In the autumn of 2008, SpaceX had money for exactly one more rocket launch. The three before it had all failed — and if the fourth failed too, there was no fifth. This is the story of the eight weeks, the nine minutes, and the single launch that saved the company that would one day stage the largest IPO in history.
It's also a business story about one decision: when you're nearly broke, do you conserve what's left — or bet it all on the next attempt? The corroded nut that doomed the first rocket. The fuel slosh on the second. The live-TV failure of the third. The worst year of Elon Musk's life, with SpaceX and Tesla both dying at once. And the $1.6 billion NASA contract that turned survival into a future.
Chapters:
0:00 Cold open — one launch left
1:21 The bet
2:27 Three failures