
SpaceX
Acquired
Reflections on Basketball Nostalgia and the Skill-Luck Continuum
This chapter reflects on nostalgic memories of the pivotal 1998 basketball season while highlighting its cultural impact. It also features a discussion on the balance of skill and luck in competition, inspired by an insightful talk from a guest speaker.
On the eve of SpaceX's historic scheduled launch of its first human spaceflight mission — both the first ever by a private company, and the first to take place on American soil in nearly a decade — we tell the incredible story of its rise from ragtag rocket jocks to the most disruptive and advanced force in aerospace today. While much of the Musk spotlight has shone on Tesla in recent years, is SpaceX actually the company that will have the greatest impact on our world's future, and perhaps even other worlds beyond? All of a sudden that idea seems a little less crazy...
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Links:
- The Tesla episode: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/season-3-episode-1tesla
- The Ascend Conference: https://www.ascend.events
Carveouts:
- David: The Last Dance: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28973557/the-last-dance-updates-untold-story-michael-jordan-chicago-bulls
- Ben: Michael Mauboussin on the Success Equation: https://youtu.be/1JLfqBsX5Lc
Sources:
- Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance: https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X
- https://timelines.issarice.com/wiki/Timeline_of_SpaceX
- https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/03/spacex-historic-falcon-9-re-flight-ses-10/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/wiki/economics
- https://www.space.com/40547-spacex-rocket-evolution.html
- https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/08/how-and-why-spacex-will-colonize-mars.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_D._Griffin
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Cantrell
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mueller
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Shotwell
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Orbital_Transportation_Services
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Act_Agreement
- https://www.spacex.com/mission/
- https://venturebeat.com/2008/08/06/private-rocket-company-spacex-gets-20m-from-the-founders-fund/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches
- https://www.space.com/40547-spacex-rocket-evolution.html
- https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starlink-spacecraft-pictures-elon-musk-2018-2
- https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/inside-the-eight-desperate-weeks-that-saved-spacex-from-ruin/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/science/spacex-nasa-launch.html
- https://graphics.reuters.com/SPACE-EXPLORATION-SPACEX/010091Q82NF/index.html
- https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/31/elon-musk-spacex-is-now-worth-more-than-tesla.html
- https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-wins-launch-contract-egyptian-telecom-company/
- https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-booster-overboard/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYocHwhfFDc
- https://oig.nasa.gov/docs/IG-18-016.pdf
- https://everydayastronaut.com/will-the-falcon-9-actually-be-reusable-or-just-refurbish-able-like-the-space-shuttle/