Tuesday, November 20, 2018

SpaceX Renames BFR To Starship

Hawthorne-based rocket and space vehicle developer SpaceX is renaming its upcoming, passenger-carrying rocket--the BFR--to "Starship", and will refer to the rocket booster as "Super Heavy", according to SpaceX founder Elon Musk. The reason for the name change was not known, although Musk is known for his often capricious naming of his projects. BFR had officially stood for "Big Falcon Rocket" but had also referred to "Big F**king Rocket". Musk said that technically, the BFR consists of two parts: Starship, the spaceship/upper stage and Super Heavy, the rocket booster needed to escape Earth's deep gravity well. The BFR (now Starship) is designed to send up to 100 people into space at once, and is 347 feet long.