1 theory as to why Elon Musk hasn't gone to space yet

Elon Musk is the only person who can actually reveal why Elon Musk hasn't followed in the footsteps of his fellow billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos and taken a quick trip to space. But The Atlantic's Marina Koren posited one theory — and it's a pretty simple one.

Koren spoke with Garrett Reisman, an engineering professor at the University of Southern California and retired NASA astronaut who also serves as a senior adviser to Musk's SpaceX. At one point, while Reisman was working on the company's plan to transport NASA astronauts, he said met with Musk to discuss crewed space flights, and suggested that they should run a test flight with a NASA astronaut and an astronaut employed by SpaceX. Having a "company astronaut" could energize the workforce, Reisman thought, but Musk reportedly simply looked at him and said: "Why would anyone want to go to low-Earth orbit."

Reisman's takeaway is speculation, but he believes that Musk just isn't all that impressed by the trips taken by Bezos and Branson, which were short and only reached a point that has been visited relatively frequently throughout the history of human spaceflight. Perhaps that's not entirely surprising, given that Musk has always had his eye on Mars. Read more at The Atlantic.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up