How SpaceX set off a new race to commercialise space
Ashlee Vance charts the contest in “When the Heavens Went on Sale”
Kwajalein Atoll is as close to the middle of nowhere as you can get. Some 3,000km (1,900 miles) from Papua New Guinea, and almost 4,000km from Honolulu, this tiny speck of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean became, on September 28th 2008, the unlikely site of an improbable revolution.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Reach for the stars”
Culture May 6th 2023
From the May 6th 2023 edition
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In the second world war, some diplomacy was done between the sheets
Pamela Churchill Harriman, daughter-in-law of the prime minister, ran an effective charm offensive
Why the world is so animated about anime
Japan’s cartoons have conquered its screens, and more
How a second nuclear disaster was avoided at Chernobyl in 2022
The Russian occupation underscored the risks posed by nuclear sites in wartime
Han Kang wins the Nobel prize in literature for 2024
The South Korean author offers another example of the country’s cultural clout
How complicated is brain surgery actually?
A doctor reveals the myths and realities of his profession
Why you should read Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
The Senegalese novelist is one of the boldest writers working today