SpaceX passenger rockets could be operational ‘within a decade’

​Large rockets could be carrying passengers around the world within 10 years, according to SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell.

Speaking at the TED Conference in Vancouver yesterday, Shotwell reiterated the company’s plans to use its rockets for city-to-city travel, taking passengers halfway across the globe in 30 to 40 minutes.

She said the rockets would land on pads 5 to 10km outside city centres, with tickets coming in between airline economy and business class prices. “I’m personally invested in this one,” she said in an onstage interview.

“Because I travel a lot, and I do not love to travel. And I would love to get to see my customers in Riyadh, leave in the morning and be back in time to make dinner.” Shotwell said the rockets would be cost competitive with long-haul airline flights because of their ability to make several trips a day.

As well as taking passengers on journeys across the Earth, Shotwell predicted that SpaceX rockets would begin taking people to Mars within the next decade. The company is also working on a satellite project to deliver high-bandwidth internet services around the globe.