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SpaceX Will Send Japanese Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa Around the Moon (theverge.com)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed on Monday the identity of the passenger signed to visit the moon, set to launch on the company's Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) vehicle: Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. Mr. Maezawa, 42, is the founder of Japan's Start Today, which operates largest online clothing retailer site in the country Zozotown and Wear. The Verge adds: Maezawa, who is 42, reportedly has a real time net worth of $2.9 billion, according to Forbes. He is also an avid art collector, and spent $110.5 million on a 1982 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat called "Untitled" last year. "Finally, I can tell you that I choose to go to the Moon!" Maezawa said at a SpaceX event, announcing his trip. This isn't the first time that SpaceX has announced it plans to send a paying customer to the Moon on one of its vehicles. In February 2017, Musk proclaimed that two individuals had each put down a "significant deposit" to fly around the Moon on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, a larger version of the Falcon 9. No details about the passengers were given, though Musk said it was "nobody from Hollywood." The flight was slated to occur before the end of this year. "Ever since I was a kid, I have loved the moon," Maezawa said in a website that his team and SpaceX created for this expedition. "This is a project that I designed and made: #dearMoon," He added, noting that it will be launched in 2023. "I choose to go to the moon with artists. In 2023, as the host, I would like to invite 6 to 8 artists from around the world to join me on this mission to the Moon." He said going to the moon can contribute to "world peace."
Mr. Musk said SpaceX's first orbital flight could be in 2-3 years, and then it would test flights without a passenger around the moon. He added, however, that as far as the proposed 2023 deadline is concerned to get the first paying passenger on the moon, he is "definitely not sure about it," as there could be some delays because of the uncertainties and complexities.
Mr. Musk said SpaceX's first orbital flight could be in 2-3 years, and then it would test flights without a passenger around the moon. He added, however, that as far as the proposed 2023 deadline is concerned to get the first paying passenger on the moon, he is "definitely not sure about it," as there could be some delays because of the uncertainties and complexities.
I am happy and excited about being a multi-planet society. The earth is not big enough.
Its good to see positive people talk about a positive future and give people hope and something to look forward to.
I am glad that a civilian will step up and take his money and put it into something that will help people and the future!
Hard problems can only be solved through hard work and thinking outside the box.
I hope this flight goes off without a hitch. My hat's off to Maezawa, Musk, and everyone involved in the project.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
and do the other things, because they are easy, but because they are expensive.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
No Musk did not launch a Saturn V.
Bernie Sanders pointed this out, but while Bezo's employees make so little my tax dollars go to buy them enough food to live he's spending money on space tourism. I'm not saying space exploration isn't important, but these guys aren't adding much if any new tech. They're just using what was already there (and paid for by my tax dollars, yet again).
If we could afford to send these guys to space _and_ pay their employees a living wage I wouldn't be complaining, but it seems like they're riding to space on the backs of the working poor...
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I find his idea vacuous. But, so long as he helps fund the development of BFR / BFS, I don't care if his mission for buying the first flight was for the opportunity to juggle goslings in microgravity by bouncing them off the walls. A paying customer is a paying customer.
"Who the hell is Nietzche? It's a question stupid people are asking." -- Newscaster, "Jesus Christ Supercop"
Huh, 20 cases and 689 docket entries? Let's see what happens when we substitute another random billionaire - say, Zuckerberg? Oh hey, what do you know, 54 cases and 6072 docket entries. I guess he's is going Megabankwupt...
"Who the hell is Nietzche? It's a question stupid people are asking." -- Newscaster, "Jesus Christ Supercop"
On care anyone is curious what a $110 million painting looks like:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/0...
That's one of the most expensive paintings ever auctioned. The artist died of a drug overdose at the age of 27.
"You'll never get a rocket to orbit"
Musk: gets rocket to orbit.
"Well you'll never be able to land it"
Musk: Lands rocket. Makes it routine.
"But you'll never be able to refly it!"
Musk: reflies rockets routinely.
"But it'll take a year of refurb each time!"
Musk: gets refurb to under 4 weeks, targeting 24 hours.
"Yeah but it'll never save money"
Musk: reduces launch costs to lowest in industry on re-flow rockets.
