Multi-Faceted Entrepreneur Will Discuss The Future Of Human Space Flight

Elon Musk, CEO/CTO of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), will discuss the future of human spaceflight in advance of his company's planned Nov. 30 flight to the International Space Station, the first private mission to ISS for NASA, at a National Press Club luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 29. SpaceX, which won a NASA contract to replace the cargo transport function of the Space Shuttle, develops rockets and vehicles for missions to Earth orbit and beyond. Musk was chief engineer for Falcon 1, the first privately developed liquid fuel rocket to reach orbit, as well as the company's Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft.

Musk also serves as CEO and Product Architect at Tesla Motors, manufacturer of the all-electric Tesla Roadster automobile and Model S sedan, and is the non-executive Chairman of SolarCity, a leading provider of solar power systems in the United States. Earlier, he co-founded Internet payment system PayPal and was the company's Chairman and CEO.

In 2008, Esquire magazine named Musk one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century, and, in 2010, he was recognized as a Living Legend in Aviation by the Kitty Hawk Foundation. Sometimes likened to the fictional engineering genius Tony Stark in the Iron Man comic franchise, the 40-year-old Musk was a role model for the character in Iron Man II and made a small cameo appearance, with the SpaceX factory also used in the film.

FMI: www.press.org