Dear Mr Musk, you should hire me to fly Yusaku Maezawa to the Moon and back.  Especially if you want to connect to the past and future history of space flight.  I am a fully qualified scientist with a MS in Physics and a thesis in Astronomy meeting all the basic NASA requirements for an astronaut candidate.  More importantly there are historical reasons, of place and person, that would make you want to hire me as your chauffeur to the stars.

You could hire and probably have hired veteran NASA astronauts and some are training for Crewed Dragon… but not for the BFS.  

I’m qualified.  Well, about as qualified as anyone who isn’t already an astronaut.

NASA summarizes the requirements here. NASA requires at least a BS.  I have a BS and MS in Physics with a thesis in astronomy.  I know the basic physics of orbital motion.  If need be I could compute the trajectory home with a pencil and paper.  Though I’d prefer a laptop with Matlab or Mathematica.

NASA requires three years of progressively responsible professional experience including teaching experience.   I have been adjunct faculty at three Chicago area community colleges and was on the team which closed the deal on a new contract for City Colleges of Chicago.  A contract dispute that was in progress for almost seven years.

NASA requires the ability to pass their long duration astronaut physical. Which from what I can tell is the same as the FAA’s Airline Transport Pilot physical with more stringent cardiovascular requirements.  I can and do meet those

There are intangible reasons to hire me.  There is one thing the public can know about Elon Musk.

Elon, you like to be the first to do things. 

I can offer you more than one first that no one else can.  These first lay in my very personhood and no one else can give you these first all at once.  I am a trans woman of color who is basically qualified to be an astronaut.

Hire me and make world history for the next 1000 years or more there is a very short list of first …physical types  of people… to go into space.  First man, first woman, first of each “race”.  Sally K Ride was the first lesbian woman in space.  Though that was not generally known. 

So far as I know no one who has been in orbit of the Moon has been a woman, or a person of color, or LGB let alone Trans.   Not one astronaut, or astronaut candidate, at least, known to the public is transgender.  If one was that would be known by now.    If there is going to be one in my lifetime then it is probably up to me to make that happen.  It is probably up to me to be that person.   You could be the Branch Rickey of space travel.  He was the person who had the backbone to hire Jackie Robinson.   

Together we could break a barrier no one else can no matter how far or how fast they go.   We can break the idea that space travel is only for certain people.

A space tourism flight crew will need to wear many hats.

In space tourism your flight attendant and your pilot are probably going to be the same person. Your inaugural customer is a Japanese billionaire.  I have a deep appreciation for Japanese popular culture and more knowledge than the average American of Japanese history.  Not in the annoying weaboo sort of way…where westerners think Japan’s culture is superior... but in a sober more realistic way.  Before and during a space mission all those who are going need to spend quite a bit of time training for it.   Training for possible contingencies.  It would help as a starting point to have some common cross-cultural touchstones.

Elon, you also are known to like things that are unique.

I offer you a unique connection to Americas space faring tradition.

The last person to walk on the Moon was Eugene Cernan, he was from the 900 block of Marshall Ave in Bellwood, IL. Lee Joseph Archambault who helped assemble the ISS was from Bellwood, IL.   I am from the 900 block of Bellwood Ave in Bellwood IL.  Let me fly you and Maezawa to the Moon and connect your groundbreaking enterprise to the unique space faring tradition of this tiny suburb of Chicago.  

Finally, think about this disturbing pattern.  The first astronaut from Bellwood went to the Moon 240,000 miles away.  The next one went to low Earth orbit 200-400 or so miles away.  If that trend continues … then I’d need to try to get to space using a pogo stick.  Space X please reverse that trend.

Elon, if you have read this far thank you.  I did look on SpaceX’s website to see if there are any job listings.  Reach out to me by any means you like publicly or privately to say yes or no.   Though as a busy man I’d understand if no response. 

An easy way to reach out would be to comment down below.