'I have never ...', says Elon Musk on resignation of Kairan Quazi, the engineer who joined SpaceX when he was 14 years
Elon Musk
has responded to the resignation of his teen prodigy
Kairan Quazi
from his space company SpaceX. 'First time I've ever heard of him,' the tech billionaire wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Kairan Quazi joined
SpaceX
in 2023 when was 14. A 'rare company,' Quazi then said, which didn't use his age as an 'arbitrary and outdated proxy for maturity and ability.' His departure from SpaceX marks a shift from aerospace to the fast-paced world of quantitative finance, where he will join
Citadel Securities
in New York as a developer.
In an interview with Business Insider, Quazi said, 'After two years at SpaceX, I felt ready to take on new challenges and expand my skill set into a different high-performance environment.'
"Quant finance offers a pretty rare combination: the complexity and intellectual challenge that AI research also provides, but with a much faster pace," Quazi explained to Business Insider. "At Citadel Securities, I'll be able to see measurable impact in days, not months or years."
Who is Kairan Quazi
As mentioned above, Kairan Quazi is a 16-year-old prodigy who became the youngest graduate in the 170-year history of Santa Clara University, completing his degree in computer science and engineering at just 14.
Soon after, he joined Elon Musk's SpaceX as a software engineer, working on the Starlink project to improve satellite internet accuracy.
When Kairan Quazi slammed LinkedIn
In 2023, Quazi slammed
as 'primitive' for considering him too young for the platform. He then shared an Instagram post with a screenshot of a message from LinkedIn informing him his account had been restricted.
'We're excited by your enthusiasm, energy, and focus. We can't wait to see what you do in the world,' the message read, adding 'Because you currently do not meet the age eligibility criteria to join, we have restricted your account.'
'You are welcome back on the platform once you turn 16 or older,' the message continued.
Criticizing the professional networking platform, the 16-year-old then argued that 'tests are not used to measure mastery, but the ability to regurgitate' adding 'Age, privilege, and unconscious (sometimes even conscious) biases are used to gatekeep opportunities'.
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Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Soon, someone from our soil would travel to space'
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Narayanan and Shukla were speaking alongside Union minister Jitendra Singh and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair at a press conference held at the National Media Centre. The upcoming Gaganyaan mission was also spoken about, with the Isro chief announcing that the mission could be launched by December this year. Shukla too said that India will 'very soon' send a person to space from its own rocket and soil, as part of the Gaganyaan mission. The Isro chief announced that the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission, G1, 'is going to be lifted off this year-end, maybe close to December.' 'And in that, Vyommitra, a half-humanoid, is going to fly,' he said. Union minister Singh said that India's space programme is now operating on global parameters. 'Now, our benchmarks are global benchmarks, our strategies are global, and the parameters that we are seeking to live up to are global,' he said. The Gaganyaan programme aims to demonstrate India's ability to send humans into low Earth orbit and return them safely. The mission is seen as a step toward establishing a national space station and India's plan for a lunar landing by 2040. 'All the information I have collected in the past year will be extremely useful to us for our own missions — Gaganyaan and Bharatiya Antariksh Station. Very soon, we shall send someone from our capsule, from our rocket and our soil,' said Shukla. On the fuel leak, Narayanan said Isro had asked SpaceX for test results after suspicious oxygen sensor data appeared, but the answers were evasive. 'They told us committees have cleared it. Probably they thought it's a minor leakage. But when we asked where the leak was, they said they couldn't find it. When we asked the leak rate, they said it's confidential. Out of 14 questions, only 2 were answered,' he said. Unconvinced, Isro insisted on corrective action, and the pressure worked. SpaceX was forced to scrub the launch on November 11 at 5.15 pm. When engineers finally investigated, they found the crack. 'If the rocket gave way, it was a catastrophe situation, nothing else,' Narayanan said. 'ISS mission perfect example of international collaboration' At the press conference, Shukla described his last venture to space. 'No matter how much training you have done, even after that, when you sit in the rocket and the engines ignite, when they catch fire, I think it is a very different feeling,' he told the audience in the auditorium which was packed to the brim. Outside the building, people gathered on roads, hoping to catch a glimpse of the astronaut. 'We flew on top of the Falcon 9 vehicle in the Crew Dragon to the International Space Station for a period of two weeks and then returned. The launch was from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and recovery was off the coast of San Diego in the Pacific Ocean. Crew Dragon is one of the three vehicles that can currently take humans to space,' he said. 'I had not imagined how it would feel, and I was actually running behind the rocket for the first few seconds, and it took me some time to catch up to it. From that moment until the time we splashed down, the experience was unbelievable. It was so exciting and so amazing that I have really been struggling to find words to convey it to you, so that you can live that experience through my words,' he added. The International Space Station was 'a perfect example of international collaboration' and said the knowledge from human spaceflight would be valuable for Gaganyaan. 'Witnessing and executing human spaceflight offers knowledge and information that goes much beyond and deeper—it's very valuable for our Gaganyaan mission,' he said. Shukla also thanked the government, Isro, and the people of the country for the support as he dedicated the success to the nation. 'I truly felt that this was a mission for the entire nation.' Nair, who is also part of the Gaganyaan crew, said, 'A few months from now, we are going to have Diwali. That is the time when Ram ji entered Ayodhya. Over here right now, if I can call myself Lakshman... even though I am older than 'Shuks' (Shukla), I would love to be Lakshman to this Ram any day. But let's remember Ram and Lakshman got a lot of help from the entire 'vanar sena', that is our fantastic Isro team... otherwise it would not have been possible.'
