New success for Elon Musk’s company SpaceX has once again shot the owner of Tesla to the top spot in the ranking of the richest people in the world. Musk returned to the top spot after his artificial intelligence startup xAI raised $6 billion in a funding round, but within hours he lost his crown to Bernard Arnault.
KEY FACTS
- A little over $3 billion. That is the difference between Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault, who occupy the first two positions in the ranking of the richest people in the world.
- The Tesla owner briefly lost the crown he regained just about a week ago but has regained his position after his space company SpaceX scored a resounding success on its fourth consecutive Starship test.
- The goal was to bring the upper part of the rocket back into the atmosphere in a controlled manner and then detach it in the Indian Ocean.
- For the first time, all elements of a new orbital transport system have returned to Earth after flight, after the rocket failed to survive the high temperatures of re-entry on its previous attempt just a few months ago.
- The success of SpaceX has brought Musk enough income that, according to Forbes, his wealth is currently equal to 210.2 billion dollars. The owner of Louis Vuitton, Bernard Arnault, can boast of a fortune of 207.5 billion dollars.
KEY STORY
The mission is a key step for future astronaut trips to Mars. Musk and his company SpaceX are working on a fast orbital rocket system that would be the first in the world.
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The challenge is precisely the speed and altitude at which the Starship ascends, resulting in high temperatures when it re-enters the atmosphere.
If SpaceX engineers succeed in perfecting the Starship, it will be revolutionary. The 33 engines at its core produce 74 meganewtons of thrust. For comparison, NASA’s Space Launch System produces 39 meganewtons when it takes off from the pad, and that’s over 20% higher.
This capability, along with the altitude that can launch more than a hundred tons into orbit at once, will radically reduce the cost of space activity and make new types of activities possible.
