EchoLogic

Hi Elon! I'm asking three questions on behalf of the nearly 20,000-strong fan community /r/SpaceX. We consider these the best questions we'd like you to answer for us (trust me, there were hundreds more), so a response to each would be much appreciated!

1. Falcon Heavy. Some have speculated that at stage separation the Falcon Heavy center core is too far downrange and travelling too fast to be feasibly returned to the launch site. Could you go into some detail on whether you plan to use barge landings permanently for this core, expend it depending on the mission, or take the payload loss and boost back to the launch site?

2. Mars. Could you please clarify what the Mars Colonial Transporter actually is? Is it a crew module like Dragon, a launch vehicle like Falcon, or a mix of both? Does it have inflatable components? Is MCT just a codename?

3. Spacesuits. How does SpaceX plan to address the limitations and contribute to the advancement of current spacesuit technology to best serve humans enroute and on the surface of Mars? You mentioned in 2013 that there'd be an update to SpaceX's "spacesuit project" soon - how is it coming along?

Thanks for taking the time to do this AMA! Also at some point, /r/SpaceX would love to have an AMA with someone such as Gwynne Shotwell, Steve Jurvetson, Hans Koenigsmann, or even yourself - so if we could organize something for the future that would be great! And finally, just in case your work and this AMA hasn't already made you aware, you're launching Falcon 9 in less than 12 hours (the 19th SpaceX launch & 14th F9 launch no less!), so here's a countdown clock & website I built for you. Best of luck with Dragon & the landing! Regards, Lukas.

/r/SpaceX denizens, do your math now please!

An engineering only mission is possible 2036.

What does this mean? You'll be able to recieve signals from Voyager until this date?

Hey Elon, a quick question about the CRS-4 launch. We all saw the IR reentry burn that NASA recorded, but it was mentioned NASA lost acquisition on the booster as it began the landing burn. Can you go into some detail as to what happened with that stage? Did it manage to "land" in the ocean successfully or did it go all CASSIOPE due to the lack of landing legs?

SpaceX don't hire people who can "perform competently". They hire people who excel in their chosen field of study.