I haven't had a chance yet to dig into all the wonderful details everybody is posting on this mission, but am really looking forward to doing so soon.
What has struck me though, like a lightning bolt, is that this might be me sometime later. Maybe later this decade, maybe next decade. Me. Going into space, going EVA, .. I think a Moon hike would be my personal most desirable thing to do.
I have had no more interest or experience in space throughout my life than the approximately average human. Always from afar in the "gee what neat things the human species is doing and might do". I never even tried to put myself into that picture - too much work, not enough passion and motivation to do the work, too many other things to do.
And yet with Starship coming along, I see cheaper access to orbit for a significantly wider range of activities. Not in a year or three, but who thinks that routine Starship flights in 5 years is likely? I do. Or if not 5, 10? With Elon pushing I consider these to be as inevitable as rain in the Pacific Northwest. Combine that with a need to fund continuing operations, as well as put a colony on Mars, etc.. space tourism sounds like a thing that will become real. That won't be an immediate thing, nor will it be affordable for me at first (nor am I interested in being one of the very first).
But who thinks that a commercially operated orbital space station will get expanded to include some space for a few 'hotel guests' to stop in for a week? Or maybe a Marriott on the moon, with an opportunity to go out on a moon walk? What has mostly been stuff only found in sci-fi is starting to sound not nearly so far fetched.
The lightning bolt is that I suddenly see line of sight to $1M tickets being available, with some reasonably achievable fitness standards, for people that want to go to space for more than an orbit of the Earth, but a whole lot less than making a career out of it. Just visit.
And for me personally, I couldn't afford that today. But if the Tesla share price does anything remotely what I expect it to do, plus another decade+ of continued growth in the portfolio, along with nobody else to leave the pile to -- why not spend a chunk of that pile on an amazing experience?
The lightning bolt is new enough that I find no trouble at all waiting - the idea is unreal. And yet ...
<head, spinning>