NDTV
4 hours ago
- NDTV
"SpaceX Lightly Handled Rocket Leak, Could've Been Fatal": ISRO Chief
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First Post
6 hours ago
- First Post
Shubhanshu Shukla mission: Axiom took pre-launch leak lightly? Isro chief says how 'a catastrophe' was avoided
While Axiom assumed a liquid oxygen leak they had detected was minor, Isro insisted on complete correction, knowing that a crack could be catastrophic for the mission Isro astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla makes his way to Launch Complex 39A ahead of the Axiom-4 mission, with a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, lift off at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. AFP India's space agency has revealed that its intervention may have prevented disaster during the launch of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian in four decades to travel to space. Speaking in Bengaluru on Thursday (August 21), Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chairman V. Narayanan said engineers from SpaceX's Falcon 9 team 'took lightly' a pre-launch oxidiser leak detected before the Axiom-4 mission lifted off on June 25. The leak, he said, could have led to a 'catastrophic failure' if not for Isro's insistence on a full investigation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The $65 million (Rs 548 crore) mission carried Shukla and three other astronauts to the International Space Station and back. Beyond the symbolism, it has offered important lessons for India's upcoming Gaganyaan programme, which aims to send Indian astronauts into orbit by mid-2027. A contested delay The Axiom-4 launch had already been postponed four times. On June 11, a fresh scrub was ordered when a liquid oxygen leak was picked up during an engine test. Narayanan disclosed that SpaceX staff initially dismissed the anomaly as minor. 'I think they assumed that this was a minor leak because it wasn't their 'leak' sensor but an oxygen sensor that had picked up (the leak). We learnt of this from the press' he said. According to Narayanan, Isro's team pressed for answers but received little cooperation. (a press conference by SpaceX the previous day) and when we asked them the location of the leak, they said they couldn't find it. This was shocking to us. Then we asked them for the rate at which oxygen was leaking out; they said this couldn't be shared as it was 'confidential' data. 'We asked them nearly 14 questions; only two were answered,' he said. 'ISRO has 40 years of experience with liquid engines, and we know that if there is a block somewhere, it can be rectified, but if the source of a leak is due to a crack, it cannot be allowed. We insisted on a 'complete correction'[…] During the tests, it emerged that the crack was widening; we have the data. If the rocket were to lift off with such a crack, the ensuing vibrations will cause it to give way," Narayanan said. 'That will only result in a catastrophic situation… They probably took this a little lightly,' he said. Repairs and eventual liftoff The following day, SpaceX repaired the leak and carried out further tests to Isro's satisfaction. Additional complications, including leaks detected in the Russian service module of the ISS, delayed the launch further until June 25, when Falcon 9 finally carried Shukla and his crewmates to orbit. Asked whether Narayanan's intervention had 'saved his life,' Shukla said, 'Everyone who does human space flight missions are very responsible. There were multiple postponements, and this wasn't the only reason. It helped that we had technical expertise from Isro and these discussions happened. Ultimately this is what builds trust. Isro, Nasa and SpaceX have always been transparent and have had regular briefings on emerging issues." STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
