July 21, Rich Men in Space

 

Now ordinary multibillionaires can go to space.

Dick Branson and Jeff Bezos are in first and second place.

For something like two hundred grand, you soon can buy a seat

For a ten minute flight on which there’s nothing served to eat.

 

And Elon Musk’s own Tesla is in orbit ‘round the sun.

He didn’t drive it there himself; he put it there for fun.

Tom Barrack likely wishes he could go to space and stay,

Avoiding prosecution by the Garland DOJ.  (1)

 

So, whoop dee doo! for rich boys now vacationing in space.

If you have money, you can go; that’s always been the case.

A ticket’s just two hundred grand; you’ll probably survive

And lose weight temporarily, then earn a big “high five.”

 

Technology they use was borrowed from the government,

Except for Elon Musk, who thought that he’d experiment

Re-landing booster rockets and perfecting that technique,

Which now saves lots of money for the Tesla, SpaceX geek.

 

Before long you can orbit, reach the moon, and maybe Mars.

Will Elon Musk be up there selling Tesla touring cars?

Next, we’ll be mining asteroids, as seen on “The Expanse,”  (2)

Then interstellar travel: ancient dream that still enchants.

 

And what will make this happen?  Our capacity to dream,

The scientific mind that’s mostly found in academe,

And bold risk takers, always found throughout humanity,

Adventurers who dare to dream beyond infinity.

 

• Tom Barrack, billionaire real-estate developer and chairman of the Trump Inaugural Committee, was just indicted for failing to register as an agent for the United Arab Emirates. They supposedly steered $1.5 billion his way.
• “The Expanse,” is a science fiction TV series inspired by a series of books written by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of my cousin, Daniel Abraham.