SpaceX Discusses Potential Earth-to-Earth Travel Services
What happened
Gwynne Shotwell suggested that Earth-to-Earth services could begin using SpaceX's Starship rocket. This concept involves brief suborbital trips between distant cities, such as a roughly 30-minute hop from Tokyo to New York. Elon Musk first introduced the idea in 2017, framing it as a byproduct of the company's Moon and Mars ambitions.
From ibtimes.com.au
Why it matters
The service, if realized, could potentially link any two points on Earth in under an hour. Elon Musk previously stated the cost per seat could be comparable to a full-fare economy airline ticket. However, reports note that commercial service is years away due to safety, regulatory, and environmental hurdles.
From ibtimes.com.au
Who's involved
- Gwynne ShotwellExecutive leading operations and investor relations at SpaceX.
- SpaceXAmerican private aerospace company developing the Starship rocket.
- Elon MuskBusinessman who first publicly laid out the concept of Earth-to-Earth travel in 2017.
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The entities involved
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Gwynne Shotwell
American business executive (born 1963)
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SpaceX
American private aerospace company