Tuesday, Elon Musk — of PayPal, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX — outlined his plans for SpaceX to found a colony on Mars. His plan, delivered in a speech to the International Astronautical Congress, is entirely plausible, extremely well thought-out, and exceptionally inspiring. For the first time since 1972, Mars seems genuinely within reach. If you keep an eye on the non-political news, you will have heard that, over the last decade, SpaceX has gone from triumph to triumph. In 2006, the first orbital rocket they launched blew up; so did the two after that. Their fourth launch, in 2008, was a success. In 2010, they launched a capsule into orbit and returned it safely to Earth. In 2012, they made a cargo delivery to the International Space Station, and brought cargo safely back to Earth. In 2013, they successfully launched a rocket a few thousand feet into the air and landed it safely back on the ground. In 2015, they launched an orbital rocket and landed it safely back on the ground. In a few months, they will attempt to reuse an orbital rocket that’s already made one trip to space. – READ MORE
