Posted on 04/17/2018 7:17:00 PM PDT by BenLurkin
SpaceX will build its "BFR" spaceship at a new facility in the Port of Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced yesterday (April 16).
The company plans to use this ambitious new vessel — whose acronym name stands for "Big Falcon Rocket" (or a less-family-friendly version of that name) — to send people to Mars by 2024 and set up a colony on the Red Planet within the next 50 to 100 years. Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder and CEO, has said that the BFR could also send people to the moon, launch satellites to low Earth orbit, clean up orbital debris and transport passengers around Earth at record speeds.
According to documents posted online by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, SpaceX's new site takes up about 18 acres (7.3 hectares) on Terminal Island, a small industrial zone between the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles and the city of Long Beach, California.
After an initial 10-year lease, SpaceX will have the option to renew the lease for the next two decades, which means the company and its BFR activities could be sticking around Terminal Island for the next 30 years. The rent will cost SpaceX approximately $1.38 million per year, the Associated Press reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
they still flying the chinese flag at POLA?
Spruce Goose?
Well that’s disappointing. I almost was starting to think Elon Musk might be a conservative. Bummer.
Hope not. Musk is similar to Howard Hughes, having big dreams. In the video at the link, Musk talks about building a bunch of BFR rockets, hoping to launch 2 to Mars in 2022, a couple years later in 2024 sending 4 BFR rockets, then more and more until a city is built on Mars. Very ambitious man.
Where is the launch site for this rocket? Just wondering about the transportation plans and infrastructure (the largest Saturn V and Shuttle components had to be transported by barge to the Cape for final assembly).
None of this makes sense unless there’s something significant that we don’t know (and Musk does) in regards to generating X amount of thrust from X mass of fuel.
Unless perhaps the plan is to launch a BFR with no payload into orbit, and use a series of Falcon Heavy launches to get a full load of fuel into orbit with it. Then it could presumably go to Mars and land. Landing and taking off from Mars would be easier because of the lower gravity but it would probably still need another refueling on Mars or in Mars orbit to get back to Earth, and then another refueling before it could land on Earth with a payload. So basically we will need a refueling infrastructure both at Mars and in Earth-orbit. It can be done, betcha.
Cool.
“Amatuers study tactics. Professionals study logistics!” George C. Marshall.
They calling it the Aztlan I?
I meant, is that the location of the building of this thing? That same place on terminal island in Long Beach? I like the big dreaming, for sure.
Send people to Mars by 2024 . . . amazing!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.