Elon Musk Would Like to Build a Spaceport in Texas, Die on Mars

For SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk the future is.... now. Now, now, now! In a keynote address at SXSW today, Musk laid out his plan to open a Spaceport in Texas (if lawmakers play along), as well as his company's progress on a reusable vehicle capable of reaching orbit. He also talked about his intention to die on Mars.

"The US is a country of explorers and people need to believe that [space travel] is not going to bankrupt them," Musk told Chris Anderson. Musk stressed the need for a Spaceport that was closer to the equator, and believes one could be up and running in Texas by 2015.

He also discussed his plan to take off into space, never to return (which would be very Ender of him, btw). "I've said I want to die on Mars," he told the audience. "Just not on impact." Musk believes human habitation of Mars is very important for our future, in preparation for when the sun begins to expand and engulf the earth (in just about 7.6 billion years, which is a lot sooner for Elon Musk, who lives in the future).