"OK but you'll never make the BFR!"
Musk: hold my beer.
His first choice was to move to the Sun - but the rent's there are just too high.
#DeleteChrome
I predict this will be the first of Many Babies make in space on the maiden voyage.
Well of course he's not sure about landing someone on the Moon, this isn't about that.
The planned flight, if you'd looked at the website or video at all, is to do a fly-by of the moon.
...
The heaviest rocket system in the world, not in history. The Saturn V, for all its merit, is not a current player.
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
404
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Musk said it was "nobody from Hollywood".
That doesn't narrow the field very much. Almost every actor counts as "nobody from Hollywood."
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
Sending someone around the Moon is relatively difficult, mainly when that person has no special training. But the difficulty associated with making the next logical step (landing on its surface) is orders of magnitude higher. The 2023 deadline seems way too optimistic.
Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
Man successfully enters orbit of the Moon!
Yeah because if I ran a company I sure as hell wouldn’t make over prices poorly built piece of shit golf carts.
It wouldn't be a US company if it wasn't making over priced, poorly built pieces of shit.
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
Saturn V is the heaviest rocket system in the world in the same way that Rome is the largest city. I mean, it USED to be, right?
Ezekiel 23:20
The heaviest rocket system in the world, not in history. The Saturn V, for all its merit, is not a current player.
That's not how English works... if you say he's the world's tallest man without further qualifications it's generally assumed to mean the tallest man in history. True, the SpaceX page says "The world's most powerful rocket" as a headline but immediately follows up with "Falcon Heavy is the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two." and that's fair. It's like using "The world's tallest man" as a headline and "At 251 cm, Sultan Kosen is the world's tallest currently living man." as the introduction. But if you're not going to say anything more then it's a bit dishonest...
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Saturn V is the heaviest rocket system in the world in the same way that Rome is the largest city. I mean, it USED to be, right?
If all current cities were smaller than ancient Rome then that analogy would make sense. You're comparing apples and oranges...
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
"In February 2017, Musk proclaimed that two individuals had each put down a "significant deposit" to fly around the Moon on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket,"
Elon confirmed in the Q&A that the 2 individuals were Yusaku Maezawa and someone else he was going to bring, and then spoke about how the Crew Dragon would really only hold 2 people comfortably for this trip (as it's about the same size inside as an SUV), and that by using BFS, more people are able to go. Musk mentioned maybe a dozen, whereas Yusaku had earlier mentioned about 6-8. So likely the other person was to be an artist, but with BFR and BFS he can take several artists.
So if I launch a model rocket from my backyard, it's the heaviest current launch, right? I can claim that title?
He (or his company) has done amazing things, but he has always been overly optimistic about when it would happen. If he says 2023, you can be certain it won't happen till the late 2020's (at best).
hey, killing billionaires in space is the kind of art project I can wholeheartedly support!
Although that may limit repeat rocket sales.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Really? I find it pretty inspiring, at least to the extent that space tourism can be. The guy is bringing others with him, for one, which is a first among billionaire space tourists. He's also not just bringing buddies - he's essentially commissioning artists to create (presumably public) works based on their experience of seeing the moon, which is a tangible and accessible way of giving something back to a broader community.
Finally, there is a bit of a historical homage to this flight - it mirrors Apollo 8 in the overall mission profile, which was the first time any humans had seen the far side of the moon. If I remember correctly, upon seeing the moon close up, Jim Lovell commented that he wished they had a poet aboard who could properly articulate the sense of awe and wonder of the experience - as it was, it was left to some no-nonsense test pilots to try to inspire a global audience via grainy TV broadcast.
Anyhow, this is a PR stunt, certainly, but it seems to be a thoughtful one.
As long as Musk follows the first Rule of Acquisition.
#DeleteFacebook
...I genuinely hope they're successful and everyone comes back alive.
-Styopa
The early astronauts, pretty much to a man, experienced a profound shift in their world views when they were able to behold the view of Earth from afar. They truly realized how fragile and isolated our world is. These were not guys predisposed to such touchy-feeliness, and yet they were still deeply affected.
