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PayPal Founder Wants To Launch Satellites

Posted by Hemos on from the go-up-up-up-going-up-up-up dept.

XNormal writes "Elon Musk, founder of Zip2 and PayPal is planning to build a launcher for small satellites. Much of his personal fortune come from the IPO of PayPal and subsequent sale to eBay. The amount of money he plans to spend on this project is not much more than Denis Tito spent on his space station visit. The difference is that this venture actually tries to do something productive. Elon is also behind the Life to Mars mission."

26 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. Productive? by duncan+bayne · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The difference is that this venture actually tries to do something productive.

    Excuse me? I thought that Tito purchased an orbital holiday for ~ $20 million.

    Now, I can imagine how much I'd enjoy an orbital holiday. It'd be a lot of fun: an exciting new sensation that I'd be unlikely (in the present climate) to experience ever again. I imagine Tito felt the same.

    So, how was this purchase not productive? Tito gained (an orbital holiday), the Russians gained (money for the space project). I suspect your criticism of it as being unproductive is in part due to the fact that it was unashamedly self-interested (good on him for it!), and in part because you couldn't afford it yourself.

    1. Re:Productive? by bravehamster · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Hear, hear! I'm tired of hearing people bitch about how rich people throw their money away doing frivolous things. It's not like Tito pushed the money into the vacuum of space. He paid peoples salaries, and helped the Russians keep up their part of the ISS bargain. Just because someone spends money on something you may consider stupid doesn't mean that money is gone. I have yet to see a single economic report that says that spending money is a Bad Thing(tm).

      --
      ---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
    2. Re:Productive? by nomadic · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Agreed. The opposition to Tito's flight from the slashdot crowd is mainly jealousy that they didn't have a chance to do the same thing. The opposition from the NASA crowd is over the fact that someone from outside their little clique had the gall to get himself up there. Bunch of overbearing elitists with square haircuts who forget who pays their salaries; space was supposed to be opened up for everyone, not just them.

      The ironic thing is Tito is a former NASA engineer, with the same background as the many of the other astronauts.

  2. Shoulda known by LostCluster · · Score: 4, Funny

    It always seemed like PayPal was founded by some kind of space cadet. We shoulda seen this coming.

  3. im confused now by rainman31415 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Elon is also behind the Life to Mars mission.
    i thought janet reno sent him back to cuba or something....

    no .sig, dont smoke rainman

  4. Better use... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Maybe he should put some of that vast fortune into preventing paypal from sucking.

  5. Rocket-pal by MrLint · · Score: 5, Funny

    You too can invest in this state of the art method of sending stuff into space. But be forwarned, just because rocket-pal sends things into space they arent an actualy aero-space firm, so ifyou lose all your investment/cargo with them its not insured!

    Fly rocket-pal today!

  6. And of course.. by Large+Green+Mallard · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He won't have to get approval for his space mission because it's not a space flight, it's an interstratum transport venture, which isn't regulated like space flights are

    (cf: PayPal not being a bank and thus have responsibilities to the FED and FDIC :)

    1. Re:And of course.. by MacAndrew · · Score: 3, Funny

      it's not a space flight, it's an interstratum transport venture

      Re "interstratum transport venture":

      (1) What the heck is it?

      (2) Could you say "interstratum transport venture" 6 times fast?

      Thx. :)

    2. Re:And of course.. by Myco · · Score: 3, Funny
      Assuming you know the meanings of "transport" and "venture," I'll venture to define "interstratum."

      Actually, I imagine you're familiar with the prefix "inter-," meaning "between," already as well.

      "Strata" are, uh, layers, basically. Generally stacked up on top of each other, as layers tend to do. Like geological layers, or the layers of a parfait or a Slurpee in one of those cool Strata cups. Or atmospheric layers. You know our atmosphere has layers, right? Troposphere, and, um, and so on. Oh, and "stratum" is the singular form of "strata," natch.

      So what we've got here is a venture to transport something between atmospheric strata. Which is a fancy way of saying, it ain't going all the way into space so it doesn't count.

