Can you get different ships in Elite?

I am hoping someone reading this played the original Elite. I was thinking about buying the origin NES cartridge to play the game but I want to know if you can buy new ships.

I read the game manual and couldn't easily find reference to buying a new ship, however there was a long list of other ships in the manual all with differing cargo bay sizes and weapons capacity etc

I'd love it if you can buy ships. Otherwise I might get a bit bored just flying the skywinder or whatever it is called.

No. You can purchase upgrades for CMDR Jameson's Cobra Mk. III, including improved weapons and increased cargo capacity, but you cannot purchase a new ship in Elite.