Japanese fashion guru Maezawa landed the first SpaceX lunar flight

HAWTHORNE, Calif. (Reuters) – SpaceX, the space transportation company of Elon Musk, on Monday named its first private passenger for a moonlight journey as the Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, founder and director of the fashion retailer Zozo line.

Former drummer of a punk band, Maezawa is tentatively planning his moon flight in 2023 aboard SpaceX's next Big Falcon Rocket spacecraft, taking the race to commercialize space travel to new heights.

Only 24 astronauts flew over Earth's protective magnetic shield during missions spanning a four-year period, from December 1968 to December 1972. Maezawa's identity was revealed Monday night at headquarters and at the factory. of Hawthorne rockets.

"It's a very brave man to do that," said Musk about the Japanese entrepreneur.

Most famously outside Japan for his record-breaking $ 110 million purchase of an untitled painting from 1982, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Maezawa said he would invite six to eight artists to join him for the flyby. Moon.

The billionaire CEO of electric car manufacturer Tesla, Musk, said that the Big Falcon Rocket, or BFR, the ultra-heavy launcher that promises to transport passengers to the moon first orbital flights in two to three years.

Musk has already stated that he wants the rocket to be ready to depart for March in 2022, with a crewed flight in 2024, although its ambitious production targets are known.

"It is not 100% certain that we can bring this to flight," Musk said of the lunar mission.

The amount paid by Maezawa for the trip was not disclosed, but he told Reuters that the total amount was "much higher" than the cost of a Basquiat painting.

Musk said Maezawa had made a large deposit and would have a significant impact on the cost of developing the BFR, estimated at about $ 5 billion.

RESTLESS BILLIONAIRE

Maezawa, 42, is one of Japan's most colorful executives. He regularly appears in the country's weekly newspapers, with his collection of foreign and Japanese art, his fast cars and his girlfriend.

Maezawa made a fortune by founding the popular Zozotown shopping site. His company, Zozo, officially called Start Today Co Ltd, also offers a bespoke service using a polka dot body, the Zozosuit.

In a country known for its corporate culture, the businessman is part of a small group of revolutionary billionaires, widely recognized by the general public.

With SpaceX, the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin and entrepreneur Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic, fighting to launch a private spaceship, Maezawa will join a growing list of celebrities and ultra-rich who have won seats on flights offered on underdeveloped ships.

Those who have signed up to fly on Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital missions include actor Leonardo DiCaprio and pop star Justin Bieber. A 90-minute flight costs $ 250,000.

According to Reuters in July, the cost of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, which is expected to be between $ 200,000 and $ 300,000, is expected to be at least $ 200,000.

These trips were unattractive given the short time spent in zero gravity, Maezawa told Reuters.

"If I go into space, I prefer to go as far as possible," he said.

Fly me to the moon

Maezawa has already shown his penchant for fast machines, making jets on vehicles such as the Bugatti Chiron sports car and the Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet SUV. And last month, he tweeted that the interior of his new jet was shaped by the Hermes luxury brand.

While spaceflight is a riskier proposition – with Maezawa in his late forties in 2023 – he said there was no training plan yet.

"SpaceX will be doing a lot of test flights for security and we will wait for that to happen before we leave," Maezawa told Reuters.

A getaway around the moon would be a welcome advertisement for Zozo, who has ambitious overseas sales targets, pushed by his line of custom-made private clothes. Shares of the company fell 4.7% after the news, but closed up 2%.

The diminutive Maezawa, who as a young man has struggled to find suitable clothes, hopes to revolutionize the fashion industry through his Zozosuit, which allows users to upload their measurements and order an increasing number of # 39; custom articles. .

SpaceX has already rocked the space industry with its relatively inexpensive, reusable Falcon 9 rockets. The company has made more than 50 successful Falcon launches and accumulated billions of dollars worth of contracts, including agreements with NASA and the US Department of Defense.

Asked about the Boeing Co CEO Dennis Muilenburg's prediction that the first humans would be transported to Mars by a Boeing rocket, Musk answered "Game on" to the sound of the employees gathered at the event.