      I guess. Your kilom't'rage may vary.

      --
      My deviantArt site
  7. I'm unimpressed... by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 4, Interesting
    His projected cost per kilogram is about $20K. That's similar to the cost of the space shuttle per kg, but that launches 40 times more stuff. Big flippin' deal.

    By comparison, the Russian Proton rocket is down at $2.6K/kg.

    But if he really wanted to do something impressive he would design a 2 stage fully reusable rocket. That could probably launch for $0.5K/kg to $1K/kg.

    --

    -WolfWithoutAClause

    "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    1. Re:I'm unimpressed... by Tyler+Eaves · · Score: 4, Informative

      The problem with that argument is that the "FLIPPIN'" space shuttle always costs the same per launch [1], so that if all you need is to launch a 400kg sat into LEO it's kind of wasteful. Shuttle is basically never used for private sector stuff anyway.

      As for the Russians, well with satelites, the cost of the sat usually exceeds that of the launch. The proton, IIRC, tends to turn into little bits and peices about 10% of the time.

      As for being ruseable, hogwash! That adds complexity to the system, as well as refurbishing costs. It'll add weight to the launch vehicle which either translates into a larger launch vehicle (= more money) or lower payload (= smaller market). Not a good choice.

      [1] - Yes, yes, I know, it will vary a bit, but not related to payload or anything...

      --
      TODO: Something witty here...
  8. So.. by su007 · · Score: 5, Funny

    They will take your satellite, hold onto it for a few months, and ignore you if you ask about the status. When you do finally get a hold of someone, they will remind you that per the terms of the service, your satellite was %100 at risk. At that point they will inform you that they have flagged your satellite for possible abuse, and already reviewed your case and decided to keep your satellite. If you wish to contest this you will have to go into binding satellite arbitration. http://www.paypalsucks.com/news.shtml

  9. Evil by mao+che+minh · · Score: 3, Informative
    *sarcasm* What a great company this guy created, he so deserves the millions that line his pockets!:

    PayPal horror stories: Boycott-PalPal.com

    Google search of "beware of paypal": Beware

    PayPal Warning

    Petition to shut down PayPal My skin is crawling - really.

    1. Re:Evil by Tablizer · · Score: 4, Funny


      Before: "Sorry, Your money is locked in the Limbo account."

      After: "Sorry, Your money is circling above the Earth."

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  10. Farscape? by MacAndrew · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If this guy is really into space, and has a lot of money, what do you think the chances are we could talk him into buying an inexpensive $800,000 fan-financed episode of Farscape? Wishful thinking? Anyone know his address? :)

    These rich folks and their diversions put my hobbies to shame..... They put even my hobby aspirations to shame!

  11. Re:I have an idea... by phorm · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah, but if Carmack went to the moon/mars then the place would suddenly become infested by grey demons and ugly pig things with big teeth. Subsequently, they'd be sucked into hell and have to battle their way through before returning to save earth...

  12. Do not be fooled! by teamhasnoi · · Score: 3, Funny

    It is a front for the construction of his EVIL Space Fortress! When the lasers are raining hot, burning death upon us all, YOU will be sorry you used Paypal to buy that anime video!

  13. Vision by andyring · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Like it or hate it, admit it. This guy's got vision. Not only did he start one of the few remaining "dot coms", he seems to have another idea that could really take off (no pun intended). Perhaps he'll be able to come up with a cheaper and/or easier method for deploying satellites, in fact it sounds like that's what it's all about. Satellites work wonders already, and if they become more within the reach of a wider market, I can see only good things coming from it. Who knows, maybe better satellite 'net access, cheaper satellite phones, more amateur radio satellites, increased competition all around.

    More power to ya!

  14. Sometimes you need a small load by astrashe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you go to the warehouse grocery store, you pay less than you do at 7-11. And if you use a big vehicle, you get a better price per kg. There are economies of scale.

