ROCKET MAN

CONCEPT: BFR DESIGNER: SPACE X ODDS OF PRODUCTION: ELON MUSK USUALLY WINS

Getting to any place on Earth in under an hour has been a sci-fi dream since the 1950s, when scientists realized a rocket could be launched and delivered anywhere else in the time it takes to deliver a pizza. At long last, SPACEX CEO and head designer Elon Musk is planning to make this a reality. The company recently unveiled plans for its new BFR, a behemoth that stands 348 feet tall (with the launch system) and, with 11.8 million pounds of thrust, is about 57 percent more powerful than the Saturn V that in the late 1960s took astronauts to the moon.

SPACEX intends to use the BFR to go to the International Space Station, the moon, and Mars—but has also announced plans to start city-to-city passenger service with its fully reusable rocket. Sometime in the 2020s, you might be able to board in New York and disembark in Paris 30 minutes later, or travel from London to Hong Kong in 34 minutes—and see Earth from space in the process. —DAVE JOHNSON