Elon Musk unveils scaled-down version of Mars colonization vessel with broader applications. SpaceX founder and Chief Designer Elon Musk unveiled modifications to the Interplanetary Transport System at the 2017 International Astronomical Congress in Adelaide, Australia September 29. The announcement was the first major modification of the system since its debut at the 2016 IAC conference last September. Initially, the ITS was the colonization ship SpaceX designed to transport cargo and passengers en masse to the Martian surface. However, funding the system proved more difficult than the company anticipated, prompting Musk to redesign the rocket.
Cutaway diagram of the 2017 BFR spaceship. This is the upper stage of the two-stage vehicle. A small delta wing has been added to improve stability during a wide-range of mission profiles across multiple atmospheres. BFR, as it has been renamed - for ‘Big Falcon Rocket’ - will replace all systems currently flying or in development by SpaceX, including Dragon, Falcon 9, and Falcon Heavy. While still a two-stage vehicle, the ship’s diameter has been reduced from 12 meters to 9 meters, and the upper stage’s Raptor engines have been reduced to four. The vehicle’s overall length has been shortened slightly to 106 meters from 122.
However, by reducing slightly the scale of the vehicle, Musk says that the BFR will be able to take on tasks previously designated for the company’s other vehicles. Missions in Earth orbit could be performed to deploy ‘more satellites at [one] time than has ever been done before,’ collect space debris, or launch a new generation of ultra-large telescopes. Additionally, BFR could be used for the construction of a Lunar outpost which would not only test out key skills necessary for their Mars architecture but also provide significant scientific output. A single refueling procedure in a highly-elliptical Earth orbit would be sufficient to send the BFR to a Lunar landing and a direct return to Earth.
Musk’s ultimate goal with the system is the colonization of Mars, which the BFR would be able to achieve with four Earth-orbital refuelings. The spaceship would achieve a propulsive landing on the Martian surface before beginning surface operations. Martian resources would be used to create the propellant necessary to return the ship to Earth.
SpaceX has already ordered the equipment necessary to manufacture the massive new rocket and has an ‘aspirational’ goal for a maiden voyage to Mars in 2022. In addition to consolidating the SpaceX product line to BFR, the company also hopes to generate revenue by using the rockets for point-to-point transportation anywhere on Earth in under an hour.
Launching from ocean-based spaceports, BFR would use its 100-person capacity to loft passengers on a suborbital flight anywhere across the globe. Coupled with the company’s already in-development Hyperloop, Earth-based BFR transport would revolutionize global connectivity and culture. Musk estimates Earth-based flights would cost ‘no more than full-fare economy [class] in an aircraft.’
Watch Musk’s 2017 IAC presentation revealing modifications to the ITS/BFR system here or below.
P/c: SpaceX/Elon Musk.
