I'm planning to head over tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.
Are you there yet?
Yes. HN is loading slower than normal, however, so you'll have to wait for a full assessment. This whole three-way handshake thing is not such a great idea from Mars.
so was i, wanna split the fare?
See "The Case for Mars" by Robert Zubrin (manned landing 10 years from project start, then every 2 years thereafter), or the various hints dropped by Musk in interviews as to his plan.
Not that I know. SpaceX has considered sending an unmanned mission based on its Dragon platform in the 2018/2020 window which would prove a lot of technology that they could used for a manned mission later.
See the response above - there is a window in 2018/2020 that private entrepreneurs will shoot for. I wish them luck, personally .. I'd love it if someone other than NASA got there first. It would truly ignite the human race.
The response above also suggests 2018-2020 is too soon. Are you aware of any private entrepreneurs realistically disagreeing?