New York to Paris in 30 mins? How to achieve Elon Musk’s vision of rockets replacing long haul

By Angadh Nanjangud, Lecturer in Aerospace/Spacecraft Engineering, Queen Mary University of London

Of all the things that Donald Trump’s return as US president could mean, one is that Elon Musk’s plan to use Starship rockets for long-distance flights on Earth could move forward. Dubbed Starship Earth to Earth, this would see passengers transported by rocket between cities. They would briefly leave the planet’s atmosphere during the journey before flying back down to reach their destination.

Musk claims it will be possible to travel to anywhere on Earth within an hour. His rocket company, SpaceX, has given…

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