Photo: Twitter/Elon Musk
The moment the space industry has been waiting for on Monday finally came, as Elon Musk and SpaceX revealed the name of the man which is likely to become humanity’s first space tourist: Yusaku Maezawa.
If the name doesn’t ring any bells, don’t worry, you’re not alone. The 42-year old is famous, but mostly in his home country of Japan, where he built an online fashion retail giant called Zozotown. He is also known is certain circles as a sucker for art, having founded the Contemporary Art Foundation in Japan.
The man’s first travel to and around the Moon is being targeted for 2023, provided the Big Falcon Rocket is ready by then.
After revealing the name of the space tourist, Musk failed to say how much money the man paid for the privilege. But it must have been quite a lot, because Elon Musk allowed the Japanese to ride him. And he also allowed him to take on his trip eight yet unnamed “artists and cultural figures.”
As per the brief made by SpaceX, the trip to the Moon will last around a week and will take the men onboard – it is unclear whether SpaceX will teach Maezawa to pilot the ship or go for a professional pilot – to a distance of 125 miles from the surface of the Moon (201 km). It will then for the dark side and head back to Earth after a slingshot maneuver.
With these announcements, SpaceX also presented – visually - an updated variant of the ship that will carry the group to space.
This incredible machine still has a long way before getting real. At the beginning of September, SpaceX’s COO Gwynne Shotwell said first testing of the BFR might take place at the end of last year, while the first orbital launch is not expected sooner than 2020.
The man’s first travel to and around the Moon is being targeted for 2023, provided the Big Falcon Rocket is ready by then.
After revealing the name of the space tourist, Musk failed to say how much money the man paid for the privilege. But it must have been quite a lot, because Elon Musk allowed the Japanese to ride him. And he also allowed him to take on his trip eight yet unnamed “artists and cultural figures.”
As per the brief made by SpaceX, the trip to the Moon will last around a week and will take the men onboard – it is unclear whether SpaceX will teach Maezawa to pilot the ship or go for a professional pilot – to a distance of 125 miles from the surface of the Moon (201 km). It will then for the dark side and head back to Earth after a slingshot maneuver.
With these announcements, SpaceX also presented – visually - an updated variant of the ship that will carry the group to space.
This incredible machine still has a long way before getting real. At the beginning of September, SpaceX’s COO Gwynne Shotwell said first testing of the BFR might take place at the end of last year, while the first orbital launch is not expected sooner than 2020.
The first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard BFR is fashion innovator and globally recognized art curator Yusaku Maezawa.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) 18 septembrie 2018
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