Two new space tourists will fly on the Starship rocket, according to SpaceX: Dennis Tito, the world''s first-ever space tourist in 2001, and his wife, Akiko.
After the vehicle was completed, the couple paid an undisclosed amount to fly around the moon onStarship. They will then fly with ten unidentified passengers on a roughly week-long journey. The journey does not include a landing on the lunar surface, and it''s unclear if the other passengers have been chosen yet.
It may take a while before the mission gets underway, but there''s still no deadline. It''s scheduled to be Starship''s fourth passenger mission, which will be conducted after SpaceX uses the vehicle to land astronauts on the moon for NASA and following trips by other customers.
There''s also the fact that Starship has yet to travel to space. SpaceX must also demonstrate that it can refuel Starship while working in space so that it can reach the moon''s vicinity, as well as providing vital life-support systems and other equipment to keep humans alive.
I know this rocket will be tested backwards and forwards; hundreds of flights will be planned before we''re flying, according to Tito in an interview with Bloomberg. We''re not going to fly next year. It''s a long process.
Tito was the first civilian space tourist to purchase a seat on Russia''s Soyuz rocket for a week-long voyage after a brief stint on NASA''s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
With the help of a company called Space Adventures, space tourism has greatly expanded. Nearly a dozen tourists have fleeeed there in April, including the first all-civilian crew. Axiom is a subsidiary of the International Space Agency.
Paying customers are also able to get a brief taste of space by purchasing tickets on suborbital vehicles from Jeff Bezos'' Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, which dispatch passengers to the edge of space and back.
SpaceX has also entered the space-tourism arena. In 2021, an all-civil crew, headed by billionaire Jared Isaacman, flew into orbit for three days on a SpaceX Crew Dragon, a mission called Inspiration4.
To the Moon,'' according to a report.
Tito was asked if he wanted to go to SpaceX again when a friend of his wife discussed the space station or on a quick trip to orbit.
No, I want to be on the moon, Tito recalled saying. So I listened to Akiko just when I said that, and she said me also.''
Dennis Tito, who is 82, believes he is the oldest person to enter orbit and into deep space. He admitted that he''s been focused on staying fit while waiting for Starship''s development. He and his wife, who is 57, also have four American weightlifting records for an 80-year-old.
Whatever will be, will be. It will take a certain amount of time, but it will be ready, and it will be safe when it''s completed, according to Tito. It''s more limited by how much time I have on this planet.
Bloomberg''s L.P. in 2022