From January 23 to January 30, the StartmeupHK startup festival was held in Hong Kong. One of the guest speakers was businessman Ilon Musk. At the moment, the billionaire is working on several projects that are designed to change the world: this is SpaceX private company, Tesla Motors electric cars, SolarCity solar panels and Hyperloop vacuum trains. From the stage, Musk shared some interesting details about his plans.

Delivery to the ISS

Musk looked very tired and shabby. This is probably a jetlag, the consequences of jet lag after flight on the plane. But this did not prevent the SpaceX head from telling about the company's plans.

Currently, using the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule, approximately three tons of cargo can be delivered to the International Space Station. This is one of several ways to supply the ISS with the necessary supplies and equipment. Others are Orbital ATK’s Cygnus ships, the Japanese Konotori and the Russian Progress. The change of crew is made only with the help of the Russian "Unions". With the end of the Space Shuttle program, NASA lost the ability to launch a man into orbit, so at this point the United States has to buy space on the Soyuz spacecraft to launch astronauts to the ISS.
')
But the situation is gradually being corrected within the framework of the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program. It implies that private companies will develop manned spacecraft and will launch astronauts for NASA. One of the participants in CCDev is Space Exploration Technologies Corporation or SpaceX. The company Mask is going to deliver a person to the ISS using the capsule of Dragon V2, also known as Dragon 2. At the moment the ship is still under development. For example, a jet engine test was recently made: driving them, the capsule hovered over the platform. The first launch with people on board is scheduled for next year.



In Hong Kong, Mask said that he himself wants to fly to the ISS in 4-5 years. He has already completed training in parabolic flights on an airplane to create weightless conditions. The billionaire attached little importance to the importance of physical fitness: microgravity in orbit means that you just need to soar somewhere in the ship. In the past, private individuals visited Mir and the ISS for a fee as tourists, but the Russian state space agency delivered them there. A visit to the station by the head of the developer of the delivery system is something new.

Mars flights

Dreams Mask does not stop at creating a taxi for the delivery of astronauts to an aging station in low earth orbit. One of the ideas pursued by Ilon is the conquest of Mars. Musk said he wanted to die on Mars, but not from a landing strike.

In Hong Kong, the head of SpaceX explained why he pursues a similar goal. Musk believes that the colony on Mars will be a milestone in the history of space exploration, a strong point for further deeper flights. Humanity can either remain a monoplanetary civilization, waiting for death from any cataclysm, or it's time to move forward to the colonization of many star systems. And the conquest of Mars is the obvious next step forward on this path. In the future, Musk wants to create a self-sustaining settlement on Mars. The goal of conquering the red planet in a global sense is to preserve the human mind in the event that life on Earth stops. In the end, it all comes down to inspiration: every day you want not just to solve pressing problems, but to pursue some lofty goal.

To reach Mars, you need a larger rocket called the Mars Colonial Transporter (MCT). Also need a ship in which people will dwell. This will be the next generation Falcon-Dragon system.


There are currently few MCT materials available. Comparison of Falcon 9 v1.0, v.1.1 and MCT with 9 Raptor engines.

In Hong Kong, Musk said that he hoped that he would be able to describe the architecture of this huge carrier and Martian ship at the International Astronautical Congress conference, which will be held in Mexico from September 26 to 30 of this year. And the first flights to Mars SpaceX plans to carry out around 2025. For comparison: NASA plans to land a man on Mars in the thirties of this century. Are SpaceX plans too close? Musk answered the leading question that for him 9 years is a lot.

Tesla

Musk also runs Tesla Motors electric car company; the conversation was largely about the prospects for the development of electric transport in China. And let falling oil prices complicate the transition to electric vehicles, Tesla is thinking about creating new models. Mask does not exclude that Tesla does not stop at the "sex" line. (The names of the models should have been formed into the word SEX, but Ford threatened with the court, and Model E became Model 3.) In Hong Kong, Musk said that plans to create a three-wheel truck are not excluded from the possible, but did not give any other details. . At the moment, Tesla is producing a luxury Model S sedan and a Model X electric SUV, with plans for a Model 3 announcement.

Tesla electric cars recently appeared autopilot, which at some points of the trip, you can entrust control of the vehicle. Mask shared his thoughts on the future of technology. He predicts that in a few years the steering wheel in cars can only be an option. If it is, then the steering wheel will be hidden, it will appear from the panel only for interception of control. The head of Tesla Motors is sure that most of the people will own their own cars, but a small part (by a rough estimate, a third) will still go to a subscription, which means that upon request, the right type of car will arrive at the subscriber’s home.

Full video of the conversation .