According to Elon Musk, a ‘BFR’ for traveling across the Solar System would revolutionize travel on earth. He states that the BFR with 18,000 mph maximum speed would take you anywhere on earth within an hour.
At the 68th International Astronautical Congress 2017 in Adelaide, Australia, Musk revealed this plan. He also showed SpaceX’s plans for Mars and lunar missions. These trips can make ‘most’ long journeys within half an hour. As per Musk, the cost per seat would be “about the same as full fare economy in an aircraft.”
The BFR is the next rocket of SpaceX after the Falcon Heavy that seems to launch by the year-end. Unlike all of the previous rockets, this is designed to be fully reusable. It will even have the capability of refueling in space.
Now, refueling in space provides quite a few benefits. As per revealed plans by Musk, these are:
- Resupplying the ISS.
- Landing on the moon without having to do fuel production, activating the creation of ‘Moon Base Alpha’.
- Initiate Mars missions by 2022.
BFR Features
Following are the major features of the rocket, alongside the maximum speed, fully reusable, and ability to refueling on space:
- It will have the capacity to carry 150 tons of cargo and yet will remain fully reusable.
- The rocket has a big enough nose to launch a mirror with 10 times the surface area of the present Hubble telescope, that too without folding it.
- Its multiple engines will make landing smooth even in case of losing an engine.
To sum up…
BFR and the plans around it already look like uphill tasks. Well, SpaceX and Musk are keeping the approach as providing an affordable way for changing travel on earth and beyond. The master plan: stock a backlog from previous rockets and channel the capabilities entirely for BFR.
