Elon Musk has unveiled a SpaceX spacecraft designed to carry a crew and cargo to the moon, Mars or anywhere else in the solar system and land back on Earth perpendicularly.
In a livestreamed speech from SpaceX's launch facility near the southern tip of Texas, Musk said Saturday that the space venture's Starship is expected to take off for the first time in about one or two months and reach 65,000 feet (19,800 meters) before landing back on Earth.
He said it's essential for the viability of space travel to be able to reuse spacecraft and that it's important to take steps to extend consciousness beyond our planet.
A crowd watched as Musk spoke from a stage in front of the large spacecraft, which has a reflective, metal exterior.
Musk said Saturday marked the 11th anniversary of a SpaceX rocket reaching orbit for the first time.
Musk has previously announced his plans to colonize Mars and bring a million people there. According to plans he presented in 2016, people could begin traveling to the planet in 2025.
The U.S. space agency NASA sees humans reaching Mars in the 2030s, at the earliest.
