SpaceX unveils plan for passenger rocket

US venture firm SpaceX has unveiled a plan to enable passengers to travel between cities around the world by rocket in about 30 minutes. CEO Elon Musk made the announcement at an international conference in Australia on Friday. The idea is to launch a spacecraft carrying passengers on a rocket that travels in space at a speed of up to 27,000 kilometers per hour. Musk said a trip between New York and Shanghai would take 39 minutes. A journey between Tokyo and Los Angeles would take 32 minutes, and a trip from New York to Paris would take exactly 30 minutes.

Wow, no more 14 hour airplane rides to cities in Asia..

The firm aims to turn the idea into a reality by offering a trip that will cost about the same as an economy class seat on an airplane.

We might all get the chance to travel into space in our lifetime.


SpaceX unveils plan for passenger rocket

I think this is a terrible idea. i do not know but I would hazard a guess that rockets are far more worse for the environment than plane travel. I think it will just end us as the new rich kid travel. I don't trust Elon either. He's not a visionary, he's a business-man looking to extort tax-payers money for his own projects which he will then profit immensely from.

a reply to: LightSpeedDriver

Tax payer money?

a reply to: nOraKat

He has loads of tax subsidies.

a reply to: nOraKat

won't be much room for passengers or luggage. you got to to limit weight and account for fuel and oxygen for the trip.
so i bet that it would be a no frills ride, he says that capacity would be between 80 to 200 people, bet that seating would be even more cramped than air travel, plus what about restrooms, make sure you take a leak before you board, or will they make you pee in your suit, that's something else, would you have to wear a space suit, wonder if it would be one size fits all, or would you have to buy your own. another thing i wonder, if everyday people will be able to handle the g's?
so their is plan is to build a BFR ( Big ___ing Rocket) no sh@@ that's what they call it.

Musk proposed using SpaceX’s forthcoming mega-rocket (codenamed Big #ing Rocket or BFR for short) to lift a massive spaceship into orbit around the Earth. The ship would then settle down on floating landing pads near major cities. Both the new rocket and spaceship are currently theoretical, though Musk did say that he hopes to begin construction on the rocket in the next six to nine months.
Elon Musk proposes city-to-city travel by rocket, right here on Earth

plus i wonder if they'll be able to make the BFR land better then the falcon. another thing i wonder about, if everyday people will be able to handle the g's? i think that his 3g's is bunk, the way i understand it g force is relative to weight, so wouldn't the BFR's weight,fuel, oxygen, passengers, luggage, plus what ever else is needed have to be limited? and where would the limits be cut from?

a reply to: nOraKat

The firm aims to turn the idea into a reality by offering a trip that will cost about the same as an economy class seat on an airplane.

Yah, sure. Except by the time of first liftoff that will change to ten million. Only the most wealthy will be able to afford it, and they prefer to ride less G force, less odds of blowing up or crashing into the spaceport.

a reply to: nOraKat

This concept is going to butt heads with Lockheed's announcement a couple of days ago of a new mach 6 flying machine that has been in the works since 2000.

Musk and the other rocket boys are going to be in for a big let down when it becomes known that the semi-secret triangles are going to eat aviation's lunch. Maybe Musk should stick with cars?

Knowing that triangles exist--I've seen one--I take Lockheed's announcement to be a veiled threat that they have the lock on the next gen of exotic machines and rockets are yesterday's news. (Sorry, sorta, for metaphors.)

originally posted by: LightSpeedDriver
I think this is a terrible idea. i do not know but I would hazard a guess that rockets are far more worse for the environment than plane travel. I think it will just end us as the new rich kid travel. I don't trust Elon either. He's not a visionary, he's a business-man looking to extort tax-payers money for his own projects which he will then profit immensely from.

As far as I know burning oxygen and hydrogen together produces water, no harm to the environment, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen being the oxiginator and fuel for heavy lifting rockets, apart from the solid fuel boosters that is.

So are they giving up on going to the moon??

a reply to: nOraKat

Perhaps he deserves it.

