It appears that SpaceX is reviving its plans to take on the commercial aviation industry, ferrying passengers to other countries through space.
Billionaire owner Elon Musk says his ambitious vision of an “Earth to Earth” space trip on his Starship rocket is “now possible” following Donald Trump’s re-election.
First touted by SpaceX nearly a decade ago, up to 1,000 passengers would board Starship, Earth’s most powerful rocket, and into orbit.
But instead of approaching the dark abyss of space, Starship would fly “parallel” to Earth as it traverses the planet’s surface, bound for another city.
Elon Musk claims it would dramatically reduce the duration of air travel, saving time for both businessmen and tourists, even though they would likely pay thousands of dollars per trip.
The spacecraft could take people from London to New York in 30 minutes, from New York to Shanghai in 39 minutes and from Zurich to Sydney in 50 minutes, SpaceX says.
However, passengers would face G-forces during take-off and landing, while low-gravity conditions mid-flight would mean they would have to keep their seat belts fastened.
Travelers might also be advised to keep their seats tilted back during launch and to “squeeze their buttocks” as they exit and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.
A SpaceX promotional video shows a luxury trip aboard Starship that takes just 39 minutes to get from New York to Shanghai, China.
In response to a fellow X user promoting the ‘Earth to Earth’ Starship project, Musk simply said: “This is now possible.”
Billionaire Elon Musk says his ambitious vision of an “Earth to Earth” space trip on his Starship rocket is “now possible” following Donald Trump’s re-election.
X user @ajtourville published the SpaceX promotional video on X (Twitter)suggesting that the company could receive authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the Trump presidency.
The user said: ‘Under Trump’s FAA, @SpaceX could even get Starship Earth to Earth approved in a few years, taking people from any city to any other city on Earth in less than an hour.
Musk, an avid X user who likes to keep people informed about his companies, responded simply by saying, “This is now possible.”
Unfortunately, the billionaire, who invested $130m (£102m) to support Trump’s campaign, CNBC reports – did not give further details about when the project could be carried out.
MailOnline has contacted SpaceX for comment.
The signature video, originally published in 2017.shows a near future in which a swarm of people boards a boat on the Hudson River in New York at 6:30 in the morning.
The ship then transports its passengers to a Starship rocket a few miles offshore, which is then safely launched into orbit at 7 a.m. sharp.
At a top speed of 27,000 km/h (16,700 mph), Starship travels the planet to Shanghai in China in just 39 minutes.
At the New York Seaport, a Starship rocket is gently launched into orbit bound for China, the promotional clip shows.
As passengers board a ship at a spaceport at sea, a digital departure board reads: “Now board, New York City to Shanghai.”
According to the company’s vision, “most long-distance trips” would take “less than 30 minutes,” while a trip to anywhere on Earth would take less than an hour.
At a distance of 11,897 km (7,392 miles), the trip from New York to Shanghai on a commercial plane today takes about 15 hours.
The video ends with the 395-foot stainless steel vessel making a perfect landing on another offshore landing platform in Shanghai.
SpaceX advertises “most long-distance trips in less than 30 minutes” and anywhere on Earth in less than an hour.
Although the video shows a flawless trip from the outside, nothing is revealed about what the flight conditions will be like for passengers.
Due to the low gravity in orbit, passengers would have to be strapped into their seats and may not be able to go to the bathroom.
Musk has previously said that “no bathrooms, pilot area or food kitchen would be needed” because “most flights would only last 15 to 20 minutes.”
As a result, passengers may have to take a tactical bathroom break on the ship, to avoid getting wet in space.
The main goal of Starship is, of course, to transport humans to further places, namely to the Moon and eventually even to other planets.
Musk’s SpaceX company is responsible for the most powerful rocket ever built on Earth: the Starship. The 395-foot, multi-million-dollar stainless steel vessel has been designed to transport crew and cargo to orbit around the Earth and the moon. But Musk believes ‘Earth to Earth’ travel on Starship is also a possibility
Musk has previously said that “no bathrooms, pilot area or food kitchen would be needed” because “most flights would only last 15 to 20 minutes.”
Four astronauts are scheduled to reach the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis 3 mission in 2026, the first manned trip to the lunar surface since 1972.
Musk recently said that SpaceX will send its multimillion-dollar Starship rocket to Mars in 2026, although it will be an uncrewed mission.
Two years later, in 2028, Starship will transport people to Mars for the first time, marking the first time humans would walk on another planet.
However, Starship has had explosive launch tests in recent years and has barely mastered the ascent to space and return in one piece.
Last month, SpaceX completed arguably its most impressive feat yet: it managed to snare the “boost” section of the Starship system with metal “chopsticks” so it could be reused.
In a jubilant post on
