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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Wants To Send People To Space As Soon As Next Year

HAWTHORNE (CBSLA) — Beam them up – Elon Musk wants to send humans into orbit within just a few months with the unveiling of a new rocket.

At a presentation in Texas Saturday night, the CEO of SpaceX unveiled the "Starship Mark One," which Musk says will carry people and supplies into space.

"Mars could help Earth one day," he said during the presentation. "And so, I think we should really do our very best to become a multi-planet species and to extend consciousness beyond earth and we should do it now."

Starship, which also happens to be the name of the ships in the iconic TV series "Star Trek," will be big enough to fit 100 passengers and has multiple missions – shuttling people on swift journeys across the earth, and carry them on long-haul flights to the moon and Mars.

"This is gonna sound totally nuts, but I think we want to try to reach orbit in less than six months," he said, according to The Atlantic. "I think we could potentially see people flying next year, if we get to orbit in about six months.

But, maybe space enthusiasts should not rush to pack their bags just yet. The presentation comes a day after NASA's chief reminded SpaceX about delays in its multi-billion contract to fly astronauts to space.

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