He made owning an electric car cool and more appealing to the masses. Appealing even to people who can give a rats ass about the environment.

Wow so many negative comments. I think its great that he is trying to make space travel accessible to regular people at an affordable price. I hope he succeeds. You have to start somewhere. With our current mindset, we will be stranded on Earth forever. Its about time we left the atmosphere, even a little. Hopefully our Earth confinement by the ETs will eventually be lifted. Well maybe not with all the knuckleheads and backwards culture on our planet. I wouldn't want them running amok in the universe either.

originally posted by: hounddoghowlie
a reply to: nOraKat

won't be much room for passengers or luggage. you got to to limit weight and account for fuel and oxygen for the trip.
so i bet that it would be a no frills ride, he says that capacity would be between 80 to 200 people, bet that seating would be even more cramped than air travel, plus what about restrooms, make sure you take a leak before you board, or will they make you pee in your suit, that's something else, would you have to wear a space suit, wonder if it would be one size fits all, or would you have to buy your own. another thing i wonder, if everyday people will be able to handle the g's?
so their is plan is to build a BFR ( Big ___ing Rocket) no sh@@ that's what they call it.

Musk proposed using SpaceX’s forthcoming mega-rocket (codenamed Big #ing Rocket or BFR for short) to lift a massive spaceship into orbit around the Earth. The ship would then settle down on floating landing pads near major cities. Both the new rocket and spaceship are currently theoretical, though Musk did say that he hopes to begin construction on the rocket in the next six to nine months.
Elon Musk proposes city-to-city travel by rocket, right here on Earth

plus i wonder if they'll be able to make the BFR land better then the falcon. another thing i wonder about, if everyday people will be able to handle the g's? i think that his 3g's is bunk, the way i understand it g force is relative to weight, so wouldn't the BFR's weight,fuel, oxygen, passengers, luggage, plus what ever else is needed have to be limited? and where would the limits be cut from?

It's a 30 min ride. Use the restroom before you board. No need for luxuries/creature comforts, again, it's a 30 min ride. It's akin to commuting to work. Only in flight entertainment you'll need is to look out the window.

a reply to: CB328

No, if you watch the presentation having a moon base is one of the first plans mentioned.

a reply to: Bluntone22

No, he has income from contracts with the government to deliver crew and material to orbit and the space station. Fulfilling contractual obligations and getting income in return is called a job, i.e. employment, not a subsidy. You want to see a subsidy look at ULA and Lockheed Martin who are propped up with billions all while doing absolutely nothing. None of these companies were even remotely serious about Mars until SpaceX became a serious threat. SpaceX controls 50% of the world's launch market, 50! That's not the kind of company that needs a subsidy.

a reply to: Vdogg

In 2015, Musk's statements were subject to further scrutiny when an LA Times article claimed that SpaceX, Tesla, SolarCity and buyers of their products had or were projected to receive together an estimated US$4.9 billion in government subsidies over twenty years. One example given is New York state, which is spending $750 million to build a solar panel factory in Buffalo which will be leased to SolarCity for $1 a year. The deal also includes no property taxes for a decade, an estimated $260 million valuation. Musk employs a former U.S. State Department official as the chief negotiator for Tesla.

Link

even if this technology works i doubt governments will allow space x to use it since it works exactly like an icbm and could easily be mistaken for an attack.

a reply to: namehere

There would obviously need to be direct comms between source and destination to verify course and purpose. The same thing is true with planes, which can also carry weapons. Nothing enters any countries airspace without that governments prior approval.

a reply to: LightSpeedDriver

The only example I see given was for Tesla, not SpaceX, which is the subject of this conversation. Can you point me towards the section that mentions the amount of the SpaceX subsidy?

a reply to: Vdogg

Then please re-read my post and click the link. It seems clear enough to me. Billions of taxpayer dollars.

a reply to: LightSpeedDriver

So, you couldn't find an example to quote and post here? Curious. As far as Tesla is concerned one of be those "subsidies" is a loan that Tesla paid back 10 years early with interest.

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