Iceberg, Right Ahead 218
that,” a SpaceXer said. “Within moments the energy of the
building went from despair and defeat to a massive buzz of
determination as people began to focus on moving forward
instead of looking back. I wish I had video footage as I
would love to analyze the shifts in body language that
occurred over those five seconds.”^404
If the fourth rocket failed, SpaceX would die.^25 “When
people really understand it’s do or die but if we work hard
and pull through, there’s going to be a great outcome,
people will give it everything they’ve got,” Elon said.^22
Everything hinged on the fourth launch. SpaceX had fi-
nanced the rocket by selling future launches. If the rocket
failed again, SpaceX had to return the money. “It would
have been over,” Adeo Ressi said. “We’re talking Harvard
Business School case study – rich guy who goes into the
rocket business and loses it all.”^278