MAKING LIFE MULTIPLANETARY Fig.2. Falcon 9 completing a successful propulsive landing PERFECTING PROPULSIVE LANDING watch, not your calendar. The next key element is propulsive landing. In order to land on a So while SpaceX’s launch rate is quite high by conventional place like the Moon where there is no atmosphere and certainly no standards, it is still a very small launch rate compared to what will runways, or to land on Mars where the atmosphere is too thin to ultimately be needed. land with wings even if there were runways, you really have to get propulsive landing perfect. Propulsive landing is what we have been practicing with Falcon 9. As of the time of this presentation, SpaceX has had 16 successful landings and that is really without any redundancy. Falcon 9’s final landing is always done with a single engine whereas with BFR, we will always have multi-engine out capability. You want minimum pucker factor on landing—you need to be able to essentially count on the landing. If you can get to a very high reliability with even a single engine, and then you can land with either of two engines, I think we can get to a landing reliability that is on par with the safest commercial airliners. Fig.3. Launch rate to date and projected 2017/2018 Falcon 9 can also land with very high precision. In fact, we believe RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING the precision at this point is good enough that we will not need legs for the next version. It will literally land with so much precision that it will land back on its launch mounts. The next key technology is automated rendezvous and docking. In order to refill the spaceship in orbit, you have to be able to LAUNCH RATE rendezvous and dock with the spaceship with very high precision and transfer propellant. That is one of things that we have perfected When you seriously consider the idea of establishing a self- with Dragon. Dragon 1 will do an automated rendezvous and docking sustaining base on Mars or the Moon or elsewhere, you ultimately without any pilot control to the space station. need thousands of ships and tens of thousands of refilling Dragon 1 currently uses the Canadarm for the final placement onto operations. This means you need many launches per day. In terms the space station. Dragon 2, which launches next year, will not need of how many landings are occurring, you need to be looking at your abridged transcript 9/28/2017 © SpaceX 2017 spacex.com/mars 2