This is how SpaceX will fly two people around the moon and back
- 7 years ago
HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA — This week SpaceX announced plans to next year fly two paying passengers around the moon using technology that is still under development.
SpaceX founder and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Elon Musk estimated that the week-long moon fly-by would cover between 300,000 and 400,000 miles, reported Space.com.
“This would be a long loop around the moon,” Musk told reporters in a media teleconference, reported Space.com. “It would skim the surface of the moon, go quite a bit further out into deep space and then loop back to earth.”
The plans see the passengers placed inside a Crew Dragon spacecraft and launched into orbit atop a Falcon Heavy Rocket. Both are SpaceX designs and are set for continued testing this year and next.
According to a statement on the SpaceX website, the two travelers have already paid a “significant deposit to the moon mission.” Their identities remain undisclosed, but the company says more information will be released pending medical exam results and their approval.
SpaceX founder and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Elon Musk estimated that the week-long moon fly-by would cover between 300,000 and 400,000 miles, reported Space.com.
“This would be a long loop around the moon,” Musk told reporters in a media teleconference, reported Space.com. “It would skim the surface of the moon, go quite a bit further out into deep space and then loop back to earth.”
The plans see the passengers placed inside a Crew Dragon spacecraft and launched into orbit atop a Falcon Heavy Rocket. Both are SpaceX designs and are set for continued testing this year and next.
According to a statement on the SpaceX website, the two travelers have already paid a “significant deposit to the moon mission.” Their identities remain undisclosed, but the company says more information will be released pending medical exam results and their approval.