Mars spaceships will be ready
for short flights by the first half of next year, predicts Elon Musk. The
SpaceX and Tesla CEO was taking questions during an on-stage appearance at the
SXSW conference in Austin.
Musk, 46, who's long dreamed of
creating a human colony on Mars, revealed in 2017 that he was building the new
rocket ship with the code name "BFR" that would be capable of
traveling anywhere on Earth in under an hour. The spacecraft would ultimately
be able to make missions to the moon or Mars, Musk said.
“People have told me my
timeline is very optimistic,” he said. “We are building the first Mars
interplanetary ship. It’ll be able to do short up and down flights in the first
half of next year.”
He expects the ship to be
capable of moving 150 metric tons into orbit with double the amount for the
payload. As expected, the ship and the rockets will be reusable, which he
explained will reduce the cost per flight dramatically.
Once the ship is built, he
hopes other countries and companies will now have proof that space travel is
viable so they can “up their game.” When interplanetary travel becomes
available, he believes that will open up many entrepreneurial opportunities
including some Mars entertainment.
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