Billionaire on a mission – Elon Musk: between Superman and global political villain – News


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Elon Musk has a lot of power in space. His political ambitions and full-throttle strategy have also drawn criticism.

Science fiction was Elon Musk’s passion as a teenager. His vision is set to become reality in Texas. The launch pad just off Boca Chica Beach resembles a Star Wars setting. If Musk has his way, humanity will embrace other planets. With the largest rocket that human civilization has ever built.

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Elon Musk’s vision: colonize Mars. That’s why he founded SpaceX. With the Starship rocket his vision should come true.

Getty Images / Michael Gonzalez

«Starship is capable of bringing a million tons to Mars to create a self-sufficient city. We should do that as soon as possible,” Musk announced.

April 20, 2023: The recent Starship test launch is a massive event. The 30 booster rockets disassemble the launch pad into small parts. The rocket does not fly into orbit as planned and is destroyed.

Man in front of SpaceX launch base looks through binoculars

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Justin LeClaire saw a female bird that appears to be nesting not far from the launch pad. However, the impact of operations and debris from launches are stressing the unique ecosystem around Boca Chica Beach.

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Shortly thereafter, next to the SpaceX launch pad, we meet the biologist Justin LeClaire. We walk over the rubble-strewn ground, which is at the same time a unique habitat. LeClaire counts fewer and fewer birds in the area around the launch pad. “There is this valuable wildlife habitat here that has been untouched by humans. And now, because people might want to go to another planet or think about the future of humanity, they are destroying nature here.”

Small and large chunks of concrete in front of the launch pad

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During the April 20, 2023 launch of Starship, the launch pad was destroyed. The rubble lies hundreds of meters around it.

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Rare birds and turtles nest near the launch pad. Several conservation organizations are now suing the US Space Agency. LeClaire criticizes: “The appropriate environmental assessments are not made, the operation is simply pushed through. For SpaceX, it’s not a failure when something goes wrong.”

Faster and riskier – the method of SpaceX


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Trial and failure were part of the concept of SpaceX and Musk and would have taken him far, says Olivier de Weck, a space professor at the renowned MIT University in Boston. Elon Musk is enormously important for space travel, as a symbol bearer and as a visionary. “But also to show that such projects can be approached differently than before. That means taking on more risk and, above all, working much, much faster.”

At SpaceX, they work according to the principle of “agile engineering”. “You build a prototype as quickly as possible. At the beginning, when the prototypes are not yet ready, there are a lot of mistakes.” But you learn from failure and get to your goal faster overall.

The Swiss explains that Spacex accepts local losses in order to be better in the long term. The plant in Texas is comparatively primitive. The infrastructure that would dampen the sound waves and the thrust of the booster rockets was missing, so that the launch pad would remain intact. “You would actually know how to build the ground infrastructure, but it costs a lot of money and time.” Did SpaceX take the shortcut there? “Absolutely, because it’s about time.”

buildings and several rockets

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“Starbase” is the name of SpaceX’s base in Texas. It is the home of the “Starship”, the largest rocket ever built by man.

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Elon Musk has made an extraordinary impact in space. With SpaceX he brings astronauts into space for NASA and controls more satellites than the USA. The Starlink satellites are intended for commercial use, but can also be used for military purposes. This isn’t about science fiction, it’s about money and power.

Man in a suit in front of a dark blue illuminated laboratory

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Space professor Olivier de Weck says Elon Musk has made enormous advances in space travel. Above all, Musk is faster and cheaper than the competition.

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“The military potential of knowing exactly where the troops are, where the equipment is, that is enormously important in a conflict. And thanks to Starlink, but also other satellites, we basically know everything today,” explains space professor Olivier De Weck.

Is colonizing Mars realistic?


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Olivier de Weck’s research deals with how humans can get to Mars and survive there. He says Elon Musk’s vision is realistic. He calculates that it will take around 30 years to bring people to Mars. “I think it’s important that we have a plan B. A settlement on Mars that can keep itself alive,” says the Swiss space professor. “We as a civilization only have one planet, Earth. And there are many threats, some of which we don’t even realize.”

When the Ukraine war broke out, Musk provided secure communications to Ukraine via Starlink satellites. An example of the power that Musk possesses, says political scientist Xiaomeng Lu. «Space X and Starlink are among the most influential players in world politics. They showed that a company can decisively influence a major conflict.”

Musk’s unpredictable geopolitical maneuvers


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After Elon Musk made the Starlink systems available to Ukraine, he tweeted a so-called peace plan that was in Russia’s interests on the platform he bought. And shortly thereafter, Musk threatened that Starlink could not maintain the service over a payment dispute.

Elon Musk also meets Chinese government officials. He says about Taiwan that it is almost inevitable that it will become part of China – contrary to US policy, which supports Taiwan. Musk has obvious business interests in China; one of its largest Tesla factories is in Shanghai. Musk’s foreign policy maneuvers have given the US government a headache, says political scientist Xiaomeng Lu of the Eurasia Group.

“Musk’s erratic behavior, personal politics, self-centered personality have all compromised the credibility of his great entrepreneurship.” There have been influential entrepreneurs before, but Musk stands out. “There are other interesting characters in the world, but he’s in a league of his own, playing the role of the global bad guy, given the power he has in the world.”

Port Isabel is just eight kilometers from the SpaceX base. The town was covered by a cloud of dust when Starship took off.

«A yellowish dust lay everywhere. I have asthma and for the next few days I just coughed,” says local journalist Gaige Davila. He criticizes that SpaceX and Musk do not take people and the environment into account and that the supervisory authority allows them to do so.

Young man stands in front of lighthouse

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Gaige Davile criticizes that Elon Musk and his company SpaceX pay too little attention to people and the environment. The people of nearby Port Isobel would have to put up with the noise, dust and damage to nature.

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For the fans of Elon Musk, he is a superhero who changes the world. For others simply a super rich with too much power. Musk isn’t squeamish about helping his mission succeed. For he is concerned with nothing less than the salvation of mankind. “To be honest, civilization seems a bit fragile lately,” he announced. “We must protect our earth and build the city on Mars soon to ensure survival.”

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