Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa said that a private flight around the moon, for which he selected 8 people, would not take place. He cited the uncertain launch schedule for Starship rockets as the reason.
Yusaku Maezawa doesn’t fly to the Moon
Yusaku Maezawa is known to the world as a Japanese billionaire who has found a companion for a flight into space. Later, he announced plans to fly around the moon aboard the Starship spacecraft. However, it seems that these plans are now over.
On Saturday, the Japanese billionaire made a post on his page on the social network X, in which he thanked everyone for their support, but said that the planned flight was canceled. According to him, Maezawa cannot guarantee the participants the fulfillment of their dreams.
More than a year ago, Maezawa believed that his plans were still feasible. He even selected 8 people with whom he was supposed to leave on a trip around the moon. He was to be accompanied, in particular, by the rapper of the K-pop group Big Bang, American DJ Steve Aoki and filmmaker Brendan Hall. However, now they will not get into space.
Why have the plans changed?
Maezawa made his fortune by launching Japan’s largest online fashion store, Zozotown. Therefore, one would think that his plans are nothing more than PR. However, he has actually flown to the International Space Station in 2021. However, it seems that nothing will work out with the moon.
The main reason why Maezawa abandoned his own plans, he calls the situation with Starship. In 2018, he signed a contract with SpaceX, booking several seats for himself. Then he assumed that by 2023 such a flight would definitely be possible.
However, the company is clearly lagging behind the schedule announced at that time and these plans have not been implemented. Moreover, the first two test flights ended in an explosion at launch, and during the third, the spacecraft was not even going to be saved. In such circumstances, no one can say when the trip will take place, so Maezawa’s position can at least be called honest.
According to phys.org
