{"id":44303,"date":"2025-04-22T20:40:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T12:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/a-chinese-born-crypto-tycoon-of-all-people-changed-the-way-i-think-of-space\/"},"modified":"2025-04-22T20:40:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T12:40:09","slug":"a-chinese-born-crypto-tycoon-of-all-people-changed-the-way-i-think-of-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/a-chinese-born-crypto-tycoon-of-all-people-changed-the-way-i-think-of-space\/","title":{"rendered":"A Chinese-born crypto tycoon\u2014of all people\u2014changed the way I think of space"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a quarter-century, dating back to my time as a budding space enthusiast, I\u2019ve watched with a keen eye each time people have ventured into space.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 162 human spaceflight missions since the beginning of 2000, ranging from Space Shuttle flights to Russian Soyuz missions, Chinese astronauts\u2019 first forays into orbit, and commercial expeditions on SpaceX\u2019s Dragon capsule. Yes, I\u2019m also counting privately funded suborbital hops launched by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.<\/p>\n

Last week, Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin captured headlines\u2014though not purely positive\u2014with the launch of six women, including pop star Katy Perry, to an altitude of 66 miles (106 kilometers). The capsule returned to the ground 10 minutes and 21 seconds later. It was the first all-female flight to space since Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova\u2019s solo mission in 1963.<\/p>\n

Many commentators criticized the flight as a tone-deaf stunt or a rich person\u2019s flex. I won\u2019t make any judgments, except to say two of the passengers aboard Blue Origin\u2019s capsule\u2014Aisha Bowe and Amanda Nguyen\u2014have compelling stories worth telling.<\/p>\n

Immerse yourself<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s another story worth sharing. Earlier this month, an international crew of four private astronauts took their own journey into space aboard a Dragon spacecraft owned and operated by Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX. Like Blue Origin\u2019s all-female flight, this mission was largely bankrolled by a billionaire.<\/p>\n

Actually, it was a couple of billionaires. Musk used his fortune to fund a large portion of the Dragon spacecraft\u2019s development costs alongside a multibillion-dollar contribution from US taxpayers. Chun Wang, a Chinese-born cryptocurrency billionaire, paid SpaceX an undisclosed sum to fly one of SpaceX\u2019s ships into orbit with three of his friends.<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

So far, this seems like another story about a rich guy going to space. This is indeed a major part of the story, but there\u2019s more to it. Chun, now a citizen of Malta, named the mission Fram2 after the Norwegian exploration ship Fram<\/em> used for polar expeditions at the turn of the 20th century. Following in the footsteps of Fram, <\/em>which means \u201cforward\u201d in Norwegian, Chun asked SpaceX if he could launch into an orbit over Earth\u2019s poles to gain a perspective on our planet no human eyes had seen before.<\/p>\n

Joining Chun on the three-and-a-half-day Fram2 mission were Jannicke Mikkelsen, a Norwegian filmmaker and cinematographer who took the role of vehicle commander. Rabea Rogge, a robotics researcher from Germany, took the pilot\u2019s seat and assisted Mikkelsen in monitoring the spacecraft\u2019s condition in flight. Wang and Eric Philips, an Australian polar explorer and guide, flew as \u201cmission specialists\u201d on the mission.<\/p>\n

Chun\u2019s X account reads like a travelogue, with details of each jet-setting jaunt around the world. His propensity for sharing travel experiences extended into space, and I\u2019m grateful for it.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Florida peninsula, including Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral, through the lens of Chun\u2019s iPhone.<\/p>\n

Credit:
\n Chun Wang via X<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Usually, astronauts might share their reflections from space by writing posts on social media, or occasionally sharing pictures and video vignettes from the International Space Station (ISS). This, in itself, is a remarkable change from the way astronauts communicated with the public from space just 15 years ago.<\/p>\n

Most of these social media posts involve astronauts showcasing an experiment they\u2019re working on or executing a high-flying tutorial in physics. Often, these videos include acrobatic backflips or show the novelty of eating and drinking in microgravity. Some astronauts, like Don Pettit, who recently came home from the ISS, have a knack for gorgeous orbital photography.<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

Chun\u2019s videos offer something different. They provide an unfiltered look into how four people live inside a spacecraft with an internal volume comparable to an SUV, and the awe of seeing something beautiful for the first time. His shares have an intimacy, authenticity, and most importantly, an immediacy I\u2019ve never seen before in a video from space.<\/p>\n

One of the videos Chun recorded and posted to X shows the Fram2 crew members inside Dragon the day after their launch. The astronauts seem to be enjoying themselves. Their LunchBot meal kits float nearby, and the capsule\u2019s makeshift trash bin contains Huggies baby wipes and empty water bottles, giving the environment a vibe akin to a camping trip, except for the constant hum of air fans.<\/p>\n

Later, Chun shared a video of the crew opening the hatch leading to Dragon\u2019s cupola window, a plexiglass extension with panoramic views. Mikkelsen and Chun try to make sense of what they\u2019re seeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Novaya Zemlya, do you see it?\u201d Mikkelsen asks. \u201cYeah. Yeah. It\u2019s right here,\u201d Chun replies. \u201cOh, damn. Oh, it is,\u201d Mikkelsen says.<\/p>\n

Chun then drops a bit of Cold War trivia. \u201cThe largest atomic bomb was tested here,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd all this ice. Further north, the Arctic Ocean. The North Pole.\u201d<\/p>\n