SpaceX BFR launch date: Elon Musk teases IMMINENT update on spacecraft launch
SPACEX hopes its BFR rocket will one day make the monumental trip to Mars, with Elon Musk teasing an update on the rocket’s status.
SpaceX successfully launch SE-12 satellite into space
The BFR is still in the development phase but the allure of sending astronauts to Mars onboard the rocket has the scientific community excited.
One fan approached South African billionaire Elon Musk over the weekend to ask about new updates on the BFR’s status.
The ecstatic fan told Mr Musk to “give the people what they want” to which the SpaceX founder let a little tease slip.
Mr Musk replied to the tweet, simply saying: “In a month or so.”
Earlier in March this year the SpaceX chief reiterated his commitment to get the interplanetary rocket off the ground and into space.
Speaking at the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, Mr Musk said the company was making “good progress” on the rocket.
He said the design was “evolving rapidly” from his initial concept presentation in September 2017 at the International Astronautical Congress in Australia.
The BFR rocket concept was first presented to the world back in September 2014.
Then on September 29, 2017, SpaceX presented a major update to the vehicle’s design, outlining the rocket’s specification.
In a month or so
The booster and vehicle phases of the rocket measure 347.8 feet (106m) and 190 feet (58m) respectively or a combined 538 feet (164m).
The rocket features a combination of two Raptor Engines, two Sea-Level Engines and four Vacuum Engines for a combined booster thrust of 52,700 kN.
Presenting the rocket to an audience of space enthusiasts, Mr Musk said: “The boosters have now all been tested and they’re on their way to Cape Canaveral and we are now beginning serious development of the BFR.”
SpaceX aims to make the rocket 100 percent reusable while maintaining a larger payload capacity than NASA’s Saturn V – the world’s, tallest, largest and most powerful rocket.
For comparison, SpaceX’s famous reusable Falcon 9 Rocket is only about 30 percent retrievable after launch.
Once operational, SpaceX expects the BFR to cut down travel around the globe from hours down to minutes.
An eight hour trip from London to New York would only last about 30 minutes onboard the BFR.