Elon Musk might be the mayor of Twitter town.
When he flitters his fingers on his device (we imagine its a one of a kind hologram phone looking thing) and sends a tweet, people notice.
Sometimes its not so good.
Like, slandering rescue divers or "accidentally" breaking stock trading laws.
But sometimes it's good, like a bevvy of modern memes or...
When he, the man behind the revolutionary SpaceX brand, says that you are in his sights for building "floating, superheavy-class spaceports for Mars. Moon, and hypersonic travel around Earth", you get very excited.
And that's just what happened for Tasmanian based catamaran builder Incat.
Who, funnily enough, didn't have a Twitter account at the time.
Maybe Incat https://t.co/qHbJcMocFg
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 16, 2020
Musk posted on his Twitter that Incat was a very real possibility for SpaceX to collaborate with, and linked to a 2013 article about Incat's claims it had built the world's fastest ship.
A claim that was later substantiated in 2019, when Incat's world-first high-speed dual-fuel passenger ferry achieved a speed of 58.1 knots or 107.6 kilometres an hour.
The tweet was a surprise to many, but not Incat chairman Robert Clifford who said he and Musk had been in talks on and off for years.
He added that they are simply exchanging ideas at the present time with a "million problems to be solved."
Even if the potential partnership amounts to naught, workers at Incat have been aflutter on the factory floor with some saying its an honour just to be mentioned to Musk's 36 million followers.
Incat chief executive Tim Burnell said:
"This one little tweet has got everyone talking. The guys on the floor are all excited and even if nothing comes of it, it's very flattering for him to mention us. I don't think we can claim to be as innovsative as SpaceX, but Robert (Clifford) was a leader in his field 40 years ago, in much the same way as Elon Musk is now,"
Psst! Clint the Intern here, just letting you guys know we're going through hoodies like M&Ms. There's no better way to spread ARSE than to wear it.See ya on the socials! - Clintern
But, why Incat?
Was it solely the premise of building fast ships?
Not entirely...
Incat is known for fast catamarans, the ships with twin hulls in parallel which are much more stable and less prone to sea conditions affecting the deck.
This can be especially important when you consider the type of conditions needed to launch and land rockets on water.
Sadly, even if Incat is considered an option for SpaceX's floating superheavy-class spaceports or transport vessels, the work would need to be completed in the U.S. thanks to current trade restrictions.
However, this could still mean a great deal for current Incat workers who might get a free trip to the states for their troubles.
Do you think Incat has what it takes?
Let us know in comments and tell a friend to help spread ARSE into the deep unknown...
#Space_Aus
