Aviation News

2017-09-29

Elon Musk Announces Plans for Long- and Short-Haul Spaceflight

More articles by »
Written by: Stephanie Gehman
Tags: , , , , ,

Care to travel in space for what’s estimated to be the same cost as that of a full fare economy commercial flight? Well, what once seemed like a pipedream is assured to us by Elon Musk as something that will be happening sooner rather than later! Musk is founder of Space Exploration Technologies, better known as SpaceX, a California-based space transport and aerospace manufacturer.


Early today, Musk announced that he plans to make city-to-city commuting via space travel a reality, promising metro-to-metro travel in a scant sixty minute flight or less. Even more surprising is that he claims the out-of-this-world flights will equal traditional commercial air travel in the price of ticketing. Going a step further, the company discussed plans to regularly carry individuals to the Moon and also described interplanetary travel, beginning with Mars, using SpaceX’s new fleet of spacecraft, affectionately named the “BFR.” B is for big. R is for rocket. Use your imagination to figure out the F.

The BFR system is under development and expected to make trips to a “Moon Alpha Base” for lunar landings, along with operations on Mars, and of course the point-to-point travel on Earth as well. Musk seemed cautiously optimistic in his presentation in Adelaide, Australia that the production of BFR could begin as early as the second quarter of 2018.
Will the days of your “head being in the clouds,” be rapidly replaced with a new era of your “head being in the stars”? Only time and rocket manufacturing will tell!



About the Author

Stephanie Gehman





 
 

 
Northern Pacific Boeing 757 with black and white livery on fuselage and tail, aurora borealis inspired splash of color on winglets, and similarly colored N on the tail.

Northern Pacific Airways Unveils First Aircraft

New airline Northern Pacific Airways unveiled their first aircraft on Tuesday evening in an event held at San Bernardino International Airport.
by Rufus Powell
0

 
 

Onboard Breeze Airways First Flight From Louisville

Back in June, 2018, the aviation community first heard of a possible new airline, to be partly founded by David Neeleman. The founder of JetBlue Airways, Azul Brazilian Airlines, WestJet, and ...
by Tom Rainey
0

 

 

A Step Towards Normalcy At The Jones Beach Airshow

A year after being cancelled at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Bethpage Federal Credit Union Airshow at Jones Beach returns for 2021.
by Scott Snorteland
0

 
 

SWISS Shows Off Its Revamped JFK Lounge

NYCAviation toured the fully-remodeled SWISS International lounge at JFK's Terminal 4
by Eric Dunetz
1

 
 

The Future of Business Aviation in Focus at NBAA BACE

The business aviation community will be gathering in Las Vegas this week for the annual NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exposition (BACE).
by Gabe Andino
1