SpaceX nearly launched its new Starship V3 on Thursday.
They had the tower stacked in Texas. NASA was watching. The whole world was watching, really, because we’re trying to get Artemis astronauts to the moon soon enough that this timing mattered.
Then, with less than fifteen minutes on the clock, they paused.
Not for a mechanical issue.
For a press release.
Cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang is going to Mars. Or rather, he’s flying by it. SpaceX unveiled a private mission during the live launch coverage—a flyby expedition. It’s a start, Wang says. People talk about landing on Mars, building cities, living there. Sure. But let’s start with the flyby.
The Starship V3 liftoff was scrubbed, but the announcement stood.
When will he go? Nobody knows.
SpaceX hasn’t orbited the Moon with this vehicle. It hasn’t carried astronauts past Low Earth Orbit yet. We don’t even have a crew list for Wang. No co-passengers announced. No year. No month. Just a vague promise that humanity will soon circle the Red Planet.
Wang made the statement from Bouvet Island. It’s a speck in the South Atlantic, 1,500 miles southwest of Africa. Arguably one of the loneliest places on Earth. Wang thinks the void between Earth and Mars won’t bore him, though. He’s a fan of the map screen on airplanes. He plans to stare out the window. Or rather, watch the telemetry for the two-hour Mars window. The rest is transit.
This isn’t Wang’s first cosmic hop.
He flew to the poles last year on the Dragon capsule, Fram2. History’s first crew over the poles. This time, history will see the first private Mars flyby. They’ll even swing by the Moon on the way. It’s ambitious. It’s unproven.
Is it likely?
History suggests hesitation.
Wang is the fourth billionaire to put down a deposit on a SpaceX Starship ticket. The other three have run into the fog of delay.
First, Yusaka Maezawa. The Japanese billionaire promised a dearMoon mission in 2018. Eight civilians. Artists. Influencers. A party around the moon. He canceled it in 2025. After seven years of waiting.
“I signed the contract in 20 Jared based on the assumption… It’s a developmental project, so it’s what it is.”
Then there was Dennis Tito. The original space tourist, he paid millions to ride Soyuz in 2001. He tried to organize a private Mars flyby back in 2013. Failed. Then he bought a ticket on Starship for him and his wife, Akiko. Around the Moon. Still pending.
And then there is Jared Isaacman.
If you’ve heard of NASA leadership, you’ve heard of Isaacman. The Trump administration nominated him. Pulled it back. Resubmitted it. The Senate confirmed him. He’s the Administrator now.
But before politics, he was a pilot. And a buyer. He funded Inspiration4, the first private orbital crew. He backed Polaris Dawn, featuring the first commercial spacewalk. He planned a crewed Starship test flight. He’s betting on Starship, mostly because his new agency is counting on it to land astronauts by 2028 via Artemis 4.
Irony? Perhaps. Isaacman won’t fly that test. Not as NASA chief.
But he’s still waiting on SpaceX to build a lander. To dock in orbit. To make the impossible routine.
Wang seems less worried about the logistics and more about the symbolism. He wants to “ignite the imagination.” He wants to show us real photos. To make Mars less of a postcard and more of a place you can visit.
Maybe it’ll happen.
Maybe Starship will fly.
Maybe not.
