By Ahslee Vance, Harper Collins Publishers
2015, New York
By Juan Montoya
There are some things that everyone can agree on about billionaire innovator Elon Musk.
First, he did not invent PayPal.
Second, he did not invent the Tesla electric car.
A New York Times reviewer wrote last May that: "Musk’s first start-ups, both begun in the 1990s, were built on his computer prowess and the commercial potential of the Internet. These were the web software Zip2 (sold to Compaq, netting Musk $22 million) and the online bank X.com (which merged with the company that owned PayPal and was sold to eBay, with Musk making about $180 million after taxes). He then wagered a large chunk of his fortune on a rocket start-up (SpaceX) that aimed to drastically reduce the costs of space travel and, eventually, transport humans to Mars. His friends considered the gamble just shy of insane. Soon after, he invested millions more in a tiny electric-car company (Tesla), begun by two other Silicon Valley engineers, that ultimately came under his control.
Third, even though his SpaceX company has launched satellites and transported supplies to the International Space Station, his company has fallen victim to the hazards of space travel, with explosions, delayed delivery of payloads and aborted launches. The last failure is still a painful remainder that space travel is "rocket science."
Still, it's not often that we in South Texas come in contact with a leading mover and shaker who is promising that someday, maybe someday, SpaceX will launch manned space missions to Mars from the wilds of Boca Chica Beach.
Musk has convinced the United States government, the State of Texas, the City of Brownsville, and just about everyone that he will do that. But first, everyone is waiting to see the first launch tentatively planned from Boca Chica for sometime after 2017.
We'll see.
Here's what Musk told author Vance about his plans for the first commercial vertical launch site in the United States:
"SpaceX. Well, it's the most intriguing (besides Tesla and Solar City). According to Musk's calculations, SpaceX should be conducting weekly flights to space, carrying humans and cargo, and have out most of its competitors out of business. It's rockets should be capable of doing a couple of laps around the moon and then landing with pinpoint accuracy back at the spaceport at Texas. And the preparation for the first dozen trips to Mars should be well underway."
And another tidbit for those who don't want SpaceX at Boca Chica.
Tom Mueller, who Musk hired to design, test and construct SpaceX engines said: "We make our own combustion chambers, turbo pump, gas generators, injectors, and main valves," Mueller said. "We have complete control. We have our own test site, while most of these other guys use government test sites. The labor hours are cut in half and so is the work around the materials. Four years ago we could make two rockets a year and now we can make twenty a year."
The goal, author Vance writes, is to "be able to launch many rockets an hour from this facility located in Brownsville, Texas, by automating the process needed to stand a rocket on the pad, fuel it up, and send it off."
But, hedges Vance: "The future, of course, remains precarious. Huge technological issues confront all three of Musk's companies. He's bet on the inventiveness of man and the ability of solar, battery, and aerospace technology to follow predicted price and performance curves. Even if these bets hit as he hopes, Tesla could face a weird, unexpected recall. SpaceX could have a rocket carrying humans blow up – an incident that could very well put an end to the company on the spot. Dramatic risks accompany just about everything Musk does."
And his philosophy on taking risks: "Everything that other people hod dear. I would like to die on Mars," he said. "But not on the impact. Ideally, I'd like to go for a visit, come back for a while, and then go there when I'm like seventy or something and then just stay there. If things turn out well, that would be the case. If my wife and I have a bunch of kids, she would probably stay with them on Earth."
3 comments:
Elon Musk will be guest on "Tonight Show with Steven Colbert" tonight. Maybe he will give some clues.....
most brilliant ideas come with risks. I applaud elon musk for recognizing the potential brownsville has despite our "risks." not just anyone would gamble over one hundred million dollars on the poorest city in our nation, with a severely under skilled workforce. now that I think about it, I don't just applaud him, I thank him as well.
Hype hype hype plus tax abatements too. Thanks cameron county. Y las chambas elon ? When are they coming or is that puro pedo too? Just asking, cca
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