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bfr

The world is a big identify, only SpaceX is looking to make information technology feel a fleck smaller with a new mode of transportation. At the recent International Astronautical Congress (IAC), CEO Elon Musk gave an update on the company's Mars colonization rocket. What really stole the bear witness was a new potential use for that rocket. According to Musk, the Mars rocket could as well be used to send people from one spot on Earth to any other in virtually an hr.

The 43-minute presentation at IAC marks the start fourth dimension SpaceX has provided detailed information about the BFR spacecraft. SpaceX still plans to build and launch two BFR (which stands for Big F***ing Rocket) cargo missions to Mars in 2022, followed past manned flights as before long as 2024. That got polite applause from the crowd at IAC. Musk saved the World ship idea for the very stop–like an Apple-esque "ane more thing." It got big applause.

In the concept video, we see passengers boarding a ferry that takes them to a floating launch platform in New York. They move to the BFR, which then takes off and flies in a ballistic trajectory into space. The first phase detaches and flies back down for landing and reuse, just similar the Falcon nine booster does now. The second stage with its passengers continues its flight, landing propulsively in Shanghai almost half an hr subsequently. That'due south a trip that would take almost 15 hours past plane, and that assumes no layovers.

Musk says well-nigh of what we consider "long" flights would only take 30 minutes or then aboard the BFR, which would achieve speeds of 18,000 miles per hr (27,000 kph). You could become anywhere, no thing how far, in an hour. You're probably wondering how many millions of dollars this trip would cost. SpaceX is obviously quite confident in its cost-saving measures, as Musk later clarified on his Instagram folio that a ticket on the BFR would cost the same as an economy airline seat.

There are obviously a lot of hurdles betwixt Musk'due south announcement and hopping a rocket to Asia in real life. The BFR doesn't exist in real life however, and it would need all-encompassing testing before SpaceX would be allowed to take on passengers. There's too a public perception upshot. While rockets are seen as safe enough for cargo and a few brave astronauts, cramming a few hundred passengers on lath for a jaunt across the world might exist a tough sell. Just if it works out? The BFR could be truly revolutionary.