Photo: Wikimedia
There's a new space race going on, and this one has nothing to do with the USA, Russia or any of the world's major powers. Like so many other things, the space race has moved into the private sector.
Late last month, Elon Musk unveiled his plan to take humankind off this rock and colonize another one, with his sights set firmly on Mars. He intends to ferry up to one million people using something called the Interplanetary Transport System - essentially a ship capable of carrying up to 100 humans equipped with the largest rocket the world has ever seen. No electric powertrain here, then.
Musk's vision expands over the next 50 to 100 years, which is something new for him. When talking about Tesla and the automotive industry, he says any strategy longer than five years feels like an eternity to him, but it would make sense for things to move slower in the world of interplanetary travel.
However, Musk and his SpaceX won't be alone in their attempt to deliver the first human on Mars. Lockheed Martin and Boeing are also vying for a slice of the space travel pie, and they can't just sit back and watch Musk make bold claims about the future of SpaceX without some comments of their own.
The first voice to respond was that of Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg who, without expanding the subject any further, told an audience gathered in Chicago for an innovation conference that he was convinced "the first person to step foot on Mars would arrive there riding a Boeing rocket.” (via Teslarati)
Boeing and SpaceX are two very different companies, so the former's CEO doesn't really have the liberty to get into more detail. But while Musk's plans were farfetched and ambiguous, at least they were something. Boeing is making this claim without anything to back it up except the company's expertise and renown in the industry.
Progress is best stimulated by competition, so the more companies get involved in the space race, the quicker we will begin to see results. At the moment, though, SpaceX is busy dealing with the aftermath of the Cape Canaveral explosion, while Boeing is focusing on other projects as well such as the hypersonic aircraft that should bring back passenger flights at speeds greater than that of sound.
Musk's vision expands over the next 50 to 100 years, which is something new for him. When talking about Tesla and the automotive industry, he says any strategy longer than five years feels like an eternity to him, but it would make sense for things to move slower in the world of interplanetary travel.
However, Musk and his SpaceX won't be alone in their attempt to deliver the first human on Mars. Lockheed Martin and Boeing are also vying for a slice of the space travel pie, and they can't just sit back and watch Musk make bold claims about the future of SpaceX without some comments of their own.
The first voice to respond was that of Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg who, without expanding the subject any further, told an audience gathered in Chicago for an innovation conference that he was convinced "the first person to step foot on Mars would arrive there riding a Boeing rocket.” (via Teslarati)
Boeing and SpaceX are two very different companies, so the former's CEO doesn't really have the liberty to get into more detail. But while Musk's plans were farfetched and ambiguous, at least they were something. Boeing is making this claim without anything to back it up except the company's expertise and renown in the industry.
Progress is best stimulated by competition, so the more companies get involved in the space race, the quicker we will begin to see results. At the moment, though, SpaceX is busy dealing with the aftermath of the Cape Canaveral explosion, while Boeing is focusing on other projects as well such as the hypersonic aircraft that should bring back passenger flights at speeds greater than that of sound.
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