Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa cancels moon flight due to SpaceX's Starship development delays
Maezawa expressed apologies and described it as a 'missed opportunity'
Maezawa had become the first self-paying tourists to visit the space station since 2009
Maezawa had signed a contract in 2018 for the 'dearMoon' project, which aimed to be the first private circumlunar flight with eight passengers including Elon Musk
The launch became 'unfeasible' due to development delays and uncertainty, causing Maezawa to cancel the project
A Japanese billionaire's ambitious plan to fly around the moon on SpaceX's Starship vehicle has been cancelled due to uncertainty over the rocket's development timeline. Yusaku Maezawa, who had previously visited the International Space Station as a space tourist in 2021, announced the cancellation of his 'dearMoon' project on June 1, 2024. The project aimed to make history as the first private circumlunar flight and was set to carry Maezawa and eight other passengers, including Cork-born photographer Rhiannon Adam, DJ Steve Aoki, K-pop star TOP, and Elon Musk himself. However, with the launch becoming 'unfeasible' due to development delays, Maezawa made the difficult decision to cancel the project. He expressed his apologies to those who had supported and looked forward to the endeavor. Rhiannon Adam described it as a 'missed opportunity'. Maezawa had signed the contract in 2018 based on the assumption that dearMoon would launch by the end of 2023, but with Starship's uncertain development progress, he couldn't plan his future and felt terrible making crew members wait longer. The cancellation came after three test flights of SpaceX's mega-rocket ended in explosions or loss. Maezawa had become the first self-paying tourists to visit the space station since 2009.
Yusaku Maezawa cancelled the 'dearMoon' project which aimed to launch him and 10 other crew members on a circumlunar flight aboard SpaceX’s Starship vehicle.
Maezawa felt terrible making crew members wait longer and apologized for cancelling the project.
Accuracy
The assumption when Maezawa agreed to the mission in 2018 was that it would launch by the end of 2023, but developmental delays have made this uncertain.
Maezawa had signed the contract with SpaceX in 2018 assuming the launch would be possible by the end of 2023.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(90%)
The article contains an appeal to authority and a fallacy of dichotomous depiction. The appeal to authority is found in the section where it explains that NASA selected the Starship vehicle as the lunar lander for its Artemis Program, which put significant focus on other aspects of the Starship program and consequently led to the cancellation of dearMoon. The fallacy of dichotomous depiction is evident in how it presents SpaceX's priorities as either becoming operational or focusing on NASA's Artemis Program, neglecting other potential purposes for the Starship vehicle such as private space tourism.
NASA selected the Starship vehicle as the lunar lander for its Artemis Program... This also offered an order of magnitude more funding, $2.9 billion, and the promise of more if SpaceX could deliver a vehicle to take humans down to the Moon’s surface from lunar orbit, and back.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa cancelled his planned moon trip on a SpaceX vehicle due to uncertainty about the development timeline
He bought seats for eight traveling companions, including a K-pop group leader and two Americans, for the lunar flyby voyage scheduled in 2022
Accuracy
The assumption when Maezawa agreed to the mission in 2018 was that it would launch by the end of 2023, but developmental delays have made this uncertain.
Maezawa felt terrible making crew members wait longer and apologized for cancelling the project.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa cancelled his private flight around the moon on SpaceX’s Starship due to uncertainty over when the rocket would be ready.
Accuracy
The assumption when Maezawa agreed to the mission in 2018 was that it would launch by the end of 2023, but developmental delays have made this uncertain.
