Elon Musk is the founder and CEO of SpaceX, a company with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of mars. SpaceX has been in the process of creating a space shuttle system that will allow humans to travel to Mars in order to colonize it and eventually make commercial interplanetary travel as easy as using an airline today.
The Falcon 9 is a multi-stage rocket that uses a refuelable booster system that will make refueling and getting large amounts of people into space easier in the future. This is how it works: SpaceX Interplanetary Transport
The Falcon 9 will make history today, March 30th, at 4:30PM MST when it will deliver the SES-10 satellite into orbit. This is the first time SpaceX will reuse one of the 14-story-tall boosters it recovered from past missions. The reused rocket will ferry a communications satellite into orbit for Luxembourg-based SES SA, SpaceX’s first commercial customer, and signals a leap forward in Musk's 15-year quest to drive down launch costs and eventually create a human colony on Mars. Upon success, this will mark the first time a reusable rocket has ever been launched into orbital space and landed upright.
Watch launch here on March 30th at 4:30PM MST: SpaceX Launch Livestream
Watch launch here on March 30th at 4:30PM MST: SpaceX Launch Livestream
Phil Larson, a former space policy advisor to President Obama stated “This is a Wright Brothers moment for space.”
Reusing rockets could lead to cheaper launches for commercial satellites and government partners – Elon Musk hints at giving discounts of up to 30 percent. Ultimately, if we’re going to send loads of humans to live on Mars, we need much cheaper systems for launching payloads into orbit.
SpaceX’s goal is very ambitious and has required millions of dollars of investments but Musk believes that the first humans will land on Mars within the next 6 years. With global warming and other threats to the Earth, looking to Mars as a hospitable planet is becoming more appealing for future generations.
Mars is very similar to Earth as it has
· 24 hour days
· polar ice caps
· seasons that change throughout the year.
However, there are many things that still need to be worked out for a life on Mars. How would infrastructure be built, how would politics work? There are many questions now but hopefully soon we will be able to at least see the first humans walk on Mars. And maybe through Elon Musk’s vision and time, we will be able to call Mars home in the future.
All hail the first human republic of Mars with the Capital named after Musk. Its great living in an era where we are trying to reach the far corners of the Galaxy. Its a shame that we might not get the chance to ride one of those super rockets to Mars and experience the planet ourselves. Great presentation
ReplyDeleteThe timing of this presentation was perfect! My brother is a big SpaceX fan so I always get updates on when they have launches. It's surreal to think of the progress this company has made in affordable and now reusable space travel. Good presentation overall!
ReplyDeleteI had to come back to this presentation since the launch was a huge success! The rocket touched down and Musk made history. The man may be insane, but he's one of the few taking the world into the future. Can't wait to enjoy a drink on Mars when I'm older.
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