Space X Plans to Orbit the Moon in late 2018

In what would be a first, SpaceX plans to fly two private citizens around the moon atop one of the company’s own rockets. And, SpaceX says, the cost will be paid out of the astronauts’ own pockets.

Elon Musk, billionaire founder and chief executive, said that two individuals came to him and asked if SpaceX could and would set up the flight, and that they are “nobody from Hollywood.” They’ve put down their deposits and will start fitness tests and training later this year to make the flight in late 2018.

For more click HERE

Musk's Mars Plan

During a one hour speech at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara Mexico, on September 27, Elon Musk, laid out his plan to colonize Mars. 

Musk described the giant rocket that will allow this project to happen. Said rocket would be about 3.5 times more powerful than the current biggest rocket ever. 

For more click HERE

Musk Reports on Falcon 9 Status

 

SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced on New Year's Eve that the Falcon 9 rocket that carried satellites to orbit last month and the returned safely to Cape Canaveral is, after inspection and was found free of damage is in Musk's words "ready to fire again." This, rather than falling into the Atlantic Ocean as so many space program rockets have ended for decades.

Musk tweeted that the “Falcon 9 back in the hangar at Cape Canaveral. No damage found, ready to fire again.”

Elon Musk of Space X Says to be Wary of Artificial Intelgence

Elon Musk is easily one of the most forward looking people today. The driving force behind Tesla Motors and Space X, Musk has his feet firmly planted in the future. Even so, in recent interviews Elon has reveled concerns for the future of technological advancement.

Musk's concerns center around artificial intelligence that has made great improvements and advancements over the past decade. He feels without proper stop gaps there is a very real possibility of a "Terminator" class breakdown.

During a recent CNBC interview, Musk said "There are some scary outcomes...." Elon intimated that vigilance will go a long way towards making sure that the outcomes are good....

Musk has made substantial investments in A.I. companies like DeepMind and another called Vicarious - From the Article:

• "It's not from the standpoint of actually trying to make any investment return," Musk explained. ".... I like to just keep an eye on what's going on with artificial intelligence. I think there is a potentially dangerous outcome there." 

Here is the CNBC video where Musk speaks at length about a variety of subjects such as advancements in electric cars and batteries as well as solar generation:

complete NBC News article link HERE

Tesla founder Elon Musk Wants to Build a Hyper What?

Musk want to build a Hyperloop.  A machine able to transport passengers from  downtown LA to downtown San Francisco in under 30 minutes.

Described as a cross between a Concorde, a railgun and an air hockey table - Musk envisions the Hyperloop traveling 3 or 4 times faster than the bullet train, all the while costing you much less than an air ticket or for that manner cheaper than any other mode of transport. 

So what started him in this direction?  Well it seems Elon doesn't put much stock in the proposed bullet train.  First it seems that the Californian bullet would be the slowest in the world and the most expensive, in Musk's mind a complete waste.

But what exactly IS the Hyperloop?  Musk has been uncharacteristically quiet on the particulars.     However in a recent CNBC today Elon was a bit more talkative.  Of the Hyperloop, he said - It's basically an underground bullet train that, freed from pesky terrestrial concerns like weather, farm animals, and friction, could cross the country in hours instead of days. 

Wait you you say.  We can already fly across in hours, which is true, but at greater expense and at substantially higher risk.  

Musk says that the tech to build such a device already exists - basically superconducting magnets.

But as the Atlantic Wire writes:  

• Sadly, the Hyperloop will never, ever happen. It's a brilliant, pie-in-the-sky idea that the realities of politics and construction permits would render all but impossible. Even if the technology is perfect, we can barely build a train from Orlando-to-Tampa (using already obsolete technology)

Business Insider link HERE