Elon Musk Renames Starship BFR Starship

Elon Musk changed the name of his future passenger spacecraft from Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) to Starship.

The contractor did not reveal why he had renamed this gear, which has not yet been built, but he added that his rocket booster will be called Super Heavy.

In September, Musk's SpaceX company announced that Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa had become the first passenger to travel aboard the ship.

The mission is scheduled for 2023 if the spacecraft is built at this time.

This is the fourth name of the craft. It was named Mars Colonial Transporter (MCT) and became Interplanetary Transport System (ITS) before becoming BFR.

Over the weekend, Musk tweeted that the spacecraft was being restructured, saying the new version was "very exciting, deliciously counter-intuitive".

Starship is expected to replace the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy ships in the long run and will cost about US $ 5 billion to build.

Mr. Musk's plan is for Starship to take people to space on commercial flights around the moon and Mr. Maezawa would be his first "moon tourist".

However, it will not land on the planet but will travel on what is called a "free return trajectory", which will bring Starship back to Earth after circling the Moon.

Only 24 humans visited the moon – all Americans; 12 of them landed on the moon. The Apollo 17 of NASA in December 1972 marked the last time humans have landed on the moon or have passed the low Earth orbit.

Mr. Musk's long-term plans are to take people to Mars and colonize the planet.

He did not reveal any details about the new design of the craft, but he had previously stated that he would be able to carry up to 100 passengers on Mars.