SpaceX has announced plans to fly two private passengers on a tourist mission around the Moon next year.
Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, said the mission is intended to be the first privately funded flight to travel beyond low Earth orbit, with a launch currently targeted for late 2018. The two passengers have not been publicly identified; they are not celebrities but they know one another. Both will undergo extensive training to prepare for the journey.
If successful, the initial mission could lead to one or two private tourist lunar flybys each year. The inaugural flight would travel roughly 350,000 miles from Earth, loop past the Moon and then return toward Earth’s orbit.
Musk noted that if NASA wishes to place astronauts on the flight, the agency would be given priority. NASA has indicated it is considering sending astronauts on the first mission, a decision that could push the launch into 2019.
The roughly weeklong mission will use a Falcon Heavy rocket and the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Falcon Heavy is expected to attempt a test flight before the tourist mission, and SpaceX must obtain approval and licensing from the Federal Aviation Administration before proceeding.