SpaceX founder Elon Musk encourages cadets at the United States Air Force Academy to keep innovating.

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, paid a visit to the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado on Thursday, April 7. Musk was given a tour of the academy by Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark. He also took part in a question-and-answer session, met with senior leadership, and addressed a crowd of cadets and faculty.

As shown in the video below, the cadets greeted Musk with excitement and applause. According to a USAFA press release, Musk discussed SpaceX's goal of making life multiplanetary through the Starship launch system currently under development in South Texas. A fully reusable and rapidly deployable orbital vehicle is a game changer, he stated. "It is the deciding factor in whether humanity becomes a truly spacefaring civilization or not."

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Musk was also introduced to a group of cadets who discussed their space-related research projects and unique technology ideas. Several cadets presented their studies on rocket engineering, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence for drones, as well as politics related to space colonisation. Musk urged cadets at the United States Air Force Academy to continue innovating. "We want to remove the fantasy from science fiction," Musk told the school's cadets. He explained that while prototypes are simple, production is difficult. "If we aren't blowing up engines, we aren't working hard enough," he told the cadets, referring to SpaceX's history of rocket development. "When rocket launches become tedious, that is a sign of accomplishment," he explained.

Technology and satellites developed by cadets at the United States Air Force Academy have been launched into orbit aboard SpaceX rockets. Musk told cadets that the US Department of Defense and the commercial space industry should collaborate to address issues related to space exploration, including lowering the cost of spaceflight, developing new technologies to ensure a safe space environment and resolving the nearly 30,000 pieces of space debris that could pose a threat to spacecraft in orbit.

Musk also counselled the cadets. He told them to celebrate their accomplishments even when confronted with obstacles or discouragement when working on a project. "There is an asymmetry in our memory; we recall mistakes more than achievements," he explained. Musk posed for a sweet selfie with a bunch of cadets. All the photographs are included here.

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