Imagining future space travel is fun, especially when companies like SpaceX seem to be bringing us so much closer to the possibility of visiting our solar system.
Designer Arun Raj has a clever mockup of a SpaceX TravelCard, where you simply tap on your destination, and a ticket is issued.
Obviously we are a few years off from moon trips and mars voyages, but it’s a fun thought experiment.
The Hyperloop is an ambitious transportation system that eventually proposes to whisk humans across the land in excess of 700 miles per hour. The vacuum-like tubes that make the system possible could revolutionize human transport, potentially leap-frogging high speed rail in some countries, and cutting down travel time between cities dramatically. In addition to being faster than even air travel, the Hyperloop systems aim to be cleaner and more sustainable as well.
At least seven companies are actively pursuing the technology, with Virgin Hyperloop One being one of the most prominent and well funded.
This week, they had their first human test of the system, albeit in a much slower and smaller test environment than future systems might be.
The successful test will lead to further advancements and buildout of hyperloop systems, with the goal being nationwide networks deployed in the next decade. Exciting progress indeed.
It’s been nearly a decade since the last Space Shuttle mission left earth, bound for the International Space Station. Since then, no American rocket has carried astronauts, and they’ve relied exclusively on Russian Soyuz rockets to reach orbit.
Now, after many years of preparation and testing, SpaceX, the private company founded by Elon Musk, is set to carry two American astronauts, using the Crew Dragon capsule.
Veteran astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will take the inaugural flight, in SpaceX’s custom new spacesuits, and brand new capsule.
The launch is set for May 27 at 4:30 pm Eastern, and if successful, will be a monumental achievement for the private company, which is under a multi-billion contract from NASA to bring astronauts to the space station.
Make sure to tune into the launch for this historic event.
Humans have dreamed of traveling to Mars for centuries, and as recently as the 1930s, we thought there might be Martians scurrying about the red planet already.
However, after decades of sending robotic landers and rovers, we might actually be on the cusp of setting foot on the red planet. SpaceX is gearing up to take their BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) to the moon in the near term, and deliver gear to Mars as soon as 2022.
Following a number of supply missions, SpaceX hopes to build what they’re dubbing Mars Base Alpha as early as 2028, a mere decade away. This eclipses NASA’s timeline, which is more in the late 2030s for a manned mission.
Judging by Tesla’s delays, we can assume Musk is being a bit optimistic with these timelines, but even if they’re within 3-5 years of the stated trajectory, it’s still a massively exciting development, and will change the course of human history forever.
Below is a brief look at Mars Base Alpha, and the plans for expansion on the Red Planet. Via Engadget:
“You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great – and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.”
— ELON MUSK, CEO AND LEAD DESIGNER, SPACEX
