Time by Stephen Baxter

Fun and dripping with particle physics and attempts to comprehend the universe. Reid Malenfant and his company Bootstrap set forth to launch humanity into space and simultaneously make a massive profit by mining asteroids. He is distracted along the way by a creepy mathematician and eschatologist called Cornelius Taine who can 'prove' that humanity will suffer inescapable extinction within 200 years. The battle is on; to develop space flight; build a device capable of detecting messages from the future and save the future.

Malenfant will also have to negotiate with a genetically enhanced super-squid, NASA and his ex-wife if he is to succeed in the face of all odds. No, this is not a comedy.