicating never]

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