Science & Tech

Everything We Know About Elon Musk’s Big Freakin’ Rocket

by Dan Casey
Oct 3 2017 • 8:00 AM

Sometimes bigger is better, according to Elon Musk. While speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, the SpaceX CEO dropped a metric ton of new information about his plans to get our collective asses to Mars. The centerpiece of said plan, which he hopes to execute by 2024, is a massive new interplanetary transport system, codenamed the “BFR,” which we can only assume shares its first two initials with Doom‘s infamous BFG 9000. (For the sake of decency, we’ll paraphrase it here to mean “Big Freakin’ Rocket.”)

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With 31 engines, the BFR will eventually phase out SpaceX’s current lineup of rockets, including the still-in-testing Falcon Heavy, and will ferry both people and equipment to the red planet. Musk wants to have four BFR rockets built and en route to Mars by 2024, with each rocket able to carry between 20 to 50 tons of cargo. The rocket, which will be completely reusable and is intended to become the new go-to for launching satellites, as well as docking with the International Space Station, isn’t only meant for interstellar travel. In fact, Musk wants to use it to make your daily commute a thing of the past. According to his estimates, the BFR could make a trip from New York City to Shanghai–a distance of roughly 7,392 miles/11,897 kilometers–take a mere 39 minutes. To put it in perspective, that is nearly how long it take me to drive from our office to my apartment in Los Angeles.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg on today’s episode of Muskwatch. As you’ll see in the video above, we’re diving deep into Musk’s plans for Mars, his long-simmering moon base, everything you need to know about SpaceX’s BFR, how Tesla is making a difference in Puerto Rico hurricane relief, and much more.

Muskwatch airs on Nerdist.com and YouTube every Tuesday, but you can hack the planet and watch it two full days earlier on Sunday if you’re an Alpha subscriber. Find out how you can get 30 days free (and be 48 hours smarter than your dumb friends) right here.

What do you think of this week’s top stories? What else would you like to see us discuss on Muskwatch? Let us know in the comments below!

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