Elon Musk has unveiled the spaceship he claims will take people to the moon, Mars and beyond.
Like something out of a 1950s comic, SpaceX's rocket, Starship, gleams on a hot Texas night - but this is no B-grade fantasy sci-fi.
"This is the most inspiring thing I've ever seen," Musk said during an update on Starship, in Boca Chica on Saturday (local time).
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The SpaceX founder said it is imperative we become "a multi-planet species" to preserve the human race and "to extend consciousness beyond earth".
To achieve that, Musk said space travel needs to become like air travel - so the Starship is designed to be reusable.
"... If you had to get a new plane every time you flew somewhere and even had to have two planes for a return journey, then very few people could afford to fly," he said.
The Starship will be able to take off and land multiple times and refuel mid-flight, giving it extra range to go deeper into the galaxy.
Designed to carry 100 people, its hull is stainless steel to withstand extreme temperatures.
Musk also announced plans to set up a science base on the moon, a pitstop on the way to Mars, where he hopes to begin a colony.
"Do you want the future where we become a space-faring civilisation and are in many worlds... out there among the stars? Or one where we are forever confined to earth... I say it is the first and I hope you agree with me," Musk said.
Musk claims the Starship could go to Mars in the next few years, despite his history of setting overly-optimistic timeframes.
However, he's also got a track record of pulling off the extraordinary.
Newshub.
