For many rocketry enthusiasts, watching SpaceX launches was an exciting hobby. However, with CEO Elon Musk now embracing bigoted right-wing politics, fans are left feeling grief and loss. A former space historian and author, Emily Carney, shared her feelings on Threads, Instagram’s Twitter clone, after witnessing the 10th Starship launch. She expressed disappointment and dejection, unlike she would have in the past.
Carney, a lifelong space enthusiast, felt disenchanted with the latest launch, attributed to Musk’s politics. The CEO’s stance on issues like racism, anti-Semitism, and “white genocide” has irreparably harmed NASA and the US space program. Carney and many others, including space fans who built their own rockets and followed every book they could on space, now feel a sense of sadness and disconnection from SpaceX.
The impact of Musk’s policies is stark. His cuts to grants for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have led to an estimated 360,000 deaths due to starvation and lack of medication. This has turned off fans like Carney, who are now questioning the joy they once derived from watching SpaceX launches.
As SpaceX’s popularity wanes among its former enthusiasts, a sense of grief is spreading. The connection between fun and politics is undeniable, and for many, it’s too much to bear.
Source: https://futurism.com/spacex-launch-fans-grief