Well Documented Examination Of Space Tech Beyond Musk and Bezos. At least in the US (where both Ariosto and I are based), if you’re talking space these days you’re generally talking NASA, Elon Musk (SpaceX), or Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin). This book goes into the details of where space science and tech are *beyond* just those three entities, traveling all over the world showing how different people in different areas are contributing to pushing humanity beyond our home world – and why. While there are a lot of details here, including how nativist US policies ultimately both created China’s space program decades ago and pushed it to new heights (both literally and figuratively) more recently, this is also more of a complete overview of the entire field than a deep dive on any particular tech or event. Even as some significant ones – including the race to have the first commercial lunar lander – are more heavily detailed than other aspects. (For example, while space craft of various forms are discussed heavily, I don’t remember any mention whatsoever of space suit tech and only the barest mention of space food tech.)
Still, for all that it *does* cover, this book will actually better inform you of a lot of things that perhaps even some within the space exploration field may not be fully aware of (as I’m all too familiar with the idea even in my own field that a practitioner isn’t always fully aware of newer developments even in their own field). At 22% documentation, it is also fairly well sourced and because it is primarily reporting on current and near future tech and the histories thereof, Sagan doesn’t really apply here – making the 22% more than sufficient for this particular narrative.
Overall, this is an exploration of space exploration in its current forms that is clearly designed for mass appeal, and I do think this is one that most anyone even remotely interested in space tech and how we got where we currently are (beyond NASA, Musk, and Bezos) will find quite informative indeed.
Very much recommended.
This review of Open Space by David Ariosto was originally written on March 24, 2026.