London to New York in 30 MINUTES: SpaceX’s Starship could soon transport passengers on long-distance trips at dizzying speeds of up to 16,700mph – as Elon Musk claims ‘this is now possible’ following Trump’s re-election
It appears SpaceX is reviving plans to take on the commercial aviation industry – by ferrying passengers to other countries via space.
Billionaire owner Elon Musk says his ambitious vision of ‘Earth to Earth’ space travel with his Starship rocket is “now possible” following the re-election of Donald Trump.
First touted by SpaceX nearly a decade ago, up to 1,000 passengers would board Starship – the most powerful rocket on Earth – and blast into orbit.
But instead of zooming into the dark abyss of space, Starship would fly ‘parallel’ to Earth as it traverses the planet’s surface, en route to another city.
Elon Musk claims it would dramatically shorten the duration of air travel, saving time for businesspeople and leisure travelers alike – although they would likely have to pay thousands of dollars per trip.
A spaceship 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 have to deal with G-forces during take-off and landing, while the low gravity in mid-flight would mean they would have to keep their seat belts fastened.
Travelers may also be advised to tilt their seats back during launch and “clench their buttocks” as they leave and reenter Earth’s atmosphere.
A promotional video from SpaceX shows a luxury journey aboard Starship that takes just 39 minutes to get from New York to Shanghai, China
In response to a fellow X user touting the Starship ‘Earth to Earth’ project, Musk simply said: ‘This is now possible’
Billionaire owner Elon Musk says his ambitious vision of ‘Earth to Earth’ space travel with his Starship rocket is ‘now possible’ after Donald Trump’s re-election
X user @ajtourville posted the SpaceX promo video on X (Twitter)This suggests that the venture could be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during Trump’s presidency.
The user said: ‘Under Trump’s FAA, @SpaceX could even have 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
Unfortunately, the multi-billionaire – who has poured $130 million (£102 million) into supporting Trump’s campaign efforts – has CNBC reports – did not provide further details on when the project could be realized.
MailOnline has contacted SpaceX for comment.
The company’s video, originally published in 2017depicts a near future where a swarm of people board a boat on New York’s Hudson River at 6:30 am.
The boat then transports its passengers to a Starship rocket a few miles offshore, which is then smoothly launched into orbit at 7 a.m. sharp.
With a maximum speed of 27,000 km/h, Starship zooms around the planet to Shanghai, China in just 39 minutes.
A Starship rocket is launched smoothly into orbit around China in New York’s seaport, the promotional video shows
As passengers board a boat at a spaceport at sea, a digital departure board reads: “On board now, from New York City to Shanghai.”
According to the company’s vision, ‘most long-distance journeys’ would take ‘less than 30 minutes’, while a journey to anywhere on Earth would take less than an hour
At a distance of 11,897 km, the journey from New York to Shanghai by commercial plane today takes about 15 hours.
The video ends with the 100-meter stainless steel ship making a perfect landing on another landing pad off the coast of Shanghai.
SpaceX advertises “most long-distance travel in less than 30 minutes” and anywhere on Earth in less than an hour.
While the video depicts a flawless ride from the outside, nothing is revealed about what the in-flight conditions might be like for passengers.
Due to the low gravity in space, passengers would have to be strapped to their seats and may not be able to go to the toilet.
Musk has previously said there would be “no need for restrooms, pilot’s quarters or food galleys” because “most flights would only last 15 to 20 minutes.”
As a result, passengers may need to take a tactical toilet break on the boat to avoid wetting themselves in space.
Starship’s main focus is, of course, transporting people further afield – namely the moon and eventually even other planets.
Musk’s company SpaceX is responsible for the most powerful rocket ever built on Earth: the Starship. The multibillion-dollar, 100-meter stainless steel ship is designed to transport crew and cargo to Earth’s orbit and the moon. But Musk thinks that ‘Earth to Earth’ trips with Starship are also possible
Musk has previously said there would be “no need for toilets, pilot’s quarters or food galleys” because “most flights would only last 15 to 20 minutes”
Four astronauts are scheduled to land on the moon in 2026 as part of NASA’s Artemis 3 mission – the first manned journey to the lunar surface since 1972.
Musk recently said that SpaceX will send its multi-billion dollar Starship rocket to Mars in 2026, although it will be an unmanned mission.
Two years after that, in 2028, Starship will carry humans to Mars for the first time – which would mark the first time humans have ever walked on another planet.
However, Starship has undergone explosive launch testing in recent years and has only just mastered going into space and coming back down in one piece.
Last month, SpaceX completed possibly its most impressive feat yet: it managed to capture the “booster” portion of the Starship system with metal “chopsticks” so it could be reused.
In a jubilant post on