Elon Musk’s SpaceX Opens a New Window. is spreading its wings in Florida so it can launch more space missions for its reuseable Starship rocket. Reuters reported the details after viewing the plans.
The eccentric billionaire, who also runs Tesla and Solar City, plans to launch the Starship 24 times a year to Luna and Mars, according to the report. The launchpad 39A at Kennedy Space Center is also where the historic Apollo lunar missions originated from.
“They’re moving very fast,” Dale Ketcham, vice president of government relations at Space Florida, the state’s commercial space development agency told Reuters Opens a New Window. . “This is actually getting closer to what Elon got into this business for to begin with. This is fundamental infrastructure to get to Mars, the early stages of it.”
Last month the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo which has inspired a new generation of billionaires to compete in their own space race Opens a New Window. . Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson, just last month, announced his spaceflight company Virgin Galactic will be merging Opens a New Window. with Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH) to create the world’s first publicly traded commercial human spaceflight company.
Virgin Galactic and the public investment firm agreed to a stock and cash deal — with SCH owning a 49 percent stake of the merged company. SCH’s founder will also invest $100 million at $10 per share, Branson’s company said in a news release. Opens a New Window. The company plans to offer commercial space flights, charging customers nearly $250,000 for a 2.5 hour flight.