    But what if what you're lofting doesn't weight 40x as much? Wouldn't it be nice to get the good price anyway? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to go to 7-11 and the a single can of soda for the same price you pay for a can when you buy a case at the warehouse store?

    This guy is no dummy, and I'm sure he's identified a market.

  15. It's all so clear by dirkdidit · · Score: 4, Funny

    Heh, so thats where all that "lost" PayPal money went.

  16. Safe Trading Precautions by man_ls · · Score: 5, Informative

    With all of these horror stories, I am going to open myself up to moderation as flamebait and share some tips with you.

    I have routinely had over $500 in my PayPal account, at times bordering on $1000. For me, I use it as a place to stash my "mid-term savings" pool. It's easy enough to get the money out if I need it using the MasterCard-branded debit card; but it's not cash in my wallet that I'll shove into a soda machine or cafeteria line at lunch.

    I also do quite a bit of trading on eBay and have even dealt in the more "dangerous" auction fields like playerauctions.com.

    For eBay trades, send the thing with some proof that you sent it. USPS Delivery Confirmation if you're cheap or don't care about things like tracking; USPS Registered if you're hung up on USPS. UPS is decent; they have tracking. FedEx has a very good security policy...you can specify to leave the package with no signature, try to get it signed but leave it if waived, or require a personal signature -- no waivers accepted. Of course that costs extra, but if you are worried about being defrauded by your buyer, that's not too much extra to ask.

    For PlayerAuctions, my Thawte (www.thawte.com) S/MIME certificate, for signing and authenticating e-mails that I send, is sufficient. A signed message with the account key(s) contained inside it.

    It's impossible to forge the digital signature saying I sent the thing; just like it's impossible to convince the FedEx man to leave the package without a signature, when it says "signature required -- no waiver accepted"

    Common sense states these things. Online trading is fundamentally about trust. Cover yourself in your auctions -- Seller reserves the right to end the deal at any time; even after payment has been remitted (If payment has been remitted, it will be returned to you.) A bid contract is a legally binding agreement; if they don't like your terms, they don't have to buy it from you.

    If you cover your back with these sorts of things, you're virtually guarenteed to have a good reputation in the online community. On the off chance someone still tries to fraud you, you have hard proof that they are lying. And guess what? That's a crime.

    The Federal Government and the FTC don't look too kindly on interstate commerce fraud and mail fraud.

  17. Let me get this straight by USC-MBA · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Here we have Elton Musk, boy genius, whose company, PayPal, in spite of the fact that its business model consisited essentially of investing its customers' deposits and pocketing the returns while performing currency exchanges (think: how high could the overhead possibly be on such a service? And variable costs are essentially zero!) while at the same time collecting fees off Business and Premier PayPal accounts, still took four years to acheive profitability.

    Mr. Musk is now going to enter into the commercial sattelite launch industry, an industry whose barriers to entry are (ahem) astronimical, and compete with far cheaper Russian services. Since Mr. Musk is not utilizing any new technological innovation, he will presumably rely purely on his business know-how to make his sattelite company as efficient as PayPal...

    Oh, the things a measly 1.5 billion and dollars will do to a man's ego...

  18. It's not falling it's flying. by Ted_Green · · Score: 4, Funny

    Mind you falling is just a form of flying where the ground gets in your way.

  19. Re:And each time he needs more funding... by saskboy · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm sorry, but your rocket is currently frozen in space. If you wish to unfreeze your rocket, before our rocket investigation is complete, please:
    fax
    email
    phone
    telegraph
    courier
    ai rmail
    pony express your noterized appeal to us so that we may deny it.
    Thank you for using OrbitPal a partner company with spaceAway.

    --
    Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
  20. Not just that. by TheLink · · Score: 3, Interesting

    He was a pioneer. His space trip was probably one of the most useful space experiments the ISS will ever do in its lifespan. It was also successful.

    Remember, NASA were asses about the whole thing initially. After the Russians and Tito proved them wrong, NASA changed their tune. Now space tourism is at least being given consideration.

    USD20 million is nothing, NASA and others have wasted that and more on far less useful stuff.

    --