Around the world in less than an hour! Elon Musk has recently proposed using Space X’s ‘BFR’ rocket to fly anywhere on Earth within minutes. He also demonstrated SpaceX's plans for lunar and Mars missions.
Such super fast journeys would be made possible by SpaceX’s next rocket called the BRF. Musk said that the company hopes it will be launched by the end of this year.
This rocket is planned to be fully reusable and will be capable of refueling in space. Hence, it is vital for Musk’s plan to start sending missions to Mars by 2022.
The rocket will be 106 meters long with a 9-meter diameter. It will have a booster and upper stage that act like the Falcon 9's upper stage and Dragon capsule in one.
“For longer missions, the BFR second stage could be refueled in orbit by a drone "tanker" ship. It could take up to 240 passengers, but more likely around 100 people, to Mars and elsewhere,” online magazine Engadget reported.
It would be even more reliable than the Falcon 9 because it would land with two engines.
"I think we can get to a landing [safety level] that's on par with the safest commercial airliners," Musk said.
All these amazing promises regarding the BFR rocket will provide a cost-efficient way of traveling around the Earth differently too.
According to Musk the plan is to first bring travelers to sea-based rocket pads. From there, a BFR would launch to space at a maximum speed of 18,000 miles per hour finishing with a propulsive landing back on a pad.
The travel time from Hong Kong to Singapore would be within 22 minutes and from London to New York in 29 minutes. The longest journeys would take less than an hour.
"Most of what people would consider to be long-distance trips would be completed in less than half an hour," Musk said. "Once you're out of the atmosphere, it would be smooth as silk. No turbulence, nothing."
