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SpaceX is all about getting into Earth orbit. It has no capacity or projects to go beyond there at present. Elon Musk has expressed a desire to do such things,
by asuffield 12y ago
SpaceX is all about getting into Earth orbit. It has no capacity or projects to go beyond there at present. Elon Musk has expressed a desire to do such things, but the company is not yet engaged with them. Doing so would likely involve fresh investment (for much larger amounts of money) and revaluation.
Earth orbit is hard in terms of energy costs, but relatively easy in other terms: you don't need to solve the long-term independent life support problem, manufacture things off-planet, or figure out how to do supply lines in space.
- DavidSJ 12y agoSlight correction: SpaceX is leaving Earth orbit in three weeks: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_Climate_Observatory http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_Climate_Observator...
- asuffield 12y agoSolar orbit probes don't count - that's Earth orbit plus a small impulse and a battery. All the hard problems are in mining, manufacturing, and life support - the things the grandparent post was talking about. Although in this instance, that probe is destined for L1, which is still in Earth orbit. (The Lagrange points are where you are simultaneously in orbit around two bodies - Earth and the sun, here)