Elon Musk reveals rocket that could revolutionise travel on Earth

It could take passengers anywhere on the planet in 60 minutes

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk announced the latest addition to his company SpaceX's arsenal - the 'Big F***ing Rocket' (BFR) - and it could revolutionise transport on Earth as well as in space.

Musk said the vessel would both take off and land vertically, like a space rocket, and for Earth travel, will take off from floating launchpads moored outside major cities.

It would fly most routes - New York to Tokyo, for example - in about 30 minutes, and anywhere in under an hour, and Musk says the 'cost per seat should be about the same as full fare economy in an aircraft.' A trip from Bangkok to Dubai would take 27 minutes, and from Tokyo to Delhi in 30 minutes, according to his calculations.

It could even take people on rapid trips around Earth, with a flight from London to Dubai taking 29 minutes, while passengers will spend just half an hour in the air on flights from London to New York.

'Once you are out of the atmosphere, it would be as smooth as silk, no turbulence, nothing,' he said. 'There's no weather... and you can get to most long-distance places in less than half-an-hour. 'If we are building this thing to go to the Moon and Mars, then why not go to other places on Earth as well.'

The rocket will be bigger than any other in existence, and will take satellites to orbit, crew and cargo to the International Space Station and even lead manned missions to the moon.

Reaching speeds of 18,000 miles per hour (29,000 kmh), the BFR could carry between 80 and 200 people per trip on flights to Mars, with the rocket's first manned trip planned for 2024.

Importantly, Musk claims the rocket will be relatively cheap as it is planned to be fully reusable, while SpaceX's current flagship Falcon 9 rocket is only partially reusable.

For lengthy transits to Mars, which could take anywhere from 150 to 300 days, the BFR boasts 40 cabins and large common areas in the craft's nose.

The nose also houses a central storage area, galley and solar storm shelter to keep passengers safe during dangerous bouts of solar activity.

The BFR will use 31 Raptor engines to produce a liftoff thrust of 5,400 tons, lifting a total mass of 4,400 tons.

Once pressurised, its cabin volume reaches 825 cubic metres - more than that of an Airbus A380 cabin.

In the next six to nine months Musk claims SpaceX will start building the first ship. 'I feel fairly confident that we should be able to complete the ship and have our first launch in about five years.'

The billionaire and Paypal founder, who made the announcements at the 2017 International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, said SpaceX's other products would be 'cannibalised' to pay for the BFR.

To cut costs, the firm has shrunk the size of the rocket ship it is developing to go to Mars, aiming to start construction on the first spaceship in the first half of next year, Musk said.

The SpaceX boss had previously planned to use a suite of space vehicles to support the colonisation of Mars, beginning with an unmanned capsule called Red Dragon in 2018.

However, he now says the company is focussed on a single, slimmer and shorter rocket instead.