A fascinating look at various 'space' things. Nothing really new to me, by the time I read it, but an entertaining read nevertheless.

I thank the publisher, and Netgalley for my opportunity to review this book.

This book was so interesting. It covered what’s available now and what is being dreamed of for the future. Makes me wish I was a billionaire so I could book my seat on an orbiter.

A fascinating and well-researched book on the future of Space Travel and endeavours. The chapters were well thought out and carried a narrative throughout the book. Some parts might be hard for those not familiar with the science behind the space missions but it is balanced with enough plain language that the reader should be able to follow it.

I have enjoyed this book. Anyone who has been reading more science based SF and wants to know how soon we will have space hotels and lunar colonies, will want to grab this look at our progress and possibilities.
The early chapters include some maths about rocket launches but you can skip over this and continue.
Plenty about early rocket launches and where they went, why we are not doing that anymore but doing other exciting work in space. And why public funded bodies are not competitive.
Private enterprise has to plan to make money at every stage of the process and this is how firms such as SpaceX have been prospering, while crowdfunded efforts have not.

We get brief looks at the firms and people behind SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin and Bigelow Airspace. Some of them want to bring us to Mars, others just space tourism.

Also we get a nice brief look at asteroid mining, lunar exploitation and other resources. A fascinating idea included is sending probes smaller than cubesats to explore Alpha Centauri for us, and if started now, we could be looking at the pictures in under 40 years.
Overall this is readable with not too much physics to confuse and solid referencing - enough to give you a good grounding and you can research further on any particular topic.

Further reading starts on P157. Index P161 (not provided in my e-ARC). We get some b/w photos and a couple of tables. Sadly, almost no women mentioned, apart from a few female astronauts. Homage is duly paid to some (male) SF writers from Clarke to Asimov.

I read this ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

Having enjoyed one of Andrew May’s previous books in the “Hot Science” series, “Destination Mars”, I was eager to read his latest title, “The Space Business”, exploring schemes by mega-rich private companies and individuals to exploit the commercial potential of space.
Author Andrew May takes an accessible look at the attempts by private companies to commercialise space, from offering a trip into orbit for ordinary people, to launching satellites and mining asteroids. “Space tourists” have actually been around for many years, but the first one didn’t get much change out of $40 million for his ticket. For now, a day out in space is only an option for the super-rich. And, yes, it’s the super-rich who are behind it.
Your enjoyment of this book does rather depend on your opinion of Elon Musk, (and other ambitious billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, and to a lesser extent, Richard Branson), as, naturally, he and his Space X company are mentioned quite a lot. All three have their eyes on offering space jaunts to the masses. To be honest, the constant reiteration of Musk’s vast wealth and his plans for space does get a little tiresome but I don’t lay the blame for that at Andrew May’s door. Elon Musk IS a very wealthy and tiresome person, but it’s an unavoidable fact that he will be at the forefront of future space activity.
The sections on the science of actually getting a rocket or indeed anything into space are interesting and informative. These parts are obviously very technical but still accessible and perfectly understandable by the layman thanks to Andrew May’s relaxed writing style. The fantastical spacecraft described in this book may seem like science fiction, but we may actually see them in the next fifty years. Some of them already exist in one form or another. This is amazing and scary in equal measure.
Hot Science books are short, easy reads, and I can highly recommend this latest one if you’re interested in the future of space travel, both scientific and commercial. It is both a breathtaking and sobering read.

Many thanks to Icon Books and NetGalley for kindly offering me an advanced reading copy of this title.