Elon Musk is dreaming big. At the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide today, Musk announced SpaceX’s plans for an enormous new rocket that he says will go to Mars in 2022 and maybe eventually provide speedy trips around Earth.
The rocket, which Musk calls the BFR — the first and last letters stand for “big” and “rocket” – is smaller than the one he announced at the same event last year, carrying 150 tonnes compared to the previous design’s 300. It’s still more powerful than any of SpaceX’s or NASA’s other planned rockets.
Musk said that he plans to replace all of SpaceX’s other space vehicles – the Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy rockets and the Dragon capsule – with this new system.
“All of our resources will then turn to the BFR, and we believe that we can do this with the revenue we see from launching satellites and from servicing the space station,” he said.
Once the BFR is up and running, he said, its first tasks will be satellite launches and bringing cargo and crew to the ISS.
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