Here is what we know about the SpaceX BFR



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It's called the Big Freaking Rocket, the Big Falcon Rocket, nicknamed the BFR. SpaceX's latest spacecraft and spacecraft under development will eventually replace the Falcon Heavy, Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule, CEO Elon Musk said last year. It is also an important part of Musk's plan to colonize Mars.

On Thursday, SpaceX announced that a citizen would launch on the rocket that was yet to be completed during a mission around the moon. The company will unveil the mysterious passenger Monday during a live webcast.

SpaceX also shared a new rendering of the BFR spacecraft, which is very different from the drawings presented last year at Musk's presentation at the International Astronautical Congress in Australia.

During the presentation, Musk gave an update on the development of BFR, stating that the name was still in progress. Focusing on BFR to replace the other two SpaceX rockets and the Dragon spacecraft, Musk said the company could devote more resources to the reusable BFR.

The BFR rocket and the spacecraft will be fully reusable, said Musk, which means the hardware will land and be redistributed across multiple missions.

"It's as if the upper floor of Falcon and Dragon was combined," Musk said of the BFR design.

Compared to the Falcon Heavy rocket, which is nearly 230 feet high, the future BFR will be more than 320 feet. The BFR will be powered at launch by 31 Raptor engines producing 5,400 tons of thrust and able to lift 4,400 tons in space. The sleek white spaceship at the top of the propeller will be more than 150 feet long and nearly 30 feet wide, according to Musk's presentation in 2017, adding that the payload compartment measures 8 floors.

One of the big differences between the rendition released Thursday by SpaceX and the one Musk showed last September at the IAC is the new wing of the spaceship. During the IAC, Mr. Musk stated that the Delta's unique triangle-shaped Delta wing was designed so that the spacecraft could land "anywhere in the solar system". The most recent image seems to have a wing in front of the Delta wing.

The spacecraft appears to be propelled by seven engines in the new sketch, while the one that Musk revealed last year had four vacuum engines and two sea level engines.

Musk said earlier this year that SpaceX would begin testing only the BFR spacecraft portion in 2019, and that the complete system could be ready for a space trip in 2022.

However, the founder of SpaceX is known for its more optimistic deadlines. SpaceX's operations manager, Gwynne Shotwell, known for her more realistic estimated dates, said at a TED conference in April that BFR would launch "in a decade, I'm sure."

Shotwell said that even after the development of BFR, SpaceX will continue to use Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy until its customers, including NASA, the US Air Force and private companies, largely accept their new vehicle.

"We will continue to continue driving the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy until there is a broad acceptance of BFR," said Shotwell TED Curator Chris Anderson.

BFR is designed for travel to Mars and beyond. According to Musk, the spacecraft could carry about 100 passengers on the red planet.

SpaceX also said the rocket could be able to carry passengers from New York to the other side of the world in 30 minutes at the price of a first class ticket. This business plan will also help the SpaceX fund get started on Mars.

Watch the video below to see what Shotwell has described as "a space trip for the earthlings".

The WCR will be manufactured at a facility near the Port of Los Angeles, on 19 acres of port land that SpaceX has leased. This installation is under construction. Because of its size, the rocket will require an ocean barge to reach the launch sites.

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