If more CEOs and billionaires experienced the same view firsthand, perhaps they might give pause, reexamine their ways, and give more thought to long term consequences rather than short term profits.
If the world's tallest building were demolished, it would no longer be the world's tallest building. Some other building would be.
If the tallest building in history were demolished, it would still be the tallest building in history, until someone built a taller one.
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
"Poetry is nobody's business except the poet's," wrote Philip Larkin, "and everybody else can fuck off."
"Poetry is nobody's business except the poet's," wrote Philip Larkin, "and everybody else can fuck off."
Instead of trying to appeal to general audiences, even educated ones, modern poets and artists try to appeal a small circle of people consisting of themselves, professional critics, and a small number of big-pocket patrons who, unlike the patrons of past classical art and literature, seek to distance themselves from the masses rather than win their approval. This has created a spiral where creatives try to constantly outdo each other in going against established norms and tastes by being controversial, offensive, or outright incomprehensible just for the sake of it.
And they were largely successful at it: they created a "high culture" that reliably signal a certain upper-class/elite subculture, but is repulsive to all us peons, who instead consume what is disparagingly designated as "pop culture".
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
I've heard Musk say this before, but he also repeated it in last night's announcement. One of the biggest benefits of this mission, and of SpaceX in general, is it gives everyone something to be hopeful about. There is plenty in this world to be down about as evidenced by all of the complaints filed around here. At the end of the day, who doesn't want to see people visiting the Moon!
I want to see it. I want to follow the updates and be excited about them. I want my son to be excited about it - maybe it will even be one of those events where he will forever remember where he was when the dearMoon BFR lifted off. Maybe he will tell his children about it.
There is still plenty to complain about, but I for one, am happy to sit back and say this is awesome!
-It writes, rates, creates, even telecommunicates. Costs less, does more the Commodore 64. Compute's Gazette
Finally, there is a bit of a historical homage to this flight - it mirrors Apollo 8 in the overall mission profile, which was the first time any humans had seen the far side of the moon. If I remember correctly, upon seeing the moon close up, Jim Lovell commented that he wished they had a poet aboard who could properly articulate the sense of awe and wonder of the experience - as it was, it was left to some no-nonsense test pilots to try to inspire a global audience via grainy TV broadcast.
More than mirrors. Its aspiration is to duplicate the enormously far-reaching effect of the photograph called Earthrise by astronaut William Anders during the Apollo 8 mission. Earthrise has been praised as "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken." Today, a kid with Blender can create more spectacular imagery in an afternoon, but in 1968, that photo, and the reality of that photo, was earthshaking. It's debatable what photograph is the most reproduced in history, but Earthrise has to be in the top ten.
Maezawa hopes he can enable something similar. It's just possible that he might.
He (or his company) has done amazing things, but he has always been overly optimistic about when it would happen. If he says 2023, you can be certain it won't happen till the late 2020's (at best).
That's no longer as certain as it once was, and it ignores the fact that they already have the Raptor engine.
Falcon Heavy took much longer than expected because it ended up being a complete reengineering of Falcon 9. Falcon 9 Block 5 is entirely different from Falcon 9 Block 1, from the configuration of the engine pack to the size and shape of the reentry grid fins. Tip to tail, Falcon 9 had to be redone before Falcon Heavy was possible.
SpaceX has effectively designed three rockets now: Falcon 1, Falcon 9 Block 1, and Falcon 9 Block 5 in Heavy configuration. BFR is their fourth rocket, and it's a clean sheet design by an experienced team. That clean sheet was too little constraint, resulting in resizings and reworkings of the engine packs several times. Now that a size has been settled on, a lot of things will be decided very quickly.
With an operating engine, the only full-flow staged-combustion methane engine ever to reach testing, with BFR structure and skin already being fabricated (there were photos included in the video presentation during the press conference), SpaceX is more likely to hit their target dates this time than they ever were before. This time they know what they're doing, since they've done a lot of it before, and since the hardest part (the engines) started development in 2013. They're already half a decade into the process. That helps a lot with the time lines.
I'd pay to watch gosling juggling in microgravity.
Perhaps by the time SpaceX gets there, they can take Mr Maezawa's ashes!
Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.