Interesting choice by SpaceX to use their booster B1062.<p>One would presume that, given the profile of this launch, they will definitely pick the booster that they have the absolute most confidence in. And so they didn't choose a brand-new-from-the-factory booster. They picked B1062, which has flown twice already.<p>It's not a real champ like 1051 which has flown 10 times and may have picked up some age-related defects. But it's also not likely to have any serious build flaws, since it's survived launch twice already without any problems.<p>I imagine this is the same reason they pushed NASA so hard to let them use re-flown boosters for their human launches. A decade ago, it would be an insane thought, but using previously-flown hardware reduces the risk.
As far as billionaires go, Isaacman is kind of well qualified:<p>2012, he co-founded Draken International, a Florida-based company that trains pilots for the United States Armed Forces. The company operates one of the world's largest fleets of privately-owned fighter jets.<p>In 2004, Isaacman began taking flying lessons. In 2009, he set a world record for circumnavigating the globe.[6][8] He received a bachelor's degree in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2011. He is flight qualified in multiple military jet aircraft.[4] In his 20s, he flew in many airshows, but by his 30s, he had stopped flying much.
> Unlike the Shuttle, which was largely designed by politicians and committees and engineered retroactively<p>It's like saying a service is designed by PMs and engineered retroactively :( . It's a bad choice of words.
> Set to fly on a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster and in a once-flown Crew Dragon capsule, SpaceX’s first fully private astronaut launch will also be reaping the fruits of the company’s decade-long pursuit of reusability.<p>Is this the first time a Crew Dragon has been re-used?