Elon Musk has plan to make flights obsolete. Here's how

Elon Musk, the visionary CEO of SpaceX, is exploring revolutionary ways to reshape travel, potentially making traditional air travel obsolete. Known for his ambition to colonize Mars and make humanity an interplanetary species, Musk's latest focus is on transforming intercity travel on Earth.

Musk recently shared that SpaceX’s Starship rocket could enable passengers to travel between major cities in under an hour. This idea gained attention after Musk responded to a video on X (formerly Twitter) on November 6, suggesting that SpaceX might secure Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for Earth-to-Earth Starship flights in the next U.S. presidential term. Musk affirmed, “This is now possible.”

The concept involves Starship traveling in a low Earth orbit, significantly reducing travel times between distant cities. For instance, according to a report by the Daily Mail, SpaceX estimates journey durations such as:

• Los Angeles to Toronto: 24 minutes
• London to New York: 29 minutes
• Delhi to San Francisco: 30 minutes

The 395-foot-tall Starship, constructed from stainless steel, can carry up to 1,000 passengers, making it an ambitious leap in transportation technology. Although SpaceX introduced this concept nearly a decade ago, advancements in Starship technology and regulatory frameworks bring this vision closer to reality.

In the meantime, SpaceX continues to expand its influence in global aerospace projects. On November 19, SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket will launch ISRO’s GSAT-20 satellite, a critical component for India’s communication infrastructure.

Key details about GSAT-20:

Weight: 4,700 kg, exceeding ISRO’s LVM-3 capacity.
Purpose: Boosting India’s Smart City mission and enabling in-flight internet connectivity.
Operated by: New Space India Ltd, ISRO's commercial arm.

ISRO Chairman S. Somanath confirmed the launch, explaining that SpaceX’s Falcon-9, capable of lifting payloads up to 8.3 tonnes, was the ideal choice due to scheduling conflicts with Arianespace. This situation highlights the urgency for ISRO’s Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), currently under development to handle significantly heavier payloads.