On the last day of the
International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, SpaceX CEO Elon
Musk took the stage to discuss his company’s BFR project. In addition to
sharing details on how the technology might be used to revolutionize
long-distance travel on Earth, Musk also explained how it could support our
off-world activities.
The basic idea behind the
BFR is to create a single booster and ship that could replace the company’s
Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon. This would allow SpaceX to pour all the
resources currently split across those three crafts into the one project.
Once completed, the BFR
could be used to launch satellites and space telescopes or clean up space
debris. It would also be capable of docking with the International Space
Station (ISS) for the delivery of cargo. Most excitingly, though, is the BFR’s
potential to facilitate the establishment of off-world colonies.
The current BFR design is
large enough to ferry up to 100 people and plenty of equipment, which Musk
believes will be instrumental in creating a base of operations on the Moon.
“It’s 2017, I mean, we should have a lunar base by now,” he said during his IAC
presentation. “What the hell is going on?”
Musk’s aspirations go well
beyond the Moon, though. SpaceX’s goal of heading to Mars as soon as they have
the technology to do so is well known, and during last night’s presentation,
Musk shared imagery of a fully-fledged Martian city.
Construction on SpaceX’s
first ship capable of heading to Mars is expected to start within the next nine
months, and Musk hopes to send a pair of cargo ships to the planet in 2022,
though he admitted that this goal is somewhat “aspirational.”
Two years later, SpaceX
would send astronauts to the Red Planet aboard two crewed BFRs. These first
“settlers” would construct a fuel plant that would serve as the beginning of
the Martian colony. After that, the plan is to build multiple landing pads, then
expand out into terraforming and the construction of an urban environment.
Musk’s objectives are
indisputably audacious. However, putting humans on Mars will take some big,
bold ideas, and his certainly qualify.