Elon Musk tweeted about a "Gateway to Mars" and the Internet is trying to figure out what it all means. The Tesla frontman posted a picture of the SpaceX Starship Production Complex near Brownsville, Texas. The following tweet just said "Gateway to Mars" and fans instantly wanted to know more about the plans for the facility. Musk and his company are coming off of the high profile launch of the Demo-2 test flight with manned spacecraft. Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley lifted off while millions watched from home. It was a big development for both the eccentric billionaire and his company. Things got off to a rocky start that week in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Inclement weather postponed the launch at the Kennedy Space Center.
When fueling began on May 27th, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine was sharing optimistic tweets. He said, "We are GO FOR LAUNCH! @SpaceX teams will start loading rocket grade kerosene then liquid oxygen for the 1st and 2nd stages of the Falcon 9 rocket that will #LaunchAmerica." There was a small patch in the clouds developing and the worries began. The hope is that a small sliver of clearance would allow the craft to sneak out before the mission got shut down. But, in the end it just wasn't meant to be. Now with that new site planned, there looks to be other missions in the works in conjunction with NASA.
Before the attempted launch, SpaceX's John Insprucker told CNN, "Everything is trending in the right direction. We've got our fingers crossing." The weather near the 45th Space Wing was "red" the but everyone tried to make a go of it. May 30th provided a day that the world got to watch a rocket make its grand journey back to the Space Station on live television.
If you're unfamiliar with SpaceX, the official mission statement is available below:
"Building on the achievements of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, SpaceX is working on a next generation of fully reusable launch vehicles that will be the most powerful ever built, capable of carrying humans to Mars and other destinations in the solar system."
What do you think SpaceX's next step will be? Let us know in the comments! Check out Elon's interactions with the fans below:
It's all happening
Things are moving along
Truly wild
People are dreaming big
A valid question
Just an amazing image
Let's step back for a second
Getting to work
Pretty great view
One day
