Page 60 - 30NOV2018E

Privatisation — The road

ahead for space travel

To develop the means for humanity to travel beyond earth, aggressive privatisation and
technological breakthrough is a must, writes younis dar

paceX founder and CEO The BFR spaceship is 118 metres tall, Yusaku Maezawa who chose to fund
Elon Musk stunned the 9 metres in diameter, capable of tak- the rocket told the audience that he had
world with his announce- ing 100 passengers to the moon and been dreaming of flying to the moon
ment at the company’s beyond. The massive rocket is powered and as a child the ‘moon filled his im-
S headquarters in California by 7 Raptor engines; the earlier design agination.’ He expressed his plans to
in September this year. Addressing a had envisioned a total of 6 engines. take a handful of artists from around
packed audience of journalists who “BFR is intended as an inter-plane- the world along with him for free.
had assembled at the site, he made the tary transport system that is capable of Musk has been in the news since
much-awaited announcement of the getting from earth to anywhere in the he outlaid his plans for colonization of
private space tourist, who is to go for a solar system,” Musk told the journalists Mars, and how the SpaceX he founded
round trip around the moon. during his address. was working to create a space transpor-
Musk introduced the Japanese Elucidating the role of SpaceX, Musk tation system that will make space trav-
entrepreneur, Yusaku Maezawa, a bil- further said, “The reason for creating el cheaper and safer. He has been vocal
lionaire and globally renowned art col- SpaceX was to accelerate the advent about his interests to help advance the
lector, going to be the first private space of humanity becoming a space-faring human race to the solar system and
tourist to board the BFR (Big Falcon civilization, to help advance rocket beyond. SpaceX has been extremely
Rocket) for a joyride around the moon. technology to a point where we could successful as a private space organisa-
The trip is slated to take place in 2023, potentially become a multi-planet tion, giving a tough competition to even
and the spaceflight around the moon species and a true space-faring the big players like Boeing and Lock-
and back may last for 4 to 5 days. civilization.” heed Martin.

Tehelka / 15 november 2018 60 www.Tehelka.com

60-61 Younis Dar.indd 2 02/11/18 11:42 AM