Chapter 78: Uncertainty: Twitter, July–September 2022

This chapter chronicles SpaceX's quest to land and reuse orbital-class rockets, spanning from the Grasshopper test program in 2014 through the triumphant December 2015 landing of the Falcon 9 first stage. Musk's drive to achieve this engineering milestone is tested by setbacks, competition from Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, and technical challenges that demand pushing rocket fuel to extreme densities.

The narrative opens with a SpaceX board visit to McGregor, Texas in August 2014 to witness a Grasshopper test flight, which ends in explosion when one of three engines malfunctions. Musk's nonchalant response—inviting the board to walk through the flaming debris field—exemplifies his risk-tolerant approach. Sam Teller, newly hired as Musk's chief of staff, observes the surreal board discussion about Martian city planning and space suits. The broader SpaceX program then enters a difficult period: a Falcon 9 fails on June 28, 2015 (Musk's birthday) when a strut buckles in the second stage. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos achieves a successful suborbital hop with Blue Origin's rocket in November 2015 and announces it via his first-ever tweet, claiming the milestone. Musk responds dismissively on Twitter, noting Grasshopper flew similar hops years earlier and highlighting that true achievement requires orbital capability. On December 21, 2015, Musk's gamble pays off when Falcon 9 successfully launches and its first stage lands vertically on a pad near Cape Canaveral. The booster had been supercooled to minus 350 degrees Fahrenheit—a modification Musk pushed relentlessly despite engineer Mark Juncosa's concerns. During countdown, Juncosa spots worrisome drips but ultimately defers the final go/no-go call to Musk, who intuits the risk is acceptable and says "Fuck it. Let's just go." The landing succeeds; what Musk initially hears as failure is revealed as the sonic boom of the rocket's reentry. The team celebrates at Fishlips bar while Musk shouts about launching and landing the world's biggest rocket. Bezos congratulates SpaceX via tweet but categorizes the booster as "suborbital," attempting to equate it with Blue Origin's accomplishment—a distinction that infuriates Musk, who sees orbital capability as fundamentally different.