I am from the city. I considered myself lucky to have an open field next to my house when I was a kid.
It was quite a treat whenever I had the chance to run across the field towards the edge, feeling the breeze and touching the tip of the grass as I went. A taste of freedom.
My favourite activity above all, was to climb onto the car roof, lay myself down facing the star-ry sky, counting stars. My fascination towards the outer space grew.
Those were some of the moments in my childhood that I treasured the most. This ‘rendezvous’ with the night sky and the stars lasted for a few years.
The open field was later developed into several new block of terraces. A green patch of land once housed an ecosystem of its own has since disrupted and replaced. Many years later, subject about space and galaxy continue to intrigue me.
Several years ago, when I read about a serial entrepreneur, Elon Musk’s vision for SpaceX, I was mesmerised. SpaceX is a private company that designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.
“The goal of SpaceX is to revolutionise space travel. The long-term goal is to establish Mars as a self-sustaining civilisation as well as to just kind of have a more exciting future,” he explained in a recorded interview, recently.
That is not something you hear every day - and it was not just talk. After establishing SpaceX in 2002, the venture went through a phase of hitting rock bottom after three failed rocket launches in 2008, launching the fourth was seemingly impossible at that point of time. His other venture which targets the electric vehicle industry, Tesla Motors was in troubled waters too. Both ventures were widely assumed to be destined to fail.
Miraculously, with exceptional dedication and unwavering belief, his companies pulled through un-der his lead. I am sure it was not an easy feat for Musk and his team because in the private sector there were no proven successes at the time when they were first established.
Today, Tesla Motors is traded at NASDAQ at USD208.17 at a market cap of USD25.83 billion. At one point, Tesla Motor’s share price hit a 52-week high at USD265.00; SpaceX, on the other hand, unveiled Dragon V2 a reusable space capsule on May 29, as an entry into NASA's commercial crew competition.
Elon Musk is a self-made billionaire. He made his first millions in 1999 when Compaq bought Zip2, a ‘dot-com’ media company Musk founded with his brother that was sold for USD307 million when he was just 27. The deal earned him USD22 million. In the following year, he co-founded and later sold PayPal to eBay at USD1.5billion in 2002.
In 2011, SpaceX became the first private company to launch a spacecraft into orbit and have it re-turn intact. A new private race to the space has definitely been set into motion.
At the intersection of technology, business and sustainability, Elon Musk is a visionary and highly admirable individual that many including myself others look up to.
How often do you look up at the stars in the sky and wonder if our civilisation will sustain through space and time? If you are like me, perhaps you’ll enjoy watching this 21 minutes TED Talks with Elon Musk.
Cherish Leow
Mon Jun 09 2014
At the center stage is SpaceXs Dragon Version 2 spacecraft. - (Photo Credit: SpaceX)
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Misi sekali lagi ditangguhkan, dijangka berlepas pada Khamis
Ketika ini lokasi kapal memulakan pelayaran akan ditukarkan ke satu lokasi yang akan diumumkan dalam masa terdekat.
Pihak produksi masih terima Naim Daniel jika ubah fikiran
Ketua saluran Astro Ria, Norzeha Mohd Salleh memberitahu bahawa pihak produksi masih lagi memberi ruang kepada penyanyi tersebut untuk mempertimbangkan semula tawaran yang diberikan.
The Hardest Singing Show cabar kreativiti penyanyi tempatan
Program The Hardest Singing Show mencari satu juara yang mampu menyahut cabaran kreativiti luar limitasi.
Pekerja Ahli Parlimen EU disyaki jadi pengintip China
Polis Jerman telah menahan seorang pekerja ahli politik Parlimen Eropah Alternative for Germany (AfD) kerana disyaki menjadi pengintip China.
Amaran ribut hujan tahap tertinggi dikeluarkan di Guangdong, selatan China
Lebih 100,000 orang sudah dipindahkan akibat hujan lebat dan banjir yang boleh membawa maut di selatan China.
Jokowi dan anaknya bukan lagi ahli PDIP
Presiden Indonesia Joko Widodo atau Jokowi dan anaknya, bakal naib presiden Gibran Rakabuming Raka, bukan lagi ahli parti terbesar negara itu selepas mereka menyokong calon pesaing yang juga pemenang pilihan raya Prabowo Subianto.
Lima migran maut ketika cuba memasuki Perancis
Lima termasuk seorang kanak-kanak, maut dalam cubaan menyeberangi Selat Inggeris dari Perancis pada Selasa.
Polis New York lakukan penahanan himpunan lewat malam
Polis New York bertindak melakukan penahanan membabitkan peserta yang terlibat dalam himpunan solidariti terhadap Palestin di Universiti New York (NYU) pada lewat malam Isnin. Penahanan itu dibuat selepas mereka didakwa mengingkari arahan amaran pihak universiti untuk bersurai dan mengosongkan plaza yang menjadi tempat mereka berkumpul.
Break The Siege: Ada kemungkinan lokasi pelepasan kapal ditukar
Jawatankuasa Pemandu Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), Kamarul Zaman Shaharul Anwar memaklumkan, wujud kemungkinan lokasi pelabuhan bagi pelepasan kapal yang terlibat dalam misi Break the Siege of Gaza Freedom Flotilla ditukar.
Benarkan syarikat milik bukan Islam cetak Al-Quran, pengarah syarikat didenda
Seorang pengarah syarikat percetakan dijatuhi hukuman denda RM8,000 atau penjara lima bulan oleh Mahkamah Majistret Petaling Jaya pada Selasa selepas mengaku salah tidak mematuhi syarat-syarat lesen untuk mencetak atau menerbitkan Teks al-Quran, bulan lepas.
Elon Musk mungkin kenakan caj untuk pengguna X baharu, sebelum boleh lakukan perkongsian
Ia dikatakan mungkin adalah satu-satunya cara mengatasi masalah bot spam, apatah lagi dengan pelbagai kebolehan teknologi AI.
Lebih 10 peratus pekerja Tesla di seluruh dunia diberhentikan
Tesla memberhentikan lebih 10 peratus tenaga kerja globalnya akibat penurunan jualan dan perang harga yang meningkat untuk kenderaan elektrik (EV).
X akan buang ciri sorok calit biru
X mula beri notifikasi bahawa ciri menyorokkan calit ini akan dihentikan dalam masa terdekat. Ia muncul dalam tetapan pelanggan X Premium.
Elon Musk sasar pengenalan Tesla Robotaxi pada 8 Ogos
Musk berkongsi mengenainya selepas Reuters melaporkan Tesla membatalkan pembangunan kereta mampu milik mereka disebabkan persaingan bersama syarikat pengeluar lain.
Di tangga ketiga manusia paling kaya dunia, Zuckerberg kini atasi Musk
Mark Zuckerberg mempunyai nilai kekayaan mencapai $187 bilion, mengatasi Elon Musk dengan nilai kekayaan $181 bilion.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
X akan tawar ciri premium percuma jika ada lebih 2,500 pengikut disahkan
ELON Musk memaklumkan perubahan pada penawaran ciri-ciri X kepada semua akaun.
Lelaki lumpuh guna implan otak kawal komputer dengan fikiran
Seorang lelaki yang keempat-empat anggota tubuhnya menjadi lumpuh mampu mengawal komputer hanya menggunakan fikirannya.
Musk pertahan diri ambil dadah
ELON Musk menganggap penggunaan dadah oleh dirinya sendiri memberi manfaat kepada pelabur Tesla dalam satu temu bual disiarkan pada Isnin.
SpaceX milik Elon Musk bina rangkaian satelit pengintip untuk agensi perisikan AS, lapor Reuters
Program itu dapat mengesan dengan cepat sasaran berpotensi hampir di mana-mana sahaja